Her Royal Highness Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT), has emphasised the importance of international academic cooperation in empowering young people and preparing them to shape the future, as she patronised the National Erasmus+ Office in Jordan’s Information Day launching the 2027 Call for Proposals at PSUT.
In her keynote address, HRH highlighted the role of Erasmus+ in strengthening partnerships between Jordanian and European universities, creating opportunities for students and academics, and encouraging the exchange of knowledge and ideas across borders.
She said that international cooperation was essential to preparing young people for a rapidly changing world, particularly as advances in science and technology reshape societies and economies.
Reflecting on PSUT’s founding vision, HRH reaffirmed the university’s commitment to excellence in science, technology and innovation, and to equipping its students with the skills and outlook needed to contribute to Jordan’s development and engage confidently with the wider world.
HRH also underlined the importance of ensuring that technological progress is guided by ethical responsibility, particularly in the development and use of artificial intelligence. Innovation, she stressed, must serve humanity and be grounded in values that promote understanding, responsibility and the common good.
Erasmus+, named after the Dutch philosopher and scholar Erasmus of Rotterdam, has grown from a student exchange initiative into a major European programme supporting education, training, youth and sport. For Jordan, it offers valuable opportunities to strengthen academic partnerships, expand international mobility and build lasting connections between institutions and people.
As UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Science for Peace, HRH emphasised the wider significance of scientific and academic cooperation in bringing people together across cultures and borders.
“Knowledge knows no borders. And neither should science, when it is placed in the service of peace, understanding, and humanity,” she said.
The Information Day brought together representatives of Jordanian higher education institutions, academics, students and programme stakeholders to explore opportunities under the 2027 Call for Proposals and discuss how institutions can make effective use of Erasmus+.
Addressing the event, H.E. Pierre-Christophe Chatzisavas, Ambassador of the European Union to Jordan, highlighted the importance of the European Union’s partnership with Jordan and the contribution of educational cooperation to strengthening relations between the two sides.
Jordanian participation in Erasmus+ has enabled approximately 9,000 students, academic staff and administrative personnel to benefit from mobility opportunities, while nearly 200 capacity-building projects have supported cooperation and institutional development.
The event also included technical sessions introducing the programme’s opportunities, priorities and application processes, helping participating institutions prepare proposals and develop new partnerships.
Through its commitment to international engagement, PSUT continues to advance the vision on which it was founded: placing science, technology and innovation at the heart of Jordan’s development while ensuring that its students and researchers remain connected to the world.