Higher Education in the Arab World: E-Learning and Distance Education

​Professor Adnan Badran the Chancellor of the University of Petra and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Jordan. He is a biologist with over 166 papers presented, and 41 books, 54 research papers published and 4 patents. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul (1981); an Honorary Doctorate in Science from Michigan State University, (2007); an Honorary Doctorate in Business from Yarmouk University, Jordan (2014); the West Watkins distinguished Lectureship Award (2009) USA; the Hall of Fame Alumni Award from Oklahoma State University, USA; and the Honorary Professorship from L.N. Gumilev Eurasian National University Kazakhstan (2012). Also, he was awarded the Arab Thought Foundation Award for best Arab scientist in higher education research (2005); the TWAS Regional Prize for "Building Scientific Institutions" (2009); the World Education Asia award for Outstanding Contribution to Education (2011) and the Shoman award for Peer review of young Arab scientists.

Badran was Prime Minister (2005), Minister of Agriculture (1989) and Minister of Education (1989) in Jordan. He was Senator and Chair of the Senate Committee on Science, Education and Culture (2006-2010). He also served as Deputy Director-General of UNESCO (1994-1998) and Assistant Director General for Science, Paris (1990-1994). Founding President of Yarmouk University and Jordan University of Science and Technology (1976-1986), President of Philadelphia University (1998-2005) and President of University of Petra (2007-2014), and Dean of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of Jordan (1971-1976). Secretary General (1986-1987) and Vice-president (2014- ) of the Higher Council for Science and Technology, Jordan. President of the National Centre of Human Rights, Jordan (2008-2011) and President of the Asia-Pacific Forum on Human Rights, Sidney (2009-2011). Member of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Thought Forum (2012-). He is a Fellow and former Vice-president of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS), Fellow of the Islamic World Academy of Sciences (IAS) and President of the Arab Academy of Sciences. Chairman of the Board of the Arab Forum for Environment and Development in Beirut (2008- ). President of the Higher Council of the National Centre for Curriculum development (2017-2019) and Chairman of Shoman Trust Fund for Research (2019- ). Member of the Board of Trustees of the King Abdullah Ibn Al Hussein Award for Innovation (2020-).

Badran received his B.Sc from Oklahoma State University (1959), and Master then PhD from Michigan State University (1963), USA.

Professor Elias Baydoun was educated at the University of Jordan, Amman (BS 1971), the American University of Beirut (AUB; MS 1977), and the University of Cambridge where he obtained his MPhil in 1978 and PhD in 1980. He is currently Professor of Biology at AUB, Secretary General of the Arab Academy of Sciences and Adjunct Professor at the University of Petra in Jordan. Previous positions included: Chairman of Biology (1978-93) and Associate Professor at AUB; Associate Professor, Assistant President (1983-86), Director of Planning and Development (1985-1986), and Director of Personnel (1985-1986) at Yarmouk University, Jordan. His awards include: Federation of Arab Scientific Research Councils Award, Abdul Hamid Shoman Prize for Young Arab Scientists for Biology, AUB Research Award in Natural Sciences (twice), Distinguished Scholar Award of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Developing World Study Award of the Royal Society UK and TWAS-ARO Regional Prize for Public Understanding and Popularization of Science. He is Fellow of several learned societies including the Institute of Biology, London, TWAS, Islamic World Academy of Sciences and the Arab Academy of Sciences. He organized and chaired 23 international conferences on topicsrelated to the development of the Arab Middle East Region. His research interests include membrane and carbohydrate biology, biotransformation, nanotechnology, and medicinal plants. Professor Baydoun supervised and served on the committees of 60 PhD and MS students. He has published over 120 articles in international refereed journals and over 120 abstracts and papers in the proceedings of international conferences, as well as authoring several biology textbooks for secondary schools and community colleges. He is the first inventor of a patent on treatment of protozoal diseases (US Patent 9,173,888). He translated into Arabic a university textbook in biochemistry and was the General Coordinator of the four volumes of the Arabic Encyclopedia on Knowledge for Sustainable Development published by UNESCO. He is the editor of six books published by Springer; one on "Water, Energy and Food Sustainability in the Middle East - The Sustainability Triangle" and five on Higher Education in the Arab World. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Scientific Reports, a journal from Nature Publishing Group and other journals. He served as consultant for several local, regional, and international organizations including UNESCO and UNEP.

