Student Exchange

Roaa Arafat Yousef Dridi

Faculty of Arts and Educational Sciences

Nature of participation:

Field training at Al-Balqa' University - at the main campus in Salt.

Scientific and practical experience:

Over the course of the training, we gained practical and theoretical experience in several fields, starting with the nature of media, its principles and foundations, journalistic editing, photography, and even television production in an engaging and out-of-the-box way. Most importantly, we explored the use of artificial intelligence in media, whether in print, audio, or visual journalism. We were introduced to the university's prestigious facilities, which house the College of Media, including the television and radio studios, their associated control rooms, tools, and equipment, such as microphones and cameras. On the practical knowledge front, we produced reports on social topics using modern techniques, including those for creating radio voices and verifying the authenticity and history of images. These were all new techniques to us, and we will employ them in our university studies and later in our journalistic work. During the training period, we visited a scientific and cultural edifice that is exemplary in the Arab world: The Amman Media City. This city broadcasts more than 120 channels, most of which are non-Jordanian, constituting a media powerhouse for the capital, Amman, and a fierce competitor to cities with high expertise and capabilities, such as Beirut, Cairo, and Dubai. During the training, we learned about the signal reception and transmission rooms, the radio rooms and their annexes, including the control, lighting, and sound rooms. We also learned about the Roya studios that we often see on television, such as the Roya Kitchen and Dunya Ya Dunya. We visited the Arabia Weather website in the capital, where we were introduced to the nature of the weather's work, its goals, and future aspirations. This began with the idea of an ambitious young man named Mohammed Al-Shaker, who was then sixteen years old and the founder of a weather website. He is now the owner of this successful website and a Jordanian entrepreneur.

Other activities:

On a cultural and recreational trip, we visited the historic city of Jerash, where we saw the beauty of its Roman colonnaded streets, baths, and arches. We passed by the southern gate (Hadrian's Arch) and the southern theater, where the Jerash Festival is held. For me, Jerash is a historical paradise in our sister country, Jordan. From Jerash to Ajloun, we specifically visit the Great Palace of Rabad, also known as "Ajloun Palace" or "Salah al-Din Palace." This palace sits amidst the Bani Awf Mountains. It was built as a focal point to protect the region and preserve transportation and pilgrimage routes between the Levant. The castle houses a museum that displays artifacts such as dining and drinking utensils, inlaid and heavy accessories, as well as combat, defense, and attack equipment from that time. The castle sits atop a plateau with four towers, offering panoramic views of the mountains and trees in Ajloun. We took the cable car from the ancient Ajloun Castle to the Ishtfina area, a stunning 5-kilometer journey. The training experience was one of the best in my life, and one I would repeat if I could go back in time. During it, I had wonderful relationships, including my fellow trainees from Palestine Technical University, other national and international universities, and even the university's teaching staff and students.