Highlights

The World Bank and CMI organized the launch of the University Governance Screening (UGSC.V2.0) in the Palestinian Territories. The event convened members of the Higher Education Network, representatives from the Ministry of Higher education and local partner organizations. The UGSC.V2.0 is developed by the Higher Education Program to assess the extent to which, institutions of tertiary education in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, are following governance practices aligned with their institutional goals as well as international trends, while monitoring their progress over time. Currently, over 100 universities from seven countries (Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, The Palestinian Territories and Tunisia) have already participated in the benchmarking events after which a Regional Tertiary Education Network has been established as a platform promoting the exchange of information and lessons learned through reforms implementation. 

Objectives 

The objectives of the UGSC workshop are the following:

• In-depth presentation of the UGSC V2.0 [both the revised survey questionnaire and the online version]
• Preparing tertiary education institutions in the Palestinian Territories  for participation in the new round of the UGSC workshops by discussing the tool and the way to use it
• Setting up a reminder of  the program’s forthcoming activities
• Strengthening the Tertiary Education Network by encouraging collaboration and sharing information with university leaders, representatives of the Higher Education Ministry and local and international higher education experts.

Outcomes

The workshop convened, in a virtual conference, participants form both Gaza and Ramallah. World Bank experts from Washington D.C and Rabat represented an active participation as they have intervened throughout the event. This meeting was also an opportunity to receive feedback from tertiary education leaders on the revised tool and the overall program. This workshop will likely encourage the active participation of the Palestinian Territories in the second round of the UGSC benchmarking exercise as well as the upcoming International MENA Tertiary Education Conference. It will also inspire Palestinian blog contributions about the program. 

Participants

World Bank experts

Palestinian university representatives

• Al Quds Open University
• Al Quds University
• Arab American University in Jenine
• Birzeit University
• Islamic University of Gaza
• Palestine Polytechnic University

Resources

• The World Bank and CMI, Building a University Governance Screening Card for MENA (and beyond)