Rami Olwan

Greater collaboration is needed among the public, private and educational sectors to attract, retain and develop talent in building the Kingdom’s “knowledge economy”, HRH Princess Sumaya said on Friday.

“The source of innovation is simple: Talent,” added the Princess, chairperson of the Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT) board of trustees, noting that “world-class institutions… are engines for human capital and innovation”.

She added, however, that developing innovative talent through education must be coupled with a drive to “convert innovation into enterprise creation” through partnerships between Jordanian universities and businesses, so that home-grown talent is not lost to other countries.

Such partnerships, Princess Sumaya said, create a “value chain” in which talented young Jordanians are channelled directly from the Kingdom’s universities into its companies as part of an integrated economic model that is “Jordanian through and through, but meets the best of international standards”.

At the closing ceremony, also attended by Minister of Information and Communications Technology Bassem Roussan, the Princess called on the government to make this “value chain” a focus of its economic development plans.

In keeping with Princess Sumaya’s vision, local software company Eskadenia has opened a working office on the PSUT campus designed to integrate university education with career-oriented training.

Following the closing ceremony, the Princess invited those attending the conference to tour the new facilities.

According to Eskadenia Spokesperson Duha Abdul Khaliq, who also spoke at the ceremony, the office can accommodate 20-30 employees and trainees at any given time. The new centre is located in the former offices of the PSUT board of trustees.

Source:

http://www.jordantimes.com/?news=16191