FREE Project is an ERASMUS+ project, in the field of Capacity Building in higher education, funded by the EU. The project began on January 2019 and will continue up until 2021.

The main FREE objective is to enhance the role of female academics in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, through increasing the number of women present in academic and management positions as well as in decision-making bodies.

Focusing on:

• Empowering female academics and raising awareness for their situation through specific trainings and workshops
• Promoting and anchoring a culture of gender equality and visibility of female academic role models through establishing Gender Equality Centre, Observatories and Policy Papers
• Strengthening gender-based research through developing a strong national and international network

VLBA is responsible for the Work Package 2 “Knowledge Transfer”. Within this work package, online courses for students, academics, administrative staff and decision-makers in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan were developed, covering the following topics:

• Female Empowerment in Higher