Momani inaugurates ‘state of the art’ media station at Yarmouk University

AMMAN — Students from Yarmouk’s faculty of mass communication and Yarmouk FM on Sunday welcomed the delivery of brand new media equipment from the European Union and the UNESCO Amman office that will help them pursue their mediatic endeavours within the university. 

Conducted under the patronage of Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani, the donation came as part of the EU funded “Support to Media in Jordan” project, which seeks to empower local radios and universities across the Kingdom to produce high quality media content and train the next generation of media leaders, a UNESCO official said.

Speaking in the presence of EU ambassador to Jordan Andrea Matteo Fontana and UNESCO Representative to Jordan Costanza Farina, President of Yarmouk University Zidan Kafafi voiced his appreciation for the two institutions’ contribution to the higher education sector, stating “We are proud of this strategic partnership which has had a positive impact on the educational outputs of academic programmes, especially at the faculty of mass communication.”

He said such support is "a great motivation" for students and educators to “maintain quality and professional levels in journalism education". 

Established in June 1976 by a Royal Decree, Yarmouk University hosts 27,850 students, 936 faculty members, and 1,740 administrative and technical staff spread over 13 faculties. It offers 56 bachelor degree programmes, 63 master degrees, and 19 PhD programmes and is also home to Yarmouk FM, one of the oldest student radio stations in Jordan, according to its president. 

During the ceremony, which included the delivery of new workstations for three multimedia labs, a new mixer, a professional tuner and CD/MP3 player, headphones and microphones for Yarmouk FM, new studio cameras, and a prompter, among other equipment, students of the mass communication faculty shared how the media project has helped in providing practical, hands-on experience in the classroom. 

Prior to the donation, an extensive curriculum revision of entry-level journalism education was conducted in collaboration with UNESCO and Canal France International since 2016 at Yarmouk University and Middle East University in Amman, aiming to address emerging industry needs and reach international standards of journalism education.

Three new media courses including digital media, journalism ethics and investigative journalism for radio and TV were among the curriculum additions. 

Fontana stressed the EU’s keenness to support the media sector “as a key development and advocacy actor”, noting “we support media in Jordan in different spheres as we recognise the role media plays in promoting democratic debate, strengthening inclusive development and diversity and enhancing community engagement."

For her part, Farina said: “Today’s inauguration is the culmination of the support that the EU and UNESCO have provided for improving entry-level journalism curricula at the University.”

“We are very pleased that, along with the new equipment, over 1,000 students will now be exposed to modern courses and methodologies in journalism education each year,” she told The Jordan Times, stressing the importance of improving the quality of teaching with state-of-the-art equipment.

The Support to Media in Jordan project aims to help Jordan’s efforts in advancing the Kingdom’s media to its freedom, independence and professionalism, according to Farina.