QOU participates in the 5th. National Forum Innovation and the Pandemic

 Al-Quds Open University participated in the Fifth National Forum titled "Innovation and the Pandemic", which was held on Monday 19/10-2020, under the patronage of H.E. President Mahmoud Abbas, and in partnership with Al-Quds Open University and Al-Quds Educational Satellite Channel .

The forum also addressed the changing shape of a post-pandemic world and the features of change that will affect various sectors. During the forum, national and international experiences in facing the pandemic were presented, and the Palestinian experience was evaluated through presenting initiatives and success stories that contribute to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic and draw lessons and lessons learned.

The forum included four main virtual scientific dialogue sessions: Palestine and the pandemic, the world and the pandemic, the post-pandemic world, and innovation in facing the crises.

During the first main session, Dr. Eng. Islam Amr, Assistant to the President for Technology and Production Affairs at QOU talked about the University's experience in e-learning amid the "Covid 19" pandemic and its achievements in overcoming its consequences through his scientific paper entitled: "E-learning during the pandemic: the experience of Al-Quds Open University"in which he referred to the changes that occurred in the course of work in light of the pandemic, methods of intervention, challenges, work methodology and the  decision to completely virtualize teaching during the crises. Amr also talked about the pedagogy of QOU which consists of custom developed curricula books, face to face meetings and virtual classes in addition to the asynchronous lectures. Amr added, “The University has a policy in incubating the Palestinian content in Palestine.” “We don’t go for commercial e-meetings because we use open source technology that that is operated under our control.  We have very high security in this regard and very high performance standards.  The electronic content of Al-Quds Open University is built according to the open educational resources of UNESCO. We are one of the leaders in the Arab region in this initiative made by UNESCO, we have authored the first Arab book for the favor of the organization through the Cairo office, and we conducted several training courses in the Ministry of Education in Jordan, the American University in Beirut and the American University in Cairo. We hope that our ministry will also organize this information and deal with it in a correct manner. "

Dr. Eng. Amr talked also about the importance of creating a governing environment that regulates the relationship between spenders and buyers on content technology, and about the importance of a national network for educational technology. He also stressed the importance of allocating a special fund for innovation in educational technologies, and creating a national statement of needs related to educational technologies.

QOU also participated in the forum, through the following (6) innovation projects of its students:

·         Color Robot, for researchers: By Qasim Bakr Abu Safia and Lina Ghassan Al-Daoudi, from the Gaza Branch.

·         Generating electricity through water pipes in the tanks, for researchers: Fadi Hillel Nasser, Nasma Atallah, and Nadine Khaled Abu Aoun, from the Gaza branch.

·         Control and design of a prosthetic arm by sensing muscle movement, by researchers: Muhammad Ihab Al-Batsh and Muhammad Yahya Al-Louh, from the Gaza branch.

·         Smart Home control by mobile for researchers: Alaa Rafeeq Awad, Amjad Abu Samra, and Hussam Abu al-Jabeen, from the Gaza branch.

·         Accident Recording and Data Acquisition System for Insurance Vehicles (ARADA) by researchers: Yusef Fayez Hamid, Hamza Ismail Al-Mahamid, and Doaa Khader Battah, from the Bethlehem branch.

·         Sign Language Glove (SLG) by researcher Abdullah Abu Aker, from the Bethlehem Branch