1. Establishing a Center of Excellence for Research & Training at Damascus University Dr. Talal Al-Shihabi, Damascus University TEMPUS Project funded by the EU

2.  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

3.  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

4.  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

5.  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

6.  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

7.  Official start date ▪ Oct 15 th, 2010  Duration ▪ 3 years  Kick off meeting ▪ Feb 2011  The project was extended one more year until Oct 14, 2014

8.  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

9.  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

10.  Management  Information and Communication Technologies in Construction  Sustainability

11.  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

12.  Modeling  Process & Services, BIM, Construction Visualization  Technology  E-Construction, Collaborative Environments  Intelligence  Artificial Intelligence, Knowledge Management, Decision Support

13.  Sustainability & Construction  Planning for Sustainability  Sustainability and BIM

14.  Identification of needs  Balancing between needs and capabilities  Industry is not mature enough to provide the required feedback

15.  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

16.  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

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

18.  Develop templates for all academic deliverables and emphasize their use constantly  Heavily involve deans and department heads in supervising academic tasks

19.  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

20.  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

21.  Under Procurement  3D Printer  Thermal Camera  Books  Subscription to e-libraries

22.  The fluctuation of currency exchange rates  The availability in the local market

23.  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

24.  Always emphasize the exact nature of the project  Resist temptation to very high expectations

25. thanks