By Rana Al-Khatib l
Against the background of a spring morning Amman skyline, Jordan’s bright young adolescents from the Jubilee School look out upon the skyline as they pilot the unexplored path of a CubeSat satellite — one designed by their own hands. A source of pride to be cherished, and towards a more stargazing nation. In the labs of the schools of Jordan and in the code schools, the minds of young people are sowing a bed for forgetting about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and among those some have starry-eyed dreams a thousand kilometers above the Earth’s atmosphere.
Jordan, education pillar of yesterday’s majesty, now stands ready on the cusp of being the Middle East’s unsuspecting hotbed of tomorrow’s next generation of scientific minds and space exploration. As education leads national transformation, global-class schools, and integration into international society, the Kingdom’s STEM revolution is spurring the next solution-finders—and next generation of space explorers.
Building Curiosity: STEM Education at the Forefront
Jordan begins its education in STEM right from the school level itself. The Ministry of Education partnered with institutions like Edraak, a program by the Queen Rania Foundation, to introduce the study of coding training and e-learning systems in government schools. Topics like “Coding for Jordan” are being taught in schools all over the country today where computer thinking is being introduced among kids right from childhood.
“Science and technology no longer come as a choice — they’re the language of the future,” said National Center for Curriculum Development Director Dr. Ghada Al-Sheikh. “Our students are not keeping pace — they’re at the head of the pack.”
Flagship schools such as King’s Academy and Jubilee Institute have top-notch STEM studies, research programs, and robotics clubs to compete with the West. Their students are given the chance to represent Jordan uniformly in these sorts of science competitions including Intel ISEF and FIRST Robotics World Championship.
The Crown Prince Foundation, in 2018, initiated the Masar Initiative, Jordan’s national space education and research program. Masar, which is Arabic for “path,” will see Jordanian youth eager for space science and taking the lead in being involved in world space activity in the coming years.
They study satellite engineering, astrophysics, and atmospheric science here. Its pride and joy is “JY1-SAT,” the kingdom’s first student-designed CubeSat, in collaboration with NASA, and they did it; launched into space in 2018. It carries His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein’s voice recordings to space and back to Earth here the photos of space, the ultimate testament to what is possible when imagination is combined with young minds.
Dr. Abeer Al Bawab, Director of Scientific Research at the University of Jordan, says JY1-SAT is just the beginning: “We’ve moved from space curiosity to space capability. That’s a tremendous leap for a small nation.”
Girls in STEM: Closing the Gender Gap
Jordan’s STEM revolution is also eliminating gender gaps. Via programs such as TechGirls, She Codes (expanded locally), and Arab Women in Computing, more women are now software engineers, AI practitioners, and aerospace professionals.
One such inspirational example is Leen Abu Asbeh, a 17-year-old female recipient of regional recognition for her AI solution that can identify counterfeit drugs. She gives credit to Crown Prince Foundation’s STEM bootcamps for keeping her on her toes and providing her with power and confidence to achieve things.
Universities Driving a Knowledge Economy
Jordanian universities are also rationalizing curricula in accordance with international scientific priorities. The Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) and the German Jordanian University (GJU) now offer aerospace engineering, renewable energy, data science, and even nanotechnology as subjects.
Along with NASA and the European Space Agency, Jordan students are also educated to conduct zero-gravity science, simulating satellites, and collaborating on space-based research on climate and water security—a concern in a water-scarce country.
University of Jordan Space Research Center has gone as far as to imply that it is possible to create a microgravity laboratory within ten years.
Inspiration Beyond Borders
Jordanian young businesspeople are building satellites—not just applications or bridges in vacuo. The world is trying them out at NASA Space Apps Challenge, national-level hackathons, and collaborative projects with American, European, and Gulf students. Young Jordanians are building a series of new concepts and potential future global partners.
Jordanian team members were crowned the world finalists at the 2021 Space Apps Challenge for their idea to recreate Martian conditions on Jordan’s Wadi Rum as a test ground.
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