University Vice President for Administrative Affairs, Dr. Sa’ed Al-Koni, and University CFO, Dr. Rashid Al- Kukhun, participated in the second regional conference of the UNAM-TEMPUS project in Beirut, Lebanon. The UNAM-TEMPUS project aims to promote the modernization and strengthening of institutional and financial autonomy in higher education institutions in Europe and the Middle East.

Hosted by Beirut Arab University, the conference, entitled, “Promoting the Modernization and Strengthening of Institutional  and Financial Autonomy in Southern Neighboring Area Higher Education Institutions” took place from March 14 th to 15^th.  Conference participants came from a number of Arab and European universities. Representing An-Najah, Dr. Sa’ed Al- Koni presented research entitled “Governance in Institutions of Higher Education in Palestine” and Dr. Rashid Al-Kukhun presented a paper entitled, “Developing a Financing Strategy for An-Najah National University.”

The UNAM-TEMPUS project and the conference represent the first serious efforts to deal with the question of the financial and administrative management of Arab universities and their autonomy. The conference concluded with a number of recommendations regarding how to promote the culture of quality assurance in financial and administrative matters at Arab universities.