Fourth Tempus National Information Day “ FROM EFFECTIVENESS TO USEFULNESS” March 1 st 2009 Sustainability of Tempus Projects: The case of curriculum development in transportation By Dr. Riad AL Mohamad (Aleppo university) Dr. Elias Doubbaneh (Al-Baath university)

IMG (Individual Mobility Grant) TU Dresden in Germany and Aleppo university (7 weeks in 2003) 1 Objectives: - Rehabilitation in the field of road panning and road design. - Improving the technical level in planning of free levels for road crossing. - Improving the technical level in analysis of driver's behavior and driver assistance systems. - Improving teaching performance.

- Using special software for road planning and road design. - Studying feasibility studies of road building. - Improving and continuing academic relationship between the Department of Road Planning and Design at the TU-Dresden University and Department of Traffic and Transport at the University of Aleppo.

JEP Curriculum Development for Road Design 2 Duration of the project: 3 Years extended 6 months Started 1/9/ Finished in 29/2/2008 partners University of Technology Dresden, Germany University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria Aleppo University, Syria Al-Baath University, Syria Public Establishment for Road Communication (PERC), Ministry of Transport (MoT), Syria International Expert from Germany, Bulgaria, Syria

Structure of Project Current curriculum analysis Analyzing of the net roads in Syria, EU universities Analyzing of the method of design Road in Syria, EU universities The guidelines used in Syria Development of a new curriculum for the students in the 3th years Of the faculty of Civil Engineering Realization of the new curriculum Discuss the suggested structure and syllabus of the new curriculum. Discuss what are the best approaches to develop the new curriculum. Installation of VESTRA software for Road Design Training VESTRA software at TU Dresden

The equipment in the laboratory 10 Computers, 2 Labtop, 1 Camera Digital AKG Software VESTRA Version 6H Hamburg, License 07 1 Photocopy machine, 1 Plotter, 1 Laser colour printer, 1 Gps For each Syrian University

TEMPUS project (CD-JEP ) Road Safety Supported with ICT 3 Specific Objectives of the project: - bring a new postgraduate curriculum in road safety at SY partner universities based on EU experience, guidelines and sustainable development principles. Acronym of the project: SafeIT Duration of the project: 2 Years

- support this curriculum with new teaching method so called Problem Based Learning (PBL) which stimulate students’ creative thinking. - with ICT skills for both staff and students for education and communication.

Consortium partners

` SY Partner Institutions

Public Establishment for Road Communication (PERC), Ministry of Transport (MoT), Syria University of Aleppo, SyriaAl-Baath University, Syria Department of Science and Technology LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY, Sweden Gdansk University of Technology, Poland Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering Highway Engineering Department MADI University, Russia. (International Expert) Al-Balqa Applied University, Jordan. (International Expert). University of Damascus, Syria (International Expert) partners

Structure of Project Month 1Month 6Month 12Month 18Month 24 Current curriculum analysis A comprehensive survey of the existing curricula, ICT in SY & EU & Individual partner institutions Development of a new curriculum integrating ICT and new teaching methods Realisation and testing of the new curriculum

workshop at Al-Baath University 5-7 November 2007 workshop at Aleppo University 7- 8 May 2008 The aims of the kick off workshop: - To display the project plan and goals by/of the project leader, and the coordinators of each consortium member. - To present and discuss in detail the actual project plan for the first half year. - To clearly specify the role of each consortium partner. The aims of the workshop are: - To review the results of analyzing the existing curriculum at SY and EU universities, this has been carried out between the first and second meetings. - To discuss the suggested structure and syllabus of the new curriculum. - To discuss what are the best approaches to develop the new curriculum.

workshop at Linköping University, October, 07-13, 2008 The aims of the workshop were: -To review and discuss the results of developing the new curriculum at SY universities that has been carried out between the second and third meetings. -To get know how and when the new course will be approved by the 2 SY partner universities. -To get know when exactly the new course will start. -To decide about the mobility number and selection criteria for students in the next year from SY and EU in both directions. -To get training on the SafeIT Forum, which was established as a Web-based platform for teaching and learning for the new course. - To record web-based streaming lectures in road safety that will be as a supporting teaching materials for the new course. - To get re-training on PBL scenarios that are adapted to SY traffic data.

For each university: (1) Laptop (1) Digital Camera (3) PC (1) Laser COLOR Printer (6) Course Books and Literature Equipments

TEMPUS project (ETF-JP ) Advanced Curriculum on Intelligent Transport System (ITS) by Means of ICT (TransITS) 4 Duration of the project: 3 Years Acronym of the project: TransITS :

The target students: The new master’s programme in ITS in Syria will be targeting newly graduated students at Syrian universities as well as professionals in transport authorities and companies. The consortium of the project: - 4 European universities LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY, Sweden Gdansk University of Technology, Poland Klagenfurt University, Austria Technological Institute (TEI) of Piraeus, Greece - 5 Syrian universities University of Aleppo Al-Baath University University of Damascus Tishreen University Mamoun Private University

- Ministry of Transport Public Establishment for Road Communication (PERC) - 2 municipalities The Municipality of Aleppo The Municipality of Homs -The Syrian Engineering Association, Aleppo, Syria -3 individual experts Scott Wilson Ltd, U.K. ITS-Arab, U.K. Damascus University In addition the Ministry of Higher Education and Student Association in Syria will support and strengthen the project

The project specific objectives 1. Curriculum development It aims at elaborating new courses and updating the available ones at Aleppo University towards the new full master’s programme in ITS. Additionally, the project will modernise and restructure the existing courses in ITS at other SY universities. 2. A centralised web-based application and admission system. 3. Different information and communication technologies (ICT) will be incorporated in the new curriculum. The course materials (lectures, demonstrations and scenarios) will be made available over the master programme website.

4. New teaching methods, for example problem-based learning (PBL), will be provided and applied in the new curriculum. This method is based on understanding rather than memorisation. The PBL scenarios will developed on the basis of real transport and traffic data and problems in Syria that can be taken from the non-academic partners in the project e.g. MoT and municipalities. 5. The project will also explore the possibility of having joint Master’s Degree in ITS between the SY participants' universities In addition, the possibility for students from SY universities who Completed courses in ITS to continue their postgraduate at EU based on performance and availability.

6. The project will establish an advanced ITS Lab in Aleppo University equipped with advanced hardwares, softwares and ICT tools. 7. To organise a concluding project scientific conference in ITS in Syria (year 2011) at national and regional levels. 8. Training and re-training of teachers’/administrative staff skills from each SY Partner University regarding the new curriculum, ICT and teaching methods. Openning workshop at Al-Baath University February 2009

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