Establishing a Center of Excellence

for Research & Training at Damascus University

Dr. Talal Al-Shihabi, Damascus University

TEMPUS Project funded by the EU

Research & Training

According to Webster▪ Research: a careful study that is done to find

and report new knowledge about something▪ Training: a process by which someone is

taught the skills that are needed for an art, profession, or job

Research is about the creation of knowledge

Training is about the dissemination of knowledge

Motivation for the project

Universities are the central pillars in societies for the creation and dissemination of knowledge.

Damascus University, and other Syrian public universities, have many of what it takes to be major research institutions Attract the best and brightest among SY students Offer a wide range of degrees and programs of study Enroll sizeable number of students Have their own financial resources in addition to the

government fund

Motivation for the project

YET, Scientific output of Syrian universities through

research is far below the expectation

Implications of ignoring research University ranking University reputation Devaluing the profession of science in the eyes of the

public Isolation from the world-wide network of universities No motivation for developing advanced curricula or

adopting modern teaching methods Severing the links between the university on one hand

and industry and society on the other hand

Motivation for the project

What could be done? Definition and articulation of relevant research themes Enhancing understanding of research outputs and

research conduction ethics among research students Enhancing research supervision skills for faculty

members Provision of proper research and training infrastructure:

ICT, books, e-libraries, .. Capacity building in developing research plans

Our Project

Establishment of a Center of

Excellence for Research and Training in Construction and Environment at Damascus University (RTCCE)

The project was accepted for a TEMPUS grant in 2010

▪ Budget: 598.866,32 € + 10% co-finance

Official start date▪ Oct 15th, 2010

Duration▪ 3 years

Kick off meeting▪ Feb 2011

The project was extended one more year until Oct 14, 2014

Project Data

Syrian Academic Members▪ Damascus University▪ Aleppo University▪ Tishreen University

EU Acacdemic Members▪ Leeds Metropolitan University, UK▪ Northumbria University, UK▪ University of Lyon I, FR▪ University of Kassel, DE

The Consortium

What could be done?

Definition and articulation of relevant research themes

Enhancing understanding of research outputs and research conduction ethics among research students

Enhancing research supervision skills for faculty members

Provision of proper research and training infrastructure: ICT, books, e-libraries, ..

Capacity building in developing research plans

Management

Information and Communication Technologies in Construction

Sustainability

Research Themes in the proposed center

Project Management Planning & Control, Financial Management,

Resource Management, Quality Management, Value Engineerig

Corporate Management Performance Measurement, Risk Management

Procurement Management Procurement Methods, Claims Management

Change Management Corporate Culture, Innovation

Management Sub-Themes and Topics

Modeling Process & Services, BIM, Construction

Visualization Technology

E-Construction, Collaborative Environments Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence, Knowledge Management, Decision Support

ICT Sub-Themes and Topics

Sustainability & Construction

Planning for Sustainability

Sustainability and BIM

Sustainability Sub-Themes and Topics

Identification of needs

Balancing between needs and capabilities

Industry is not mature enough to provide the required feedback

Obstacles

What could be done?

Definition and articulation of relevant research themes Enhancing understanding of research outputs and

research conduction ethics among research students

Enhancing research supervision skills for faculty members

Provision of proper research and training infrastructure: ICT, books, e-libraries, ..

Capacity building in developing research plans

For each of the previous topics, the following was prepared by a faculty member: Background Literature Review Training Material

A specific module was prepared on research methodology

Enhancement of Research Skills

Strong mindedness among some faculty members about their ways of performing academic activities

Obstacles

Develop templates for all academic deliverables and emphasize their use constantly

Heavily involve deans and department heads in supervising academic tasks

Obstacles

What could be done?

Definition and articulation of relevant research themes Enhancing understanding of research outputs and

research conduction ethics among research students Enhancing research supervision skills for faculty

members Provision of proper research and training

infrastructure: ICT, books, e-libraries, .. Capacity building in developing research plans

Procured High-Performance Computers: Servers

and Graphics Workstations PCs for research and training Interactive Smart Board for teaching and

training Printers Classroom Management Software for

training Construction Software

Equipment

Under Procurement 3D Printer Thermal Camera Books Subscription to e-libraries

Equipment

The fluctuation of currency exchange rates

The availability in the local market

Obstacles

What could be done?

Definition and articulation of relevant research themes Enhancing understanding of research outputs and

research conduction ethics among research students Enhancing research supervision skills for faculty

members Provision of proper research and training infrastructure:

ICT, books, e-libraries, .. Capacity building in developing research plans

Dissemination And Management Issues

Always emphasize the exact nature of the project

Resist temptation to very high expectations

thanks