The Arab Council for Training Students of Arab Universities (ACTSAU)
The Arab Council for Training Students of Arab Universities (ACTSAU) is a non-profit affiliated institution of the Association of Arab Universities (AARU). It was established in 1992. The council has an autonomous legal entity and is supervised by a board of directors from different Arab universities. The headquarters of the council is hosted by the University of Jordan (UJ) at the Faculty of Engineering and Technology (FET) in Amman, Jordan. The director of ACTSAU is a faculty member from the University of Jordan.
The Association of ARab Universities (AARU)
The Association of Arab Universities (AARU) is a non-governmental organization that has an independent legal character. Its membership includes 240 Arab Universities at the present time. Following the approval of the AARU's By-law by the Arab League, a temporary Secretariat General was formed. In 1969, the First General Conference was convened in Alexandria and a resolution was adopted to designate a permanent Secretariat General. The Association also maintains close relations with many national, regional and international institutions and organizations. Its permanent headquarters is in Amman, the capital of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (http://www.aaru.edu.jo/).
The Main Goals of ACTSAU
The main aim of the council is to coordinate the efforts to secure and exchange training opportunities for students of the Arab universities by encouraging member universities and the various Arab organizations to provide subsidized training offers for the students in different fields of study, in addition to encouraging talents and invention among students of Arab universities by promoting extracurricular activities that will have a positive impact on their culture and help serve the Arab communities and civilization.
Administration of ACTSAU
1) The Board of Directors: It consists of
· The head of the board
· Eight members representing various Arab universities (a membership of three years)
· The Secretariat General of the AARU or one of his assistants
· The ACTSAU director.
2) The Head of the Board of Directors: The president of the University of Jordan
3) The Director: A faculty member from the University of Jordan appointed by the board of directors for a term of three years (can be renewed for one term)
4) The Administrative Assistant.
The Main Activities of ACTSAU
The ACTSAU organizes two annual forums:
1) The Forum for Exchange of Student Training Offers. This forum is organized by ACTSAU in association with and hosted by one of the Arab universities with a duration of three days. In this forum, representatives from different Arab universities meet and exchange student training offers. They also discuss issues related to student training opportunities and propose suggestions to help improve the exchange process and practices. The outcome of this forum is documented in the form of mutual agreements between Arab universities and in the form of recommendations agreed on by the representatives. The ACTSAU will monitor the execution of the agreements during the training time, which is usually the next summer term, in addition to help implement the recommendations.
2) The Forum for Students Inventions. This forum is also organized in association with and hosted by one of the Arab universities. The forum is held under a certain theme every year. Prior to this forum, a call is distributed among Arab universities for the students and their faculty advisors to submit their work (scientific articles, case studies, art work, poems, story,..etc) in certain tracks related to the main theme of the forum. The call includes conditions and guidelines for the students and their advisors and universities to participate in the activities of the forum. A preliminary reviewing process is carried out by the director of the ACTSAU where a certain number of students are selected to participate in the forum. The duration of the forum is usually five days during which students will present their work in front of scientific committees in the different tracks. Final results are announced at the end and winning students will receive prizes from ACTSAU and the host university. The forum also includes open discussions and seminars where faculty members and students may participate. The outcome of this forum is documented in the form of a publication of the winning projects and in the form of the discussions and recommendations.
Current Director of the ACTSAU
Prof. Fawwaz A. Al-zaghoul
The University of Jordan
Administrative Assistant of the ACTSAU
Eng. Jihad N. Alkharraz