As part of the RL4Eng project, funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, the Faculty of Engineering (FOE) at the University of Balamand is pleased to announce that three faculty members and three students from the Faculty of Engineering took part in a training on Remote Labs at the project partner institution Hochshule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg (H-BRS) University of Applied Sciences in Sankt Augustin, Germany. The training spanned from September 24 to September 29, 2023.

The RL4Eng project aims to improve the quality of higher education in third countries by aligning it with today’s digital transformation world through establishing remote and virtual laboratories for teaching, as well as training engineering students to modernize the current teaching approaches and improve the digital and entrepreneurial capacities of both students and teachers across South Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan regions.

The RL4Eng project involves several work packages designed to enhance understanding and utilization of remote labs and take-home labs in partner institutions. This involves capacity building for students, staff, and faculty, as well as the sharing of experiences. In each country represented by partner institutions, a remote lab and a take-home lab will be established. The inherent characteristics of remote and take-home labs render them sustainable and easily scalable, seamlessly integrating into the university structure and receiving a portion of its budget. Furthermore, their accessibility from anywhere makes them sustainable for both teaching and research purposes.

The training participants from the Computer Engineering Department included Associate Professor Dr. Rodrigue Imad, Mrs. Nayla Greige, and Mrs. Olga Yaacoub, both serving as Laboratory Supervisors and Instructors. Additionally, three students, namely Joe Kareh, Mark Hanna, and Taline Ouayjane, were part of the training cohort.

Vice President for Internationalization and Engagement and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Professor Rami Abboud commanded the efforts of Dr. Imad and all the training participants and stated: “This international collaboration signifies a pivotal step towards shaping the future of engineering education through the adoption of sustainable, cutting-edge technology and the cultivation of a global perspective (SDG 4, Quality Education; and SDG 9, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure). The University of Balamand steadfastly commits to advancing its educational environment, ensuring students are well-prepared for success in the rapidly evolving and sustainable digital world. We are proud that UOB was chosen as the university to host the remote lab in Lebanon".

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