Dr. Sandra Hillman (neé Palmer) was educated at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth where she obtained a BSc in Botany in 1965 and a PhD in Plant Physiology and Chemistry in 1968. She worked part time at the Department of Environment Studies, University of Nottingham, England, as a Demonstrator in first- and second-year plant science practicals (1968-1971). Similarly, from 1971 to 1985, she worked part time as a Demonstrator in Biology at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. For several years, she was an Examiner for the Oxford Examination Board for 'A' Level Biology (1975-1986). In the period 1978-1980, she had a part-time post-graduate research position at the University of Glasgow working on gravitropism in plant roots. From 1980, until retirement in 2005, she worked as editorial assistant for the Springer-Verlag plant science journal 'Planta', and as a freelance editor.

Joelle Mesmar is a Research Associate at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, working on the investigation of the role of plant extracts in the treatment of cancer using tissue culture techniques and nanotechnology. Previously, Joelle worked at the Office of the First Lady in Syria and was responsible in overseeing and facilitating the affairs of the Board of Trustees of the Syria Trust for Development by providing advice on governance principles and practices and supporting the work of the Board Committees as required in areas related to strategic planning. She graduated from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon with a degree in Biology (BS 2004) and obtained her PhD in plant biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Glasgow, UK in 2009.

教授阿德南·巴德蘭（Adnan Badran）是佩特拉大學的校長及約旦大學董事會主席。他是一位生物學家，發表了超過166篇論文，出版了41本書籍，發表了54篇研究論文並擁有4項專利。他獲得了首爾成均館大學的榮譽博士學位（1981年）；密西根州立大學的科學榮譽博士學位（2007年）；約旦雅爾穆克大學的商業榮譽博士學位（2014年）；美國西部沃特金斯傑出講座獎（2009年）；美國奧克拉荷馬州立大學的名人堂校友獎；以及哈薩克斯坦L.N.古米列夫歐亞國立大學的榮譽教授職稱（2012年）。此外，他還獲得了阿拉伯思想基金會最佳阿拉伯科學家獎（2005年）；TWAS區域獎「建立科學機構」（2009年）；世界教育亞洲獎以表彰對教育的傑出貢獻（2011年）以及Shoman獎以表彰對年輕阿拉伯科學家的同行評審。

巴德蘭曾擔任約旦的總理（2005年）、農業部長（1989年）和教育部長（1989年）。他曾擔任參議員及參議院科學、教育和文化委員會主席（2006-2010年）。他還曾擔任聯合國教科文組織副總幹事（1994-1998年）及巴黎科學助理總幹事（1990-1994年）。他是雅爾穆克大學和約旦科技大學的創校校長（1976-1986年）、費城大學校長（1998-2005年）及佩特拉大學校長（2007-2014年），並曾擔任約旦大學科學院院長（1971-1976年）。他是約旦科學與技術高級委員會的秘書長（1986-1987年）及副主席（2014年至今）。他還是約旦國家人權中心的主席（2008-2011年）及亞太人權論壇的主席（2009-2011年）。他是阿拉伯思想論壇的董事會成員（2012年至今）。他是發展中國家科學院（TWAS）的院士及前副主席，伊斯蘭世界科學院（IAS）的院士，以及阿拉伯科學院的主席。巴德蘭還是貝魯特阿拉伯環境與發展論壇的董事會主席（2008年至今）。他是國家課程發展中心高級委員會的主席（2017-2019年）及Shoman研究信託基金的主席（2019年至今）。他是阿卜杜拉·伊本·侯賽因創新獎的董事會成員（2020年至今）。

巴德蘭於1959年獲得奧克拉荷馬州立大學的學士學位，並於1963年在美國密西根州立大學獲得碩士及博士學位。

教授伊利亞斯·貝伊敦（Elias Baydoun）在約旦大學（1971年獲得學士學位）、美國貝魯特大學（AUB；1977年獲得碩士學位）及劍橋大學接受教育，並於1978年獲得MPhil及1980年獲得博士學位。目前他是AUB的生物學教授、阿拉伯科學院的秘書長及約旦佩特拉大學的兼任教授。他曾擔任的職位包括：AUB生物學系主任（1978-1993年）及副教授；約旦雅爾穆克大學副教授、助理校長（1983-1986年）、規劃與發展主任（1985-1986年）及人事主任（1985-1986年）。他的獎項包括：阿拉伯科學研究委員會聯合會獎、阿卜杜勒·哈米德·肖曼獎以表彰年輕阿拉伯科學家的生物學成就、AUB自然科學研究獎（兩次）、阿拉伯經濟與社會發展基金的傑出學者獎、英國皇家學會的發展中國家研究獎及TWAS-ARO區域獎以表彰科學的公共理解與普及。他是多個學術社團的院士，包括倫敦生物學學會、TWAS、伊斯蘭世界科學院及阿拉伯科學院。他組織並主持了23場與阿拉伯中東發展相關的國際會議。