His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday underscored the need to develop university education and boost investments in scientific research to provide an optimal learning environment for students.

King Abdullah stressed the important role universities play in equipping students with skills and knowledge and encouraging creative critical thinking among them, emphasising the need to support students' innovative ideas.

The King made the remarks during a visit to the Hashemite University, where he met with the university president and council of deans.

At the meeting, King Abdullah underlined the necessity of providing a premium and high quality education for university students, which he said will help them better compete in the labour market and contribute to the national development process.

In his Letter of Designation to Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit earlier this month, King Abdullah urged the new government to revise comprehensively the higher education sector and to correct the situation of universities so as to restore the institutions of higher education as “lighthouses of knowledge”.

In the letter, the King stressed the importance of universities' contribution to national identity and sharpening the skills of young people and enhancing openness, pluralism and critical and creative thinking.

At the meeting, King Abdullah voiced his support for the university, where 20,000 students receive undergraduate and postgraduate education, of whom 60 per cent are females.

Ruwaida Maaytah, the university president, briefed the King on the university's plans and agend, stressing that it seeks to inspire students towards excellence and innovation.

Maaytah said the university is challenged by faculty brain drain, noting that 275 faculty members have left the university for better paying jobs. She suggested that one way to help address this problem is to facilitate housing for academics.

Minister of Higher Education Wajih Oweis announced that a meeting would be held soon bringing together heads of the country's universities to discuss issues in the higher education sector, particularly universities' independence.

During the visit to the university, King Abdullah inaugurated the Ibn Sina Medical Complex, created over 42,000 square metres at a total cost of JD13 million inside the campus. The facility was built in cooperation between the university and the World Bank.

The complex is home to the faculties of medicine, nursing and allied health services and IT-related facilities. Construction of the complex started in 2006, when King Abdullah laid the corner stone.

Hashem Abu Tarieh, deputy dean of the allied health services faculty, said the complex also includes a community centre for the rehabilitation of disabilities to serve the residents of Zarqa and nearby areas. Field surveys in Zarqa will identify disabilities for rehabilitation, said Abu Tarieh.

The centre also offers genetic counselling, nutritional counselling, physical therapy and educational therapy services and is fully equipped with the latest equipment, Abu Tarieh said, adding that the centre has a cadre of about 20 specialised staff.

He added that a specialised team will reach out to families with disabled children in remote areas, adding that the staff will also train volunteers from each community on rehabilitation skills.

The complex is also home to the National Centre for the Security and Assurance of Information and Communication Systems, which seeks to provide training and conduct research on e-crimes and measures to combat them. The cyber crimes unit will be a source of accurate and objective information and will support security agencies investigating electronic crimes.

The centre is the first of its kind in Jordan, said Jamal Karaki, dean of Prince Hussein Faculty for Technology.

Karaki added that the complex includes a branch affiliated to the International Society for Modelling and Simulation, adding that the centre at the Hashemite University is one of 10 branches in the world.

The university was founded in 1991 and started teaching in 1995. It has about 20,000 students distributed among 51 bachelor degree fields and 33 fields of postgraduate studies. More than 750 students, of 24 Arab and other foreign nationalities, are enrolled.

The university ranked 25 out of 500 Arabic universities according to Web Metrics classification.