“Wollah!” she exclaims, her eyes alight with curiosity, “You don’t hear of computer science students working in biology here in Jordan. Every student here is either a computer scientist or a biologist, but never doing both.” In fact I have found this reaction to be quite common whenever other students have asked me about my personal area of research. Others have been confused when I mention AI and biology. “I don’t understand how those two even go together?” This idea of interdisciplinary research being so foreign to many of my students, takes me by surprise. This sobering realization forces me to confront the luxury and privilege I possess, existing within the bubble that I’ve grown so accustomed to: the MIT campus– a place where innovation thrives at the convergence of diverse disciplines.

Yes, I do recognize that MIT is one of, if not, THE (according to some rankings), top universities in the world, often cited for its innovation in cutting edge research and development. However I was shocked by the apparent “lack” of interdisciplinary innovations in Jordan, a country, which according to many of my students, actually possesses one of the top higher education ecosystems in the entire Middle East. In fact many of my students of Jordanian descent grew up living in other countries of the Middle East, such as Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, etc, yet all chose to return to Jordan specifically for university, since the higher education system is so highly regarded.

Yet, despite possessing one of the best higher education systems of the Middle East and also a large proportion of educated individuals (Jordan boasts one of the highest adult literacy rates at 98%, 98.8% attended secondary education, and 39.4% graduated with first degrees in tertiary education), there remains a stark reality: the country struggles to provide enough opportunities for its educated populace within its own economy. Unfortunately, Jordan is plagued by a high unemployment rate of 25% and unemployment among those aged 20-24 and 25-29 is even higher, reaching 61.5% and 36.5% respectively.

This age group of 20-29 year olds is the exact age bracket that my students participating in our bootcamp belong to. Many of them are either close to finishing their university degrees, or have even already graduated, yet struggle to find employment opportunities. As one of my students explained to me, “There’s a high likelihood that even your Uber driver is an engineer.” Due to this lack of opportunities, a significant portion of skilled individuals find themselves compelled to seek employment abroad, contributing to the brain drain phenomenon. Hence a vicious cycle that fails to drive the development of the local economy as the talent required to innovate and create such opportunities chooses to leave. On top of that, many of my students also cite the shortcomings of their educational training, which not only fails to foster the necessary innovation and entrepreneurship skills, but also lacks in adequately preparing students for the workforce.

Digging deeper, I couldn’t help but wonder why the education system, although so highly regarded, yet failed to provide the relevant training and skills that are in demand for the workforce. There seemed to be a disconnect between the theoretical knowledge taught in the education system and the demands of practical expertise of the job market. At one point, over dinner at a restaurant in Downtown Amman that some of our students had graciously taken us to, over a meal of Lamb Qidra and Chicken Maqlooba, I inquired about their experience with the higher education entrance system of Jordan. “The Tawjihi,” they expressed. “One exam at the end of your last year in high school determines what major you can enroll in university, and therefore what career you can pursue.” In order to study highly regarded majors such as medicine, often a student must score a 99 percent on the exam. In fact, this emphasis on examinations as a metric of “success” in school extends to higher education as well. In most traditional universities, a student’s progress in the course is strictly measured based on their ability to perform well on exams, a system prioritizing rote memorization over practical skills development. In one instance, a student who was a mechanical engineering major, jokingly quipped to me that they had learned some previous programming in their mechanical engineering course, yet they were tested only on their ability to regurgitate code, written on a piece of paper during their examinations.

Thus due to a lack of practical applications in the classroom, in an education system that doesn’t seem to prepare students for the workforce, many graduates find themselves in need of professional upskilling programs, such as programs provided by Injaz and hence the bootcamp that we were teaching, to make themselves employable – a situation that underscores the necessity for educational reform.

Thankfully, reformation efforts do exist. During our last week in Jordan, we were invited to an MIT alumni event hosted by the MIT alumni club in Jordan. Here, we had the privilege of listening to Dr. Lutfi Al-Sharif, the Vice President of Al Hussein Technical University (HTU), who shared his insights on "What Should the University of the Future Look Like?" Al Hussein Technical University, established by the Crown Prince Foundation, was born out of a need to bridge this gap between the numbers of graduates and their rate of employment in technical fields. The university emphasizes a vocational, technical, and applied education designed to prepare students for the demands and development of industry.

According to Dr. Al-Sharif, the university of the future should primarily consist of project-based learning. He proposed a model where students would complete 25% of their credits in project-enhanced courses and dedicate 50% of their credits to apprenticeships. However, he also advocated for the elimination of traditional lecture-style classrooms, including foundational introductory courses—a point of contention among some of us MIT instructors.

Thus, after his talk, ensued a lively debate and discussion on the best practices for education necessary to drive innovation. While Dr. Al-Sharif's approach aims to immerse students in practical experiences from the outset, some of us argued that an initial solid understanding of foundational principles is essential for empowering students to develop further innovation. Personally, I believe in a hybrid approach, combining foundational classes with project-enhanced courses as students progress in their academic journey. However, I acknowledge that my perspective is shaped by my experience at MIT— an environment teeming with some of the brightest minds. I recognize that this approach might not directly translate to Jordan, which faces different challenges and demands within its own unique economy and educational landscape.

Stepping into the shoes of an educator over this month of January, a role that I do not often possess back at MIT, has forced me to deeply reflect on the approaches towards education that best suits the youth of this new, rapidly evolving era that we live in, whether in Jordan or the United States.