German-Jordanian University (GJU) is a public university located near Madaba, Jordan. It offers more than 28 programs to over 6,000 students, primarily from Jordan and the Middle East. The curriculum differs from other Jordanian universities, with German language courses offered as preparation for the fourth academic year at a university of applied sciences in Germany and an introduction to German industry through an obligatory internship within the framework of the study program. Manar Fayyad was appointed president of the university in 2017, after being its vice-president from 2013 to 2017.
GJU was founded on April 25, 2005 by royal decree, in accordance with a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of the Federal Republic of Germany. In August 2004 a founding committee, in close cooperation with Jordan’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, began its activities in Jordan. The university’s programs are designed to encourage the training of young professionals to move back and forth between Europe and the Middle East.
In cooperation with the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences, the project team joined about 70 German universities of applied sciences into a consortium. Its members design the study programs’ curricula, recruit qualified German academic staff and host German students during their year. The consortium is open to additional German-language universities of applied sciences. The five-year study programs at GJU will follow the model of the German Fachhochschulen (universities of applied sciences), with their philosophy of industry-based practice and an application-oriented approach to knowledge. A large percentage of German professors comprise the academic staff, and courses in German and English as a foreign language are offered to encourage fluency. After an initial phase in English, program courses are taught predominantly in German. Regional studies and cross-cultural communication are also part of the curriculum. All the students spend 1 year in Germany, 50% within a partner university, 50% within a company.
