Aiming at enhancing academic and research collaboration between the Islamic University of Gaza and international universities, IUG academics participate in academic exchanges and travel overseas to different higher education institutions around the world. Within the framework of projects funded by Erasmus Plus, Ashraf Maghari, the Head of the Multimedia Technology and Web Development Department, visited Istanbul Technical University to improve education and research in the partner countries. It was an exceptional opportunity as he met a group of visiting researchers, including Dr. David Mais from the US and Prof. Yeviniya Yakusheva from Ukraine.
The visit opened avenues for cultural and academic exchanges between the academics as they communicated and shared experiences and knowledge. Dr. Maghari, for instance, met Dr. Burak Berk Astundag, the Head of the Computer Engineering Department and a Professor of Control and Computer Engineering, to discuss partnership arrangements in international projects. Also, he organized meetings with Ph.D. students studying the disciplines of image processing, computer vision, and virtual world technologies, stepping forward to connect them with graduate students at IUG. When materials are compiled with close observation of the modern world, the potential for upgrading the suggested master’s program at IUG increases.
Besides academic purposes, the visitor went on a tour of the university facilities, such as faculties, mosques, and libraries. Erasmus Plus recommended other archaeological sites to visit in Istanbul, such as the Hagia Sophia Mosque, Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Fatih Mosque, and Sulaymaniyah.
What makes Dr. Maghari glad the most is meeting a number of graduates of the Faculty of Information Technology at the Islamic University. Most of them are completing their master’s and doctoral degrees: Ahmed Al-Af, a former lecturer at IUG and a Ph.D. student of multimedia and educational game programming at Istanbul Technical University; and Fadi Gerjawi, a doctoral student in Istanbul.
Completing the visit, Dr. Maghari showed gratitude for the opportunity to cooperate with the host university and hoped that this visit would aid in building a new generation of innovative researchers to explore the world of technology and multimedia.