In line with its student-centered paradigm, and driven by its firm conviction that the higher education sector has to fulfil an absolutely critical role in creating a knowledge-based economy, the Faculty of Engineering (FOE) of Antonine University (UA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nokia, a worldwide telecommunication pioneer, and Multilane, a global leader in data center interconnects and monitoring tools, on June 30, 2022. The signing took place at the Lady of the Seeds Monastery, and in attendance were Fr. Michel Jalakh, UA Rector, H.E. Mr. Johnny Corm, Lebanon’s Minister of Telecommunications, Eng. Naji Andraos, Director General of Construction and Equipment at the Ministry of Telecommunications, Ms. Agnès De Geoffroy, Cooperation Attaché at the French Embassy in Lebanon and representative of the French Ambassador to Lebanon H.E. Ms. Anne Grillo, Mr. Roger Ghorayeb, Nokia's customer team head for growth west ME, Mr. Fady Daou, MultiLane's CEO and Founder, Dr. Chady Abou Jaoude, UA FOE Dean, Dr. Kabalan Chaccour, Head of the Telecommunications Program of the FOE, and a delegation of executives from Nokia France.

Fr. Jalakh and Dr. Abou Jaoude proudly highlighted that the FOE strives tirelessly to position itself as a beacon of excellence and innovation, by training highly-qualified engineers of the future, entrepreneurs, multi-skilled professionals, and socially engaged students. This is a powerful opportunity to create enthusiasm and motivate the learners to be involved in projects which will infuse hope into the Lebanese community. The Rector affirmed his commitment to bequeath to future generations “a strong, prosperous, united and inclusive society”, and concluded on an optimistic note: “Such moments reinforce one of our few most ingrained certainties: there is always light at the end of the darkest tunnel”. With Nokia and Multilane, “this is no longer a partnership but rather a friendship which I would describe as strategic”, joyously declared Dr. Abou Jaoude.

During the ceremony, H.E. Mr. Corm highlighted the critical role played by the higher education sector in a knowledge-based economy that relies on “highly skilled, well-educated and technically-minded workforce”. As Knowledge exchange is a key factor in supporting innovations, this partnership is a vital initiative that can contribute to create economic recovery and growth, after three years marked by overlapping crises. He added: “Lebanese students are known to be innovative, motivated and hard workers”, and the establishment of this partnership is of national interest. Mr. Daou expressed his delight at the creation of this inter-institutional collaboration, which for him, is “a dream come true”, especially that Multilane’s mission is to create high tech jobs and offer concrete support to combat the talent exodus. He emphasized the importance of investing in human resources to open doors of opportunities and encourage the students to “stay rooted in this land to maintain and rebuild the country”. For his part, Mr. Ghorayeb placed particular emphasis on the Nokia’s active engagement in talent development. He pointed out that “this partnership aims at offering quality training to university students, paid internships as well as scholarships to future engineers”, with the objective of equipping them with the required knowledge and skills to become telecom engineers and cross the bridge from university life to work life by securing a job once graduated.

Therefore, this agreement commits all three parties to act in the best interest of UA students, work collaboratively on empowering learners to become future ready and help them cope with the stress associated with employment uncertainty. As previously mentioned, Nokia-Multilane will provide training opportunities in the areas of Networking and Telecommunications for selected UA engineering students. Furthermore, lectures, workshops and seminars pertaining to their professional careers will be offered to UA learners, in order to help them develop a greater breadth of skills to thrive academically and professionally, as well as to apply theoretical knowledge in ways that meet the needs and address the challenges of a changing social, economic and cultural landscape.