In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful
I am pleased and honoured to serve in the tasks of the presidency of the Syrian Virtual University, at a pivotal moment in the history of our beloved country, after the victory of the Syrian revolution and the rebuilding of the Syrian state on the foundations of justice, tolerance, and national sovereignty.
In a pivotal moment in our nation's history, the Syrian Virtual University is honoured to begin a new phase of its academic and development journey amidst renewed international openness. Lifting the sanctions will enable us to unleash our national ambitions in the fields of education and development.
As a researcher in international relations and crisis management, I am fully aware of the depth of the transformations in the international system today and the importance of higher education, especially digital education, as one of the state’s tools in strengthening its knowledge sovereignty. And empowering its students with modern tools...and its communication with Syrian expatriates, especially with their spread and their children around the world. Due to the practices of the previous regime.
I also promise to utilise the expertise and experience I gained during the training workshops in the field of educational quality with a number of British universities to improve the educational and administrative process at our universities.
Digitisation and artificial intelligence cannot be dealt with as a technique tool only but rather as strategic areas that reshape our living environment, our way of thinking, our educational reality, as well as our future.
Hence, our vision for the university in the next phase is based on the following axes:
- Benefiting from the digital transformation trends currently taking place in the new Syria to serve the educational process, improve the student experience, and raise the quality of academic and administrative services.
- Guidance of Academic programs and scientific research towards interdisciplinary specialisations and digital transformation, enhancing students' understanding of the role of technology in various fields of knowledge. And scientific, in a way that serves the state's orientation towards prosperity and development.
- Building well-thought-out strategic partnerships with leading universities and research centres, enabling the university to reintegrate into the global academic space, per the priorities and development needs of the Syrian state.
- Establishing a culture of crisis management within the university structure as a framework for dealing with challenges and ensuring the continuity of academic work under various circumstances.
- Launching more specialised education and training programs that meet the material and human needs of official and non-official institutions in the reconstruction of Syria.
Today, the Syrian Virtual University is not just an academic institution, but a platform. Sovereignty based on Knowledge and a platform for identifying with global variables from an active recipient, not the recipient only.
We believe that the future of education is not expected, but created, and we are here to contribute with the rest of the Syrian universities in making with national will, scientific competence, and a global vision.
I renew my commitment to work with all of you – professors, staff, and students – in a spirit of partnership and responsibility, for the sake of a university. Digital, you deserve Syrian, and Syrians everywhere are proud of it.
May God guide us all to what is best for the nation, science and knowledge.
Dr. Obada Al Tamer. FHEA
PhD in International Relations and Crisis Management
