Birzeit University bolsters Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean relations at 2021 virtual conference

Amir Khalil, the external academic relations officer at Birzeit University, has recently discussed joint research and development projects between partner universities in the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean Academic Network during a virtual conference held on Thursday, March 18, 2021. 

The Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean Academic Network (BSEMAN) is a consortium of universities from Palestine, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Russia, Lebanon, Ukraine, Turkey, Greece, Armenia, and Bulgaria that work together to develop and advance research, culture, and education in the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean regions. 

Birzeit University is a founding member of the consortium and plays a key role in coordinating and planning its various activities. President of Birzeit University Abdullatif Abuhijleh participated in the network’s founding conference, held on May 26, 2018, in Thessaloniki, Greece. At the conference, Abuhijleh lauded BSEMAN as an important initiative that brings together universities and researchers for the betterment of communities in the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean countries. 

Abuhijleh also took part in the network’s second annual conference, held between October 9 and 13, 2019, in Rostov, Russia. There, he discussed proposals for joint projects and called for increased data sharing and academic exchange between member universities. 

At the 2021 virtual conference, representatives of the member universities discussed ways of establishing channels of cooperation with institutions and organizations in the European Union, increasing joint research in areas such as sustainable development, and bolstering academic exchange between the network’s member institutions. 

During the virtual conference, Amir Khalil gave a brief overview of Birzeit University and its role as a leading academic and community-centered institution in Palestine and the Arab world.

Khalil also discussed the university’s previous joint projects with other BSEMAN members, such as the 2019 conference organized by Birzeit University’s Faculty of Law and Public Administration and the Institute of Law together with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. 

Reviewing proposals for joint research projects between BSEMAN members in 2021, Khalil called for more partnerships between universities and public and non-governmental institutions across the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean regions, noting that such collaboration is the key to advancing science, education, and development across all levels in the future.