In conjunction with its fiftieth anniversary celebrations, the University of Jordan reaffirms its leadership in tourism and hotel education by hosting the National Conference on Tourism and Hotel Education in collaboration with the USAID-funded Tourism Project in Amman, Jordan. The conference concluded at the Sheraton Hotel in Amman on Wednesday, December 19, 2012, under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Wajih Owais, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and His Excellency Professor Nayef Al-Fayez, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities.
The conference addressed several issues concerning higher education and the tourism industry in light of the changes occurring in the Arab region and the growing demand for qualified professionals in both the tourism and hotel sectors. The main sessions included discussions on various aspects, including highlighting the challenges facing the relationship between tourism and hotel education and the tourism industry. Speakers discussed the relationship between regulatory sectors in the tourism and hotel industry and universities, institutes, and colleges involved in tourism and hotel education, which graduate human resources engaged in the industry, opening the door to common interests between both parties. For example, industry employers hope to acquire trained and ready human capacities to engage directly in their service sectors, requiring enhancement of their practical and applied skills during their academic stages.
In contrast, academics aim to equip students with communication skills, analytical abilities, and problem-solving capabilities, incorporating these into the curricula to enhance graduates' employability. The second session aimed to describe Jordan's position compared to global trends in strategic partnerships, requiring joint efforts to develop, and perhaps innovate, distinguished programs to address common challenges.
The third session discussed the prospects for cooperation and partnership between educational institutions and the tourism industry, considering tourism as one of the main economic sectors advancing among emerging industries in Jordan. Innovation and development in the tourism industry represent the cornerstone for enhancing competitiveness and investing available potentials, which may intersect with the role of educational institutions in stimulating and creating new ideas and practices beneficial to the industry. This aligns with the fact that tourism is an industry based on human resources and their role in enhancing the quality and diversity of services provided, which is vital for the economic success of the industry. Therefore, developing the skills of graduates heading to the job market and their ability to analyze and solve problems is a necessary and unavoidable matter.
The fourth session was dedicated to drafting a framework for strategic cooperation and partnership by presenting successful experiences in cooperation and strategic partnership between educational institutions and the tourism industry in Jordan as the basis for the national framework for strategic cooperation and partnership. Six main aspects of strategic cooperation and partnership were identified as the basis for the national framework, including field training programs for students, student projects, cooperation and exchange of administrative experiences, advisory teams from the industry, employment of graduates, and research work and consultancy.
The University of Jordan aims, through hosting the conference, to enhance its image as a leader in tourism and hotel education and as a leading institution in promoting partnership between educational institutions and the tourism and hotel industry, in line with its celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of its establishment. This also aligns with its plans to meet the needs of the labor market for skilled and trained workforce. The conference concluded with a series of recommendations, including the call for the development of practical training programs in collaboration with tourism institutions and the establishment of mechanisms for their implementation, the enhancement of academic exchange opportunities between universities, and the encouragement of joint research, in addition to the call for providing support programs for tourism and hotel programs in cooperation with the private tourism sector.