IUG hosted a delegation from the European Union Representative Office in Jerusalem headed by Mr. Riccardo Rossi, Head of the Economic Development and Trade at Office of EU Representative in Jerusalem and Mr. Thomas Boyer, Economic Development and Trade at the Office of EU Representative in Jerusalem.
The delegation was received by Prof. Nasr Eddin El-Muzini, Chairman of IUG Board of Trustees, Prof. Adel Awadallah, IUG President, Dr. Nazmi Almasri, Vice President for External Affairs, and other senior IUG’s staff.
The visit aimed to learn more about the university’s project of “Business Startups Incubator Support (BSIS-project) which is funded by the EU and implemented by the Belgian Development Agency in partnership with (6) institutions and business incubators from all Palestinian cities.
Professor El-Muzini welcomed the delegation and appreciated their constant support for entrepreneurial companies and ideas all over Palestine and especially IUG’s Business and Technology Incubator BTI.
El-Muzini noted that the difficult Palestinian economic situation and high rates of unemployment make it imperative to find creative solutions to limit unemployment especially widespread among the youths in Gaza and allocating support for sustained economic development in Palestine.
Prof. Awadallah pointed out the strong record IUG enjoys in its partnership with numerous academic institutions and research centres around the world, thanking the EU for its continued work in creating jobs for Palestinian youths through business incubators and other programmes.
The EU Representative delegation expressed their happiness with their visit to the Islamic University and commended the role played by IUG’s BTI in creating opportunities for employment and incubation for young entrepreneurs. The delegation stressed on the need to develop academic and entrepreneurial cooperation with IUG.
During their visit, the delegation listened to brief presentations by enterpeneurs who had their projects supported and incubated at IUG’s BTI.
It is worth noting that IUG’s BTI is funded by the EU with the aim of developing business incubators and assisting entrepreneurs by turning their ideas into successful entrepreneurial projects in addition to providing training for couches and advisors in the field of entrepreneurship.