The Higher Education Capacity Development (HECD) program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the Education Development Center (EDC), held its annual higher education summit on January 20, 2022 bringing together ten Lebanese partner universities and one U.S. based university. The event welcomed the presence of the U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Richard Michaels, USAID/Lebanon’s Mission Director Eileen Devitt, and university representatives. The summit was an opportunity to highlight the impact of HECD’s institutional capacity development program focused on job readiness skills, career center enhancements, university-employer engagement, work-based learning, entrepreneurship and design thinking.
In his remarks, the U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Richard Michaels stated, “This five-year, $10 million HECD project builds on years of partnerships with Lebanese universities throughout the country to increase access to quality education. Through HECD, we have developed the institutional capacity of your universities, ensuring you are able to transfer market-driven quantitative and qualitative skills to your graduates…USAID is celebrating 60 years of working with our Lebanese partners to develop the country’s people and potential by transforming lives and economies across the country. Education is at the heart of USAID’s history in Lebanon and will remain steadfast as we tackle new challenges together.”
The summit featured panel discussions with local and international experts from EDC and Florida State University, university instructors, students and career center experts. The event concluded with the presentation of certificates of appreciation to the universities, honoring their active role in the project. “Through our collective efforts and strong HEI partnerships, HECD has continued to thrive. Demand for HECD job readiness preparation programs and HEI institutional capacity development supports remain high.” emphasized HECD’s Project Manager, Dr. Wael Zaraket during his speech.
HECD is a five-year program (July 2019-June 2024), funded by USAID. Despite the severe challenges facing Lebanon during the past two years, HECD has supported over 800 higher education administrators and instructors with high quality professional development and institutional capacity building. The assistance helps the universities prepare their graduates to successfully enter local and international labor markets. Moreover, nearly 3,000 students have benefited from HECD’s job readiness programs to date.