The Palestine Techno Park is running virtual and augmented reality lab programs across various universities in Palestine. The program kicked off with an introductory discussion about this technology on Monday, January 21, 2018 at Al-Quds University "Abu Dis campus". The aim of the first meeting is to make connections and reach out to the community of Al-Quds University, including researchers, academics and students from various fields. The meeting also introduced the Palestine Techno Park and its activities in the field of virtual and augmented reality technology.
The President of Al-Quds University, Prof. Imad Abu Kishk, welcomed Mr. Alaa Aladdin, a member of the board of directors of the Palestine Techno Park, and Dr. Ramzi Hassan, an endeared guest, to talk more about this joint cooperation and the work to be done in the fields of research and technology.
The meeting discussed ways of cooperation as far as exchanging experiences between the university and the Park, including collaborating research experiences of the two entities through the business incubator inaugurated by the university in the city of Jerusalem, and the university's research centers. The two entities agreed to implement new projects together through the incubator and its experts. The Palestine Techno Park expressed its interest in launching innovation laboratories in the field of virtual and augmented reality becoming the hub and primary destination for researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators whether students or academic professionals, and emphasized its contribution by also providing adequate infrastructure, equipment and expertise to foster creativity within this field.
Dr. Ramzi Hassan spoke about virtual and augmented reality technologies expressing them as, "innovative applied solutions for the Palestinian market." Mr. Hassan is an expert in this field, and has worked as a lecturer at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences for some time. He spoke extensively about the use of this technology in tourism, education and scientific research. Therefore, during the program, we have utilized his experience and expertise in virtual and augmented reality technologies and passed down knowledge to fellow participants. We are hoping for the continuation of these workshops that would develop Palestinian competencies in this field.
Additionally, Mr. Ala Alaeddin stated that the Palestine Techno Park chose Al-Quds University to work together with it in these fields because it is considered a pioneering university in the fields of technology, tourism and archeology, as it also hosts a business incubator in the city of Jerusalem, in addition to its interest and preservation of the Palestinian Arab heritage in the city through its centers and branches. Mr. Alaa Al-Din explained that the Palestine Techno Park seeks to integrate modern technologies into the Palestinian communities, such as the technology of virtual and augmented reality, to build Palestinian capabilities and experiences in this field with an intersectionality in various other fields such as tourism, and education.
