17.2.4.International collaboration and research 

 Best practices are set by the researchers and professors and experts from the Lebanese University for all the international and Erasmus projects which the Lebanese University participated in. For that, please refer to the folder related to each project mentioned in the section "Publish Sustainability report across all SDGs", regarding the determined goal, in order to see the best practices provided by the Lebanese University.   

Within the framework of enhancing joint academic and professional cooperation, a cooperation protocol was signed between the Institute of Social Sciences - Lebanese University, represented by its Dean, Prof. Dr. Marilyn Haidar, and the Aheda Al-Bisar Association, represented by its president, Dr. Lubna Atwi.

The signing ceremony was attended by the Director of the Institute of Social Sciences (Third Branch), Prof. Dr. Wadia Al-Amyouni and members of the

Branch: Prof. Dr. Ruba Shaarani, Dr. Sonia Bitar, Prof. Dr. Shawky Attia, and the former representative of the professors, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Ali.

The protocol aims to train professional master's students in the association under the supervision of a follow-up committee of the two teams, provided that the training includes 250 training hours at the association's center.

The Dean of the Institute of Social Sciences, Prof. Dr. Marilyn Haidar, said: "At the Institute of Social Sciences, we seek to establish partnerships with serious and leading institutions in their field of social and humanitarian work.

The Foundation reaches a promising basic segment of the societal environment for children and takes care of them at the psychological, physical and educational levels, away from the scourges and problems of their basic environment. While we believe in this partnership, and that it will be an opportunity for mutual learning and exchange of knowledge and experiences between the two institutions, we look forward to building a sustainable relationship to develop programs aimed at controlling part of the student's professional training so that it culminates in writing a scientific report for his field of specialization.

For her part, the President of the Association, Dr. Lubna Atwi, praised this initiative in support of the objectives of the Association, speaking about the circumstances of its establishment in light of the crisis of the economic and social conditions in the country and the emergence of the urgent need to serve the defeated groups, especially orphaned children, at the initiative of the founder, businessman Mr. Kamel Al-Zarqa. Atwi added: "Cooperation with the institute, which I am pleased to belong to its teaching staff, has started practically since the establishment of the association, by giving preference in employment to its students who are methodologically and knowledgeably prepared to work in educational institutions. This cooperation continues through training and employment."

The meeting concluded with a general tour of the various sections of the association's center to see the progress of work and plan for ways of cooperation in the future.

A ceremony was organized at the French Institute in Lebanon / Beirut for students of the Faculty of Education / Lebanese University and students of the Faculty of Educational Sciences / Saint Joseph University (class of 2022 - 2023) who successfully completed the required courses and the graduation project, as part of the cooperation project between the French Embassy in Lebanon and the two facultiesmentioned N.

The project aims to prepare teachers for the multi-track primary school (Formation des enseignants ployvalents au primaire) who are able to teach according to the French curriculum in schools accredited by the French Ministry of Education (Ecoles homologuées).

The ceremony was attended by the Inspector General of Education, Sports and Research and the Deputy Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Action at the French Embassy, Mr. Henri de Rohan Sirmac, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the Lebanese University, Dr. Khalil El-Jammal, Dean of the Faculty of Educational Sciences at Saint Joseph University, Dr. Patricia Abi Rached, Directors of the first and second branches at the Faculty of Education / Lebanese University, Dr. Salam Noureddine and Dr. Rose Sarraf, and a group of professors and parents of the students.

The celebration began with the Lebanese and French national anthems, followed by a speech by the Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Action at the French Embassy, Mrs. Sabine Ciortino, a speech by the Dean of the Faculty of Education at the Lebanese University, Dr. Khalil El-Jamal, and a speech by the President of Saint Joseph University, Father Salim Daccache.

The speeches stressed the importance of this project, which opens new horizons for students at the professional and academic levels, and stressed the positive and effective role of education in addressing Lebanon's crises and advancing it again, in addition to the need for Lebanese educational curricula to adhere to Francophone values such as freedom, democracy, cultural diversity and anti-racism.

Amr El Habbal (from the Faculty of Education at the Lebanese University) and Rita Maroun (from the Faculty of Educational Sciences at Saint Joseph University) also spoke at the ceremony.

The ceremony concluded with the distribution of certificates to the students of the second batch (2022-2023), and the number of graduates reached 47 students: 31 from the Lebanese University and 16 from Saint Joseph University.

It is noteworthy that the team of the Faculty of Education at the Lebanese University, which supervised teaching, training and graduation projects, included: Dr. Rose Sarraf (Director of the Second Branch), Dr. Salam Noureddine (Director of the First Branch), Dr. Randa Nabulsi (Project Coordinator), Dr. Hanadi Shatila, Dr. Elie Kazan, Dr. Rita Shahwan, Dr. Pauline Khalil, Dr. Nisreen Merheb and Dr. Rima Baz.

