"Excellence 2" Encourages Market Competitiveness from Birzeit Graduates

Birzeit University Alumni and Career Services Office, in cooperation with Sharek, the Palestine Development and Investment Company (PADICO), and the International Youth Foundation (IYF), launched the second phase of the "Excellence" program, which is designed to prepare students for the labor market through capacity-building and skills development.

Through the program, 180 students from six Palestinian universities will be empowered and improve their own competitiveness in the labor market through an integrated program designed just for them. Students listen to lectures by successful businesspeople, representatives of civil society organizations and academics. They also are connected with private sector success stories and take special language courses, particularly in English.

At the launching ceremony, Vice-President for Advancement Ghassan Khatib emphasized the university’s support for the program through the Alumni and Career Services Office, as it supports direct education towards entrepreneurship, and supplements academic knowledge with labor market needs,

IYF Director General Mohammed Mubayyed stated that “man is the center of excellence,” and that the private sector must meet its social responsibilities to invest in community development.

PADICO’s Economic Empowerment Center Director Hiba Darwish said that the Excellence program reflects PADICO’s commitment to social responsibility.

"The project aims to prepare university students to enter the labor market, as thousands of students graduate each year with different specialties, but when they enter the labor market, they discover the gap between theory and practice,” she said. “This causes a problem for the graduates and the labor market, particularly the private sector.”