In response to the growing unemployment among Jordanian nurses and the critical shortage of healthcare professionals in Austria, Al-Ahliyya Amman University (AAU), in collaboration with FH Campus Wien (FHCW) and Vienna Healthcare Group (WIGEV), launched the funded grant; Nurses4Vienna Project in 2024. This national project addresses two parallel challenges by creating sustainable career opportunities abroad for Jordanian nurses while fulfilling vital workforce needs in Austrian healthcare facilities. Jordan’s healthcare sector, and nursing specifically, faces serious challenges due to market saturation, resulting in considerable unemployment, low wages, and limited career advancement. With its international mission, AAU has built bridges with global institutions to achieve this social impact, offering Jordanian nurses a pathway to interpersonal, social, and professional development.
Through a comprehensive model, AAU oversees the entire grant and employment process—from acceptance to arrival in Vienna—ensuring that only highly qualified candidates are selected to represent the Jordanian community socially and professionally. Nurses4Vienna offers participants a complete life transformation package, including employment contracts, competitive salaries, long-term Viennese residence permits, health and pension benefits, social security, and continuous professional development opportunities. It is, in every sense, a lifetime investment rather than a short life grant.
Throughout the past year, AAU successfully secured employment for 46 Jordanian nurses with a potential of 70 nurses for the upcoming cycle through Open-House procedures established by Vienna Healthcare Group across various clinics. AAU has offered intensive German language courses to ensure access to foundational German skills to support their integration and enable effective communication with the Viennese community. Participant satisfaction has been overwhelming, with a 95% positive feedback rate, while FHCW and WIGEV have expressed great satisfaction with the proficient competence and outcomes we have delivered.
Building on this success, FHCW and WIGEV has already expressed interest in expanding future recruitment. In parallel, AAU is strategically planning to expand similar career mobility opportunities into other European countries, and introduce specialized tracks in healthcare fields such as physiotherapy and medical technology. A Career Mobility Office will be established to institutionalize global employment pathways for healthcare graduates.
Beyond Austria, AAU is eager to replicate this impactful model in multidisciplinary sectors. Planned initiatives include developing cross-integrated programs for knowledge and expertise exchange with China, particularly in technology and innovation fields, and supplying the Gulf region with highly trained and well-equipped healthcare professionals. These efforts reflect AAU’s strategic commitment to creating broad international engagement platforms that drive local and global positive impact.
By reducing local unemployment, enhancing income security, and fostering cross-cultural collaboration, Nurses4Vienna stands as a model of how universities can shape the global workforce through innovation, academic–industry partnerships, and sustainable international development. The initiative reflects AAU’s broader mission of internationalization and transforming education into tangible societal impact, providing Jordanian talent with global platforms to excel and contribute with powerful projects worldwide.