Mr. Karl Sweden also undertook the academic coordination of the project commissioned by the French Embassy.

The Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture at the Lebanese University, Dr. Hisham Zeineddine, received the new Cultural Attaché at the Indonesian Embassy in Beirut, Mr. Asrar Eddin Salam, in the presence of the former Dean of the Faculty, Dr. Muhammad Al-Hajj.

The two sides discussed ways to enhance the existing cooperation between the Faculty of Fine Arts and Architecture and the Cultural Attaché at the Indonesian Embassy and exchange experiences with Indonesian universities specialized in the field of arts, in addition to the importance of continuing to organize joint artistic and cultural events, the latest of which was the Indonesian artistic celebration last March with the participation of the Indonesian peacekeeping force working within UNIFIL and the Indonesian community in Lebanon.

The President of the Lebanese University, Dr. Bassam Badran, received the Ambassador of Brazil to Lebanon, Tarcisio Costa, accompanied by the Cultural Attaché at the Embassy, Mrs. Renata Negrelly.)

The Brazilian ambassador presented cooperation programs and academic exchange and the possibility of cooperation with the Lebanese University in various stages of education, in addition to the need to activate the cooperation agreement between the two sides.

For his part, President Badran welcomed the cooperation projects presented by the ambassador, and gave him an explanation about the university's location and its advanced scientific and professional classification at the local and Arab levels.

The meeting was an occasion in which the two parties exchanged examples of cultural and artistic production.

Signing a cooperation protocol between the Lebanese University, the Arab Association for Political Science and the Institute of Arab Research and Studies in Cairo

The President of the Lebanese University, Prof. Bassam Badran, signed two cooperation protocols, the first with the Arab Society for Political Science, represented by its president, Professor Gamal Zahran, and the second with the Institute of Studies and Research in Cairo of the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, represented by its director, Professor Mohamed Kamal.

The two protocols, which were signed during the opening of the annual conference of the Arab Society for Political Science in Beirut, aim to strengthen academic and research cooperation between the signatories, exchange researchers, conduct joint research and studies, and prepare reports on scientific and cultural topics of common interest.

It also aims to exchange faculty members holding a doctorate degree to participate in lectures, seminars, training seminars, workshops and master's thesis discussion committees.

The signing ceremony was attended by the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Political and Administrative Sciences, Professor Habib Al-Azzi, the former Dean Professor Camille Habib, the Secretary-General of the Arab Society for Political Science, Dr. Hassan Al-Ashmar, the representative of the Center for Arab Unity Studies, Dr. Jamal Wakim, members of the Association, a group of Lebanese University professors, and Lebanese and Arab researchers.

The student Mohamed Farid Abara from the Faculty of Engineering – Third Branch at the Lebanese University (fourth year of electricity and electronics) won the first prize of the Huawei ICT Competition Lebanon-2022.

Abbara, along with Joumana Hajjar from the Lebanese International University (LIU) and Emile Boulos from the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), will participate in the regional edition of the competition to be held in the Omani capital Muscat on December 20, 2022, where talented students from 11 countries in the Middle East will compete to reach the global competition.

It is noteworthy that the Huawei ICT Competition was launched in 2017, becoming one of the largest competitions aimed at providing a competitive and participatory motivational platform for students through which they gain more knowledge and enhance information and experience in ICT to improve their practical skills and innovative capabilities through modern technologies and platforms.

Prof. Maha Hoteit from the Faculty of Public Health/Lebanese University won the 2022 L'Innovation Pédagogique Award from the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie.

The award of this prize aims to evaluate individual and collective projects related to educational innovation in French-speaking higher education and scientific research institutions, as well as to encourage the dissemination of educational innovation projects within the network of member institutions of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie.

During the second edition of the World Francophonie Science Week, which was organized in Cairo from 25 to 28 October 2022, the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie honored the international winners of the Educational Innovation Awards, including Professor Hoteit.

It is noteworthy that the activities of the second edition of the International Francophonie Scientific Week included the first conference for Francophone students and the second debate of the scientific francophonie with the participation of more than 500 research professors and experts, in addition to the launch of the "Francophone Network for Artificial Intelligence".

For the seventh consecutive year, Cisco Networking Academy is awarding Cisco Academy at the Lebanese University the Academic Excellence Award as a distinguished partner, based on the quality of training and service it provides to university students, professors, and administrators.

Despite all the challenges and difficult circumstances, the Cisco Academy at the Lebanese University, with its professors and students, was able to win the title of "Premier Partner" as one of the top 15% of the academies support centers globally.

The work of the Cisco Academy at the Lebanese University aims to include career paths with study plans for different disciplines to raise the level of students in preparation for their entry into the world of the digital economy and the labor market based on information technology and networks, in addition to graduating trainers from faculty members specialized in this field.

The project "Viral Spread and Social Dynamics" was launched in collaboration between the Research Center of the Institute of Social Sciences / Lebanese University, the French Development Research Institute (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) and the French National Research Agency.

This project comes within the framework of strengthening the partnership between national and international bodies and ensuring the exchange of knowledge experiences between Lebanese and French researchers, and the project also monitors the individual and collective experience of Corona to identify the role of national and non-governmental public institutions in dealing with the pandemic.

During the launch of the project, the Dean of the Institute of Social Sciences, Professor Marilyn Haider, delivered a speech entitled "A Partnership to Build for Tomorrow", and then the Head of the Research Center, Prof. Hussein Abu Redha, stressed the importance of building knowledge capable of understanding society.

After that, Dr. Nicholas Puig presented the project's themes, most notably social responses and behavior change to understand the social and cultural impact, studies of linguistic inventions, the spread of rumors and speeches issued in the public sphere, in addition to studying the role of non-governmental organizations in combating the epidemic, health practices, self-application and normal medical perceptions.

The meeting concluded with each team presenting the methodology that it will follow in its work.

The Lebanese University, through the Dean of the Faculty of Economics & Business Administration, Professor Selim Mekdessi, participated in an international webinar organized on 19 June 2020 by the College of Business Administration at the “University of Bahrain” entitled "Sustainable Environment for Sustainable Education: What path for the future?". 

This webinar aimed at increasing awareness of the international community about SDGs 4, 5, 6, 13 and 15 through a group of international experts who offered a thorough background about the topics of Climate Change, Life on Land, Clean Water & Sanitation, Quality Education and Gender Equality. 

In addition to Dean Mekdessi from the Lebanese University, Dr. Hanan Elguindy, UNDP Development Management & Leadership Expert, Dr. Erin Kelly, Associate Professor in Forestry at Humboldt State University, Dr. Paul Ouedraogo, Ecologist Expert and Director of Programs, Institute to Support Development (IAD), Dr. Hasan Youness, University professor and Sustainability & CSR Expert and Dr. Naglaa Fathy El Dessouky, webinar organizer, all participated in the event.  

In cooperation with the "Rossotrudnichestvo" office in Lebanon, the President of the Lebanese University, Professor Fouad Ayoub, held a working meeting with the Vice-chancellor of the North-Caucasus Federal University, Mrs. Nadezhda Akshurina, to discuss the possibility of establishing a research laboratory in the field of space science and geographic information technology between the two universities, and agreeing to sign a joint agreement on the sidelines of the Moscow International Education Show to be held in April. 

The two parties discussed cooperation in scientific fields and plans to prepare joint international publications, in addition to implementing a student engineering project in the field of robotics, drones and satellites. 

Professor Ayoub and Mrs. Akshurina also discussed joint work between professors of the two universities in the application of Erasmus+ Scientific Capacity Building program, which relates to the development of a new master's program in geography for migration and its policy.  

Within the framework of the cultural month "Cultural Colors" launched by the Lebanese University - Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, under the high patronage of the President Fouad Ayoub, the Branch 3 received the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Lebanon, Baltabay Omarov and a number of employees of the Embassy. 

For the occasion, the Faculty held a seminar on the perspectives and history of the Lebanese-Kazakh relations, which was attended by representatives of northern cultural organizations and associations, student associations and interested parties. 

The Branch Director, Dr. Jacqueline Ayoub, welcomed the ambassador and thanked him for this instructive cultural visit. 

Then, Dr. Jean Touma delivered a speech on behalf of the Branch, emphasizing the importance of this cultural month, which ends with a meeting with the Ambassador of Kazakhstan, and calling for the strengthening of the cultural and academic cooperation between the two countries.  

The President of the Lebanese University, Professor Fouad Ayoub, signed a cooperation agreement with the President of the Lebanese ECOSOC, Mr. Charles Arbid, in the Central Administration - Museum. 

The signing of the agreement took place in the presence of Professor Zeinab Saad, General Coordinator of International Relations Office, Dr. Marlene Haidar, Dean of the Institute of Social Sciences, Dr. Selim Mekdessi, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, officials of the ECOSOC, and several directors and professors. 

The agreement aims to activate the exchange of scientific and economic expertise and information between the two parties, to develop studies of common interest, to participate in conferences, seminars and workshops, to exchange various training programs, to prepare experts and specialized skills, in order to promote SDGs and to develop studies in the sectors of industry, trade, agriculture, tourism, science and technology.