On May 13, 1995, Father Louis Rohban laid the first brick of Antonine University (UA). He had in this heart the firm intention of contributing to the development of the Lebanese society and becoming a key player in constructing the knowledge of our youth.
Now, twenty-three years later, the University has become a treasured member of the Lebanese university community, with its 3,700 students all over the country, through our branches in Hadat-Baabda, Zahle and Mejdlaya,

To celebrate this memorable day, UA's Rector Father Michel Jalakh invited major figures of the education and political worlds to Our Lady of Seeds chapel, on the evening of May 14, as well as friends of UA, members of the Antonine community, and colleagues from UA’s academic and administrative bodies.

Father Rector took this meeting as an opportunity to share his analysis on the current academic landscape, along with his vision of the future that answered one question at the heart of all reflections: “Between quality requirements and market challenges, how is higher education doing in Lebanon?” The concern is real for both academics and parents. In other words, they need to know what future is there to offer to new generations?

After the war, the 1990s were a focal period that laid the foundations of the university scene in Lebanon as we know it today. This era saw the emergence of the adjustment of education and the proliferation of for-profit educational institutions, thereby complicating any attempt to reform the national higher-education system. While the pursuit of profit is not a cause for condemnation, it calls for the introduction of new standards, so that profitability considerations do not surpass everything else, as Father Jalakh pointed out in his address.

The task is not easy: society has contradictory expectations; the political situation is perplexing; and the economy unpredictable. Furthermore, the local and international labor markets are in constant evolution. Although Lebanese universities are not labor market planning agencies, they will never give up on their students. They continue to fight, year after year, despite the absence of serious indicators, in order to develop specializations that are in harmony with the market, while trying to compensate for the lack of State funding. It is the reason why Lebanese higher education has always embodied, in the Arab world, the spirit of resilience, excellence, and creativity.

However, in order to sustain the attractiveness of the Lebanese academic pole, it is crucial that the state reflects on the situation and acts accordingly. Sadly, emigration seems to be the only option for a decent life from our youth’s point of view. This is why the time has come to tackle the urgent problems we are facing, such as young people’s difficulty in accessing higher education, the lack of transparency of the labor market, and the inevitable patronage that comes from it, as well as the high unemployment rate.
The weaknesses of our higher education sector should also be addressed, such as the poor distribution of students among different streams, the small contribution of higher education to population mobility and social progress, and the uncontrolled competition between institutions, to name but a few.

Moreover, the lack of local quality assurance in higher education is also problematic. In response, universities rely on foreign accreditation agencies to save and strengthen their reputation, thus reassuring their students about the quality of their services and programs. However, accreditation is both an opportunity and a trap, to quote Father Michel Jalakh. In its desire to standardize the quality of education, this system eventually tends to stereotype it and damages its local authenticity. The logical question that comes to mind is, “what is then left of diversity and pluralism in higher education?” Hence the need for a national commission for quality assurance which would be "a local, efficient, and honest interlocutor whose neutrality would positively and impartially contribute to criticism and development"(1).

On a different note, research is also an extremely serious issue. Should we either choose to follow the global movement and innovate, or else, we will disappear! As they say in the Anglo-Saxon system, it is either “Publish or perish”. Innovation does matter because it is an opportunity to actively “participate in designing the future by contributing to the production of knowledge and the development of technologies"(1).

The Arab world is far behind despite some remarkable initiatives led by a few rich countries in the region. In Lebanon, the lack of financial resources is the main barrier to becoming truly active in scientific research. A good option would be to tie higher education closer to the industry and form the following equation: Money against research. In this equation, each part would bring to the other what it needs to advance closer to excellence.

The aforementioned analysis leads to one question: “How is Antonine University managing in the current state of higher education?"
Despite these rough times, UA remains focused on its mission and builds on its strengths. It is concentrating on research linked to the Lebanese civilization and traditions through several of its faculties and centers, including the Center for Research on Musical Traditions which works on the musical in the Middle-East, the Euro-Mediterranean Research Center for Art and Communication which addresses communication problems in the Mediterranean region, and the Faculty of Engineering which is actively contributing to e-health, cybersecurity, etc.
Finally, while keeping an eye on the latest international developments, UA remains in tune with the Lebanese community while striving to meet the needs of its own.


(1) To read the speech of the Rector: click here.