A delegation from The Washington Center (TWC) for Internships and Academic Seminars represented by its Managing Director Mr. Peter Stephens, and its Program Manager for International Affairs MS Andrea Barron, and accompanied by Mr. Nabil Abuznaid the Counselor for Political and Congressional Affairs at the PLO Mission in Washington DC visited An-Najah University on Wednesday, September 7, 2005 and met with a team of university professors and administrators.
The TWC delegation visit to An-Najah comes as part of a collaborative scheme with the Palestinian Ministry of Education that aims to setup a “young professional training program for Palestinian students.” The program will first focus on a pilot phase to be implemented in the summer of 2006. Thirty five internships will be offered to Palestinian students in the different Palestinian universities on a competitive basis. The internships span a multitude of topics and career areas including International Affairs, Mass Communications, Business and Information Technology, Banking and Finance, Law and Criminal Justice and NGO’s Management. The internships will all be in the Washington DC area with the aim to expose Palestinian students to the public policy community that is concentrated in the federal capital.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, Professor Maher Natsheh, briefed the delegation on the history of An-Najah University and how it developed to reach its current status including its academic faculties, programs, and scientific and community centers. Subsequently, Mr. Stephens and MS Barron explained the mission of the TWC delegation and gave an overview of TWC programs and activities. They also answered questions and inquiries about the details of the suggested pilot project. The meeting was concluded with affirmations from both sides to continue the cooperation and to exert the necessary efforts for the success of the “young professional training program.”