The event took place at the Prince Turki Bin Abdul Aziz auditorium in the New Campus and was attended by Dr. Sabri Saidam, the Minister of Education and Higher Education who represented President Abbas, Dr. Hani Al-Nabulsi, member of An-Najah's Board of Trustees and representative of the Board's Chairman, a number of the Board of Trustees members, Professor Maher Natsheh, Acting President of An-Najah, Dr. Kherieh Rassas, An-Najah’s Vice President for International Development and External Affairs and Advisor to the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister spouse, An-Najah Vice presidents and assistants, faculty deans and heads of departments as well as other notable guests and attendees.

 

This year ceremonies coincide with the centenary of the establishment of An-Najah National University.

In the opening speech, Dr. Al-Nabulsi conveyed the Board of Trustees Chairman greetings and congrats for the graduates and their families and commended An-Najah for its achievements as it stands as a beacon of science that defies the complications and shapes a promising future for educated generations.

He added: "As the university celebrates every year its harvest season, today our graduates are the ripe fruits which it gained. You, my dear sons and daughters, are our hope for reaching the summits of success and looking to a bright future. You are the power through which we conquer difficulties and move with perseverance towards our goals and ambitions."

In his speech, Prof. Natsheh welcomed the attendees and mentioned that the celebration coincides with the centenary of the establishment of An-Najah which started in 1918. The University was called An-Najah School and turned into An-Najah National Institute in 1941.Then, it started its academic and research journey as An-Najah National University in 1977.

Then, he gave a brief about An-Najah's academic and research achievements.

He said: "During the year 2017/2018, one PhD programme, three Master's and eleven Bachelors were added to An-Najah's academic programmes list. Hence, the University currently offers 145 programmes, of which 85 are Bachelors, 67 Masters and three PhD and we are working on developing more programmes on the local and international levels."

He added: "The University also obtained the ISO 9001:2015 Certification for An-Najah Child Institute and the E-Learning Centre. As for scientific research, the University encourages its researchers to produce theoretical and applied research through offering annual research awards; therefore, the number of published research papers by prominent international journals of high impact factor has increased as it reached more than 300 papers during 2017 according to Scopus."

He continued: "An-Najah was ranked top in Palestine and 27 in the Arab World according to Webometrics Ranking. In addition, it was ranked 45 in the Arab World according to QS Ranking which makes it among 26 thousand best university in the world. As for the infrastructure, the University is working on a student hosing on campus project and is executing an investment building project that includes a mall, parking lots, offices and student accommodations in the Old Campus."

He also explained that the University depends on transparency and integrity in providing facts; therefore, the Financial and Administrative Audit Report for the year 2017/2018 was positive and fair.

He also thanked Mr. Sabih Al-Masri, Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the honorable members who work hard to achieve stability and prosperity as well as all staff members for their consistent efforts in serving the university.

He concluded with congratulating the graduates and their parents for achieving this success.

Dr. Saidam in turn conveyed President Abbas and the Prime Minister greetings and congrats for the graduates and their families and stressed the importance of offering academic and professional support to the graduates.

Dr. Saidam offered Prof. Natsheh the Ministry of Higher Education approval documents for the accreditation of the Arabic Language PhD programme.

He mentioned that Ministry aims to encourage the development of more quality programmes especially in technical and apprenticeship learning.

On this occasion, Prof. Natsheh thanked the Minister for this pleasant surprise and expressed his pride with An-Najah which now offers four PhD programmes in Physics, Chemistry, Fiqh and Tashreeh' and Arabic Language.

The last speech was by student Mutasem Ghawadrah, top in the university with a GPA of 4/4, in which he expressed his great joy and pride and thanked his professors and family.

 

 

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