EDC Lebanon Project Partners with Five Higher Ed Institutions
EDC’s Bill Potter (l) with Fr. Pierre Najem, president of Notre Dame-Louaize University
An EDC education program in Lebanon, which aims to improve the effectiveness of the country’s higher education system in relation to preparing graduates for the workforce, recently signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with the first cohort of five Lebanese institutions of higher education.
The MOUs outline the collaboration between EDC’s USAID-funded Higher Education Capacity Development (HECD) program and the universities to provide students with job readiness and soft skills training through EDC’s Work Ready Now and Be Your Own Boss programs. Additionally, Florida State University will provide career center enhancements and employer engagement strategies.
The universities are University Saint Joseph of Beirut, Notre Dame University-Louaize, University Saint d’Esprit Kaslik, American University of Science and Technology, and Haigazian University. They were selected based on their willingness to work with HECD to plan and implement initiatives to better prepare students with technical, soft, and leadership skills.
The project’s ability to start up and successfully move forward with these MOUs despite the country’s current political turmoil is an exceptional feat.
“Some university partners have said that HECD is providing hope and optimism during this very challenging time,” says Bill Potter, the project’s chief of party. “The project is equipping universities with new teaching and learning approaches that will help their graduates be more successful in entering local, regional, and global labor markets.”