On Thursday 21 August An-Najah hosted a certificate ceremony for the conclusion of the “Go Girls 2014”summer camp. The summer camp is part of a project to reinforce women’s involvement in academia in Palestine, and included 60 female 11 graders from West Bank and Jerusalem schools.

The certificate ceremony took place at the Faculty of Medicine auditorium on the new campus. Hosted by Professor Maher Natsheh, Acting President of An-Najah University, he thanked the US Consulate for its continuous support of the university.

Professor Natsheh also added:

 “We are very proud of An-Najah, which is one of the best, being in the top 5% universities in the world, offering to its students 77 undergraduate programmes and 49 graduate programmes.”

Professor Natsheh went on to say that 60% of An-Najah’s 23,000 students are female, and many of them are the Universities high achievers, receiving half of all the scholarships offered to pursue their higher studies. He added that Palestine is in need of innovative women working side by side with men.

Mrs. Dorothy Shea, US Consulate General in Jerusalem and Chief of Mission, thanked An-Najah and the Directorate of Education for supporting the “Go Girls” camp and added:

“this camp aims to give young girls the chance to take part in scientific discovery, and that both the Consulate and the University are working to find new ways to support Palestinian women who chose a scientific path and encourage the younger generation to pursue their future in the fields of science, engineering and information technology.”

Mrs. Shea also commended the participants’ performance in the camp, adding that they have the potential to make an impact in the world of science.

She went on to reveal the name of the Palestinian woman who recently entered the Science Women’s Hall of Fame for the year 2014, Dr. Wafaa Hassan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Engineering in Palestine Polytechnic University. She also honoured the first Palestinian woman to enter the Hall of Fame, Dr. Ansam Sawalha.

In turn, Dr. Ansam Sawalha, Director of the Project, stated that the programme, which was launched 3 years ago, seeks to encourage women’s involvement in the fields which they are currently underrepresented, especially in medicine and genetics.

She went on to say that this year, the programme was in great demand receiving 230 applications.

Student Rama Rabay’a, give a speech on behalf of the participating delegates, talking about her experience in the summer camp and the skills she learned, especially handling medical tools and equipment. She also thanked the organizers of the camp.

Notes:

-          The project is funded by the US Consulate General in Jerusalem.

-          The event was also attended by a number of faculty members from the Faculty of Medicine, the camp trainers, and the participants and their parents.

-          The camp consisted of genomic and research laboratory training done by genetics and biomedical science majors at An-Najah.