Prof. Zaid toured the student teams participating in the competition, accompanied by Dr. Saed Al-Koni, Vice President for Administrative Affairs; Dr. Jamal Al-Kilani, Dean of the Faculty of Shariah; Eng. Mohammad Al-Daqqa, Dean of Student Affairs; and Prof. Sameer Abu-Eisheh‬, Advisor to the ASCE Student Chapter. He praised the students’ creativity, teamwork, and dedication, emphasizing the importance of competition as a learning opportunity.

The opening ceremony, held at the Faculty of Law Auditorium on the New Campus, was attended by university officials, representatives of the ASCE, the Engineers Association, and student leaders. Notable attendees included Dr. Muhannad Haj Hussein, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering; Dr. Sameh Muna, Head of the Civil and Architectural Engineering Department; Dr. Abdel Razzaq Touqan, Guest of Honor; Eng. Abdulsalam Al-Foulah; and student Nour Al-Din Al-Juaidi, President of the ASCE Student Chapter.

Student Nour Al-Din Al-Juaidi highlighted that the annual Wooden Bridge Competition provides an opportunity for students from various disciplines and universities to connect, exchange experiences, and showcase their talents. Prof. Abu Eisheh underlined the competition’s role in fostering teamwork and practical skills, noting that the local teams are preparing to qualify for the National Wooden Bridge Competition.

Dr. Haj Hussein stressed the importance of holistic educational opportunities, pointing out that An-Najah offers students the chance to participate in a wide range of extracurricular and professional activities. Eng. Al-Daqqa emphasized the University’s strong support for student initiatives, noting that the Deanship of Student Affairs supervised and facilitated more than 900 student activities over the past year despite ongoing national challenges. He praised the student associations for their commitment and for achieving recognition in numerous local and international competitions.

The competition’s opening also featured remarks from Eng. Al-Foulah, who noted the importance of student activities in shaping character and skills; Dr. Muna, who spoke about the significance of engineering fields in community development; and Dr. Abdel Jawad Touqan, who discussed structural engineering principles in bridge design, urging students to seize the professional value of such competitions.

The event concluded with the launch of the student teams’ projects, as participants began designing and building their wooden bridges. The local competition will continue over two days, culminating on Sunday with the bridge-breaking challenge to determine the winning teams who will advance to the national competition hosted by An-Najah at the end of next month, with the participation of student teams from Palestinian universities.

The ceremony was moderated by students Sadeel Salman and Raneem Al-Khawaja, with recitation of verses from the Holy Quran by student Hamza Muslim.