An-Najah National University: The Only Arab University to Win Two Prestigious Awards at the Times Competitive Awards 2025

SadaNews - An-Najah National University held a press conference today, Wednesday, December 3, 2025, attended by representatives from official institutions and local, Arab, and international news agencies to celebrate its achievements at both the Arab and local levels. The university achieved a new qualitative accomplishment in Arab higher education, after winning two prestigious awards at the Times Competitive Awards THE Awards Arab World 2025 during the global Times Ranking Conference held in Jordan in November 2025.

In his speech during the conference, Mr. Ghassan Daghlas, the Governor of Nablus, conveyed the congratulations of President Mahmoud Abbas, President of the State of Palestine, to the university on this distinction and academic achievement at all levels. Daghlas expressed his pride in the university and its repeated achievements, which confirm the commitment of the university's board of trustees, presidency, and administration to move forward and overcome obstacles for everyone, especially students, and its determination to create an exceptional academic atmosphere in addition to its community role and its mark in this field.

Professor Abdul Nasser Zaid, the university president, thanked Mr. Ghassan Daghlas, the Governor of Nablus, and all attendees for their presence and participation in celebrating the university's achievements, which stood out this year at both the regional and international levels and made it the only Arab university to win two awards. These awards were for Outstanding Student Support for the TESI initiative launched by the university in partnership with the Union of Mediterranean Universities (UNIMED) as a comprehensive support model for students in response to the higher education crisis in Gaza; this initiative has become an educational model used in areas of natural disasters and conflicts and wars, and for Outstanding Support for Environmental Leadership for the PALGAP project, which provided an innovative model that combines scientific research, education, community service, and policy-making to address agricultural and environmental challenges in Palestine. The impact of this on climate change and its severity, and the drought experienced in Palestine, is unprecedented.

He pointed to the competition for the awards, in which more than 200 Arab universities participated with over 700 projects, of which 80 projects qualified for the shortlist. An-Najah University was the only university that reached the finals with five of its projects. He added that this victory is a clear message that Palestine, despite all challenges, is capable of competing globally in higher education and scientific research, and the success of the university is the success of Palestine and the city of Nablus, opening the door of hope for every Palestinian in the homeland and diaspora that the future will be better, God willing, and added that this achievement continues the university's journey of excellence at both the regional and international levels.

He also presented a brief overview of the diverse academic programs offered by the university, the countries where An-Najah graduates work, and their achievements in the professional licensing examination, especially in medicine, nursing, and engineering programs. At the end of his speech, he thanked everyone who contributed to this achievement, while also highlighting the support provided by the university's board of trustees, represented by its president, Mr. Sabih Al-Masri, and Professor Rami Hamdallah, the vice president of the board of trustees, and the board members, emphasizing at the same time the cooperation of local community institutions and media institutions that form the backbone of this scientific landmark.

For his part, Dr. Abdul Salam Al-Khayyat, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, expressed his happiness with the achievement, emphasizing that it provides a clear indication of determination and resilience despite obstacles, and thanked all the teams that worked diligently to help the university achieve its progress and excellence. He also referred to the university's history and prestige among generations, spoke about the two awards that resulted from initiatives launched by the university, and discussed the university's initiative to adopt a four-year engineering bachelor’s program, which aligns with global trends and serves students' interests, in addition to initiatives adopted by the university in digital transformation and artificial intelligence through the establishment of the College of Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence. He noted the upcoming launch of a global virtual university to reach out to the world and the College of Medicine obtaining international accreditation for six years unconditionally.

Meanwhile, Professor Walid Suwaileh, Dean of Scientific Research and Director of the Global Academic Rankings Department, presented a presentation on global academic rankings for universities: history and objectives, types of global academic rankings and the criteria they rely on (general rankings, rankings concerned with sustainable development, rankings based on innovation and creativity, awards, and others that focus on the number of distinguished researchers at the university, based on the quality of the university's website, and related to the university's activity on social media) and touched on global and local rankings based on the name of the ranking institution: the Chinese ranking (Shanghai), the British QS ranking, the Times ranking, the ranking of the Arab Universities Union (Arab ranking), the US News Ranking, and the Indonesian and Spanish rankings, as well as the university's position in each of the mentioned rankings.

The conference, moderated by Mr. Raed Al-Dab'i, Assistant to the President for Community Affairs, was attended by a number of dignitaries, including Governor Ghassan Daghlas of Nablus, Mayor of Nablus Dr. Hussam Al-Shakhsheer, members of the council, Mr. Iyad Khalaf, Chairman of the Northern Electric Company, Mr. Asaad Suwaileh, General Manager of the Electricity Company, members of the Businessmen Forum, a delegation from the Palestinian police, as well as the university's vice presidents, deans of colleges, directors of scientific centers, administrative departments, and representatives of local and international news agencies.