Higher Education in the Arab World: Artificial Intelligence

The term Artificial Intelligence (AI) was first coined in 1956 by John McCarthy who is considered to be the father of AI. He defined AI as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines”.  Since then, AI has metamorphosed into computing systems characterized by “human-like processes such as learning, adapting, synthesizing, self-correction and the use of data for complex processing tasks”.

Within the higher education landscape, AI is emerging as a powerful change agent often referred to as AI in Education (AIEd). Grasping the essence of AIEd within the higher education milieu is imperative. Commonly described as the advent of the ‘Smart University’, AIEd represents a paradigm shift in the operational ethos of Universities and Colleges.

Smart Universities in the context of AIEd are marked by several key characteristics. With regards to admissions and enrollment, AIEd tools can harness data on a plethora of metrics including recruitment, retention and graduation outcomes.  Teaching and learning are now entering an era of personalization and adaptability, thanks to the facilitative role of AIEd instruments. These digital tools are instrumental in pin-pointing at-risk scholars, projecting academic trajectories, ensuring originality via plagiarism checks and guiding course selection.

Researchers are also benefiting from AIEd tools to sift through large data banks and analyze and identify patterns and insights that can inform their practice. Administrative spheres similarly reap the benefits of AIED’s prowess, yielding heightened efficiency in operations, financial stewardship and resource management—an endeavor that alleviates administrative load and, consequently, relocates fiscal resources towards educational and research priorities.

AIEd is also designed to optimize human resource processes from recruitment and onboarding to performance evaluation and career development. These systems use AI and digital tools to make human resource functions more efficient, data driven and employee focused.

Dr. Adnan Badran is 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 120 publications, including 22 books 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 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, 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- ). Badran received his B.Sc from Oklahoma State University (1959), and Master then PhD from Michigan State University (1963), USA.

Dr. 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, Honorary Professor at the University of Jordan, and Adjunct Professor at the University of Petra in Jordan. His previous positions included: Chairman of Biology (1978-93) and Associate Professor at AUB; Associate Professor, Assistant to the President (1983-86), Director of Planning and Development (1985-1986), and Director of Human Resources (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 29 international conferences on topics related 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 72 PhD and MS students. He has published over 130 articles in international refereed journals, 21 book chapters, and over 120 abstracts and papers in the proceedings of international conferences. He is the author of 7 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 the book “Edwards NA, Hassall KA. Biochemistry and Physiology of the Cell. McGraw Hill” into Arabic 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 10 books published by Springer Nature; one entitled “Water, Energy and Food Sustainability in the Middle East – The Sustainability Triangle” and 9 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 was educated at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth where she obtained a BSc in Botany (1965) and a PhD in Plant Physiology and Chemistry (1968). She worked part time as a Demonstrator at the Department of Environmental Studies, University of Nottingham, England (1968–1971) and at the Department of Biology at the University of Glasgow, Scotland (1971–1985). 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 (3 publications). From 1980, until retirement in 2005, she worked as editorial assistant for the Springer-Verlag plant science journal ‘Planta’, and as a freelance editor.

Dr. 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.