Al-Hussein Bin Talal University

Al-Hussein Bin Talal University is a public coeducational university located in the heart of the southern region, 210 km from the Capital Amman.about 9 km to the northwest of Ma’an city in the southern region of Jordan. It was established by a Royal Decree on April 28, 1999.

What do we mean by Work-Integrated Dual Studies?

“Dual Studies” is a global educational concept that aims to integrate the theoretical knowledge with the practical implementation in close cooperation with industrial partners. Al Hussein Bin Talal University launched their 1st Dual Study pilot program in the academic year 2020, with the support of the German government implemented through GIZ.

Who is eligible to apply to the Work-Integrated Dual study program at AHU?

All fresh students who are registered in the regular program in any of the IT departments are eligible to apply for DS; however, some prerequisites must be fulfilled to be able to participate in the program.

Which benefits students will get from joining the Work-Integrated Dual Studies track?

By linking the academic part with a real work environment, students will have an enhanced learning experience, and better understanding of theoretical concepts.

Students are integrated into the organizational structure, work methods, projects planning, and implementation process at the company, during different phases of their studies. In addition to the practical experience they will gain through the extended practical phases at the company, students will acquire communication, interpersonal, and social skills.

After graduating, students will have a valuable work experience reflecting their academic specialization. In other words, Dual Studies experience will add much value to the students’ bachelor’s degree.

Work-Integrated Dual Study track students will have excellent career prospects after graduating. Often, they will have the opportunity to directly get a related job at the same partner company.

According to a contract between the partner company and the student, the company will offer the student a monthly allowance to cover some basic expenses during practical phases.

What requirements does a company have to fulfill to participate in a Work-Integrated Dual Study program?

The companies should be willing to provide well-guided training to the students. This should be accomplished by cooperating with AHU to harmonize the vocational and the academic parts of the program for the highest possible degree of employability of the student. To do so, the company must have a clear training plan which can be developed with support by AHU. In addition, the company must provide a qualified mentor for accepted students and should provide a liaison officer to maintain continuous contact with a respective counterpart at AHU. Moreover, the company needs to sign a company-university contract to officially engage the DS program. This contract contains all rights, duties, and timelines for all parties. It also guarantees that the student may complete their studies even if unexpected changes in the cooperation between the university and the company arise

FAQ

Q. What is the Work-Integrated Dual Study (DS) program?

It is an educational concept which integrate the educational knowledge with the practical implementation by building a solid cooperation between the universities and industrial partners.

Q. What are the benefits of the DS for students, companies, and the universities?

The DS provides students with a practical experience which they will gain through the extended practical phases at the company. In addition, students will acquire communication, interpersonal, and social skills. On the other hand, the companies will have well-qualified graduates who are already familiar with the company’s business due to the extended practical phases they spent in the company. Finally, the university will have a high percentage of employed graduates which will increase its rank among other universities.

Q. When DS starts at AHU?

DS starts at AHU in summer 2019 as a pilot program with two students from CS department, then an official version has been lunched in summer 2020 for the whole IT departments (i.e. CS, CIS, and SWE)

Q. Who is eligible to apply in DS at AHU?

All fresh students who are registered in the regular program in any of IT departments are eligible to apply for DS; however, some prerequisites must be fulfilled to be able to participate in the program.

Q. What are the prerequisites that the student must fulfill to be able to participate in the program?

The student should have the willing to participate in the program for at least three semesters during his/her study. Then, he/she must pass two programming courses at his/her first year of study (programming language 1 & 2).

Q. What is the procedure to select the students to participate in the DS at AHU?

The students go through some filtration to determine if he/she has fulfilled the prerequisite and if he/she has the willing to participate in the program. The available positions are then distributed on the selected students according to their GPAs and to their lecturer’s evaluation.

Q. How the selected students are distributed on the partner companies?

The program committee at AHU starts the process by guiding the students to build their CVs and we distribute the CVs on the partner companies. Some companies do interviews, some review the CVs and some of them ask us to choose the students. Then the committee do the final match between the students and the companies.

Q. When the DS program starts?

The program starts for each group of the selected students at the first summer semester (usually at the end of June) for three months of training. Then it is repeated each summer semester until the student is graduated (normally, three summers).

Q. Can the student register in regular courses during the training period?

AHU guarantees to offer one 3-credit online course each summer for the DS students. If the student likes to register for additional courses, he/she must get approval from the DS committee.

Q. Are there any contracts that must be signed by the students, AHU, or the partner companies?

Yes, there are AHU-Company and Student-Company contracts that must be signed by corresponding parties before starting the program.

Q. What requirements does a company have to fulfill to participate in a Dual Study program?

The companies should be willing to provide well-guided training to the students. This should be accomplished by cooperating with AHU to harmonize the vocational and the academic parts of the program for the highest possible degree of employability of the student. To do so, the company must have a clear training plan which can be developed with support by AHU. In addition, the company must provide a qualified mentor for accepted students and should provide a liaison officer to maintain continuous contact with a respective counterpart at AHU. Moreover, the company needs to sign a company-university contract to officially engage the DS program. This contract contains all rights, duties, and timelines for all parties. It also guarantees that the student may complete their studies even if unexpected changes in the cooperation between the university and the company arise.