Written by: Hassan Mohammed Al-Bayti
In 2017, after completing my second year at university, I was looking for courses in management and English language related to my major, “Media.” I came across many websites that could help with this, including, for example, the Jordanian Edraak website, which is affiliated with the Queen Rania Foundation. I benefited greatly from it, as it offers courses accredited by Jordanian universities, as well as the British Council for teaching English. By the grace of God, I was able to apply everything I had learned in real life, and the Akapress project was one of its outcomes.
It's not the only one, but it's one of the best. If our current era is the age of technology, rapid communications, and digital information, then this requires universities and institutes to advance their education to the level of technology, not just the fixed spatial dimension.
For another example of a university, Al-Azhar University, the world's most prestigious university, has opened the door to online learning for humanities majors in general, and Islamic law in particular. This initiative comes amidst the development of the internet and the shift of financial transactions, including tuition fees, online.
But if you want an education at a reduced cost and with scholarships, the American University of the People has opened its doors to you in three majors: Health Sciences, Business Administration, and Computer Science. It offers bachelor's degrees, associate's degrees (equivalent to a two-year advanced diploma), and recently launched an MBA degree. Its degrees are accredited by the U.S. Department of Education, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), and the California Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE).
If you want to further your knowledge in your field of expertise, you should visit “Al-Darain Forum,” which is officially licensed in Egypt. It offers free courses in your field by professors from across the Arab world. The courses are delivered in Arabic, and if you want them in English, you should visit “Khan Academy.”
However, you may want an accredited certificate in other languages. In that case, you can go to sites like Coursera, EdX, Udacity, or MIT, where they offer accredited certificates from prestigious international universities and institutes for a nominal price or for free.
Giant companies like Microsoft and Google have also opened their doors to computer and internet education as part of their social responsibility toward the digital community.
If I were to go on to mention the prestigious and accredited educational centers around us, this article would not be enough for a single line. However, education is open and seeking more is permitted. It suits both poor and rich countries, providing what is needed at the lowest and cheapest costs. So, if the Arabs say: Seek knowledge even in China, then we will say: Seek knowledge even at home.
