The Ministry of Higher Education and PIB announce the names of the winners of the 2021-2022 Scientific Research Award
The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Palestine Islamic Bank (PIB) announced the names of the winners of the “PIB Award for Scientific Research for the year 2021-2022”.
This came during a ceremony organized by the Ministry and the Bank at the headquarters of the National Institute for Educational Training, under the patronage and participation of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Mahmoud Abu Mweis, with the participation of the General Manager of PIB, Dr. Imad Al-Sadi, and in the presence of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Higher Education Dr. Basri Saleh, the President of the National Commission for Accreditation and Quality for Higher Education Institutions, Dr. Muammar Shteiwi, a number of staff members of the Ministry and the Bank, scientific researchers, and deans of scientific research from higher education institutions.
Abu Mweis congratulated the winners of the award, praising PIB’s continuous support for scientific research in Palestine, stressing the importance of strengthening scientific research and focusing on productive research that meets the needs of the Palestinian society and contributes to achieving the goals of inclusive sustainable development. He then noted: “We recently launched the Palestinian health scientific research Club with the support of the World Federation for Medical Education, and we are working to integrate Palestinian researchers into the Association of the Arab region National Research and Education Networks (ASREN). We have also launched a number of local and international research calls.”
Abu Mweis referred to the national document prepared by the Ministry for Palestinian research priorities in all fields. The document responds to the government's vision in accordance with the sustainable development plan. He noted the significant support to higher education programs given their contribution to furthering scientific research, and motivating students and researchers to actively participate in identifying local and regional problems and dealing with such using a scientific methodology.
Abu Mweis touched on the efforts of the Ministry in terms of developing and modernizing academic programs and introducing new ones, focusing on integrated programs that combine theoretical education and training in the private sector as part of the education phase, as well as focusing on supporting and strengthening vocational education.
For his part, Al-Sadi said: “This award aims to encourage researchers to boost their research activity and conduct professional and specialized research to enhance the research landscape in Palestine. The award is also one of the Bank’s annual contributions to support scientific research and the education sector as part of its CSR program focused around sustainable development, where scientific research plays a key role”.
Al-Sadi added: "The largest share of our annual sustainable CSR program goes to the education sector, as we implemented 52 partnerships with education institutions during the year 2021 where we provided various forms of support, from restoration and construction works of school facilities to the provision of education tools and aids and other forms of support. We always seek to strengthen such support given the great importance of education in the development of society and the achievement of sustainable development goals.”
Al-Sadi stressed the importance of continuous cooperation between the Bank and the Ministry to enhance the culture of scientific research in Palestine given its importance in contributing to development efforts. He further reiterated that PIB is ready to support the practical application of any of the winning research projects, emphasizing the importance of building on scientific research.
In the field of the impact of financial technology on financial and banking services and its applications in the Islamic financial industry, Musa Agouz and Fayez Abu Omariya from Al-Ahlia Palestine University won the first-place award, and Muhammad Hassan from the Islamic University won the second-place award. In the field of education, learning and commerce in the era of technology and artificial intelligence, Rania Abdel Al-Moneim from Al-Aqsa University won the first-place award, and Muhammad Zidan Salem from the University College of Applied Sciences in Gaza won the second-place award.
In the field of quality assurance and control in banking and higher education institutions, winners of the first place were Islam Hallo and Ahmed Abu Ghabin from Al-Aqsa University, and Fawaz Al-Nawaja from Palestine Polytechnic University came second. In the field of applied sciences (land, water, and agriculture) and their role in promoting local production, Ahmed Ghadiya and Safaa Hamadeh from An-Najah National University won the first-place award, and Nael Zeidan, Muhammad Maree and Sobhi Samhan from the Arab American University came second. In the field of health sciences (epidemics and diseases) and their study within the Palestinian context, Youssef Salama from An-Najah National University was named as the first winner, and Yaqoub Ashab from Palestine Polytechnic University was selected as second winner.
The PIB award aims to enhance the culture of scientific research nationally, further partnership between the private academic sectors in the fields of scientific research, encourage and support researchers in Palestinian universities to conduct professional and distinguished research, improve scientific research outputs to contribute to sustainable development, and enable research in the field of emergency response and technological transformation.
It also aims to deepen our understanding of the economic, social or natural phenomena and elements surrounding us, adapt them to improve our lives, discuss modern economic and social issues to contribute to the development of society, and find solutions to various issues.