Birzeit University welcomes 2019/2020 undergraduate cohort

Birzeit University welcomed more than 600 students on the first of its annual Welcome Days, a series of events, talks, and discussions that familiarize new undergraduate students with the university’s programs, faculties, and facilities, at the Naseeb Azeez Shaheen Auditorium on Monday, August 26, 2019. 

The 2019 Welcome Days comprise three days (August 26 to 28), with students enrolled in the faculties of education and of business and economics attending the first day; engineering and technology, pharmacy and health professions, and science students attending the second; whereas arts, law and public administration, and art and design students meet the welcoming teams on the third. 

Overall, around 3,000 new undergraduate students will join Birzeit University for the 2019/2020 academic year. 

The Naseeb Azeez Shaheen Auditorium buzzed with booths manned by staff and faculty members and volunteering upper-class students who presented the university’s student-focused services and departments such as the External Academic Relations Office, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit, and the Financial Aid Unit. 

In his welcoming remarks, Khalid Swaileh, the university’s newly commissioned vice president for academic affairs, congratulated the students upon successfully passing their matriculation exam and beginning a new stage in their lives at Birzeit University. 

Highlighting two main objectives on which first-year students should focus during their time at the university, Swaileh advised the students to gain as much knowledge and expertise as they could from the faculty and facilities available to them and to develop not only the field relevant but also their personal and communication skills to allow them to become the future leaders of the Palestinian community. 

“Birzeit University will offer you all the available knowledge, facilities, and expertise, but it’s up to you as students to make the best of these resources; you must seize them to bolster your strengths and mitigate your weaknesses,” said Swaileh to the students, adding that “Your participation in all aspects of university life is essential to your success.” 

Thaera Karajah, the marketing and services director at Cairo Amman Bank — which sponsored the university’s Welcome Days — lauded Birzeit University’s academic and extracurricular programs that aim to develop and enrich the Palestinian community. 

Karajah also highlighted the strategic partnership between Cairo Amman Bank and the university through which the bank has sponsored the university’s Leadership and Active Citizenship Program “Masari” as well as the 2018 Welcome Days. Such cooperation, Karajah added, is part of the bank’s community development agenda.

Samia Al-Botmeh, dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics, and Ahmad Aljanazrah, dean of the Faculty of Education, welcomed the students and gave overviews of their respective faculties and the academic programs that they offer. 

Deans of the faculties of engineering and technology; pharmacy, nursing and health professions; science; arts; law and public administration; and art, music and design will offer similar overviews on the two remaining Welcome Days. 

Kholoud Issa, an administrative assistant at the Department of Registration and Admissions, gave students a brief overview of the registration procedure, while Habib Hinn, director of the Financial Aid Unit, provided information on the scholarships and financial aid available to students. 

Marwan Tarazi, director of the Center for Continuing Education, led a presentation that focused on the many pathways students can take during their academic journeys at the university and presented tactics to plan for a successful career after graduation. 

After the orientation sessions, the students met with the department chairs and faculty members of their respective faculties and with members of various student-led clubs.