Birzeit University begins second stage of the Leadership and Active Citizenship Program ‘Masari’

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit at Birzeit University has launched the second part of the Leadership and Active Citizenship Program – Masari –  by organizing two training of trainers workshops on citizenship and debating.

The workshops, organized by the Center for Continuing Education in Birzeit University, are designed to train and qualify a critical mass of in-house facilitators, master trainers, and mentors with the right competencies and commitments to lead the execution of the student training program over the upcoming semester and ensure its effectiveness.

The training of trainers program comprises two elements: content and facilitation skills.  The training scheme is orchestrated to be highly interactive and participant-driven. Facilitation plays a significant part in Masari’s pedagogical approach and is meant to transform the role of the trainers from being the source of knowledge to facilitators for acquiring knowledge and skill sets.

By the beginning of September, 2018, students across 100 sections will engage with 50 facilitators in leadership and active citizenship education. 

Vice President for Planning and Development Dr. Mirvat Bulbul emphasized that the Masari program was launched to bolster the university’s role in developing a vision for learning and to incentivize students to plan their lives and actively engage in their communities from the first day they step foot on the university’s campus. 

In its first year, the program focuses on self-exploration, self-discovery, self-awareness, and self-management through the Personal Competencies and Career Path stations; in the second year, it emphasizes the other and the community (active citizenship skills – diversity, empathy, and sharing) through the Debating and Citizenship stations. 

The program culminates in the third year which focuses on the development and implementation of student-led community initiatives that stem from the students’ outlook on Palestinian national contexts and priorities through two stations focused on design thinking and social entrepreneurship. In this year, students utilize a human-centric designer’s toolkit to uncover new ideas and solve pressing community problems in close collaboration with community-based organizations and local government units.

Launched in 2017, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Unit at Birzeit University is a bold new vision that was institutionalized by the Office of the Vice President for Planning and Development.  The IEU fosters an active campus of entrepreneurs and innovators – bolstering the university’s internal entrepreneurial ecosystem.  

The unit provides an open innovation platform for students, faculty, and staff to co-create and collaboratively work on new ideas and design and implement community initiatives. The IEU houses a student-centered open co-working space, several innovation labs – including Ka3kesh and VLSI labs –  university-community engagement programs, and student-led initiatives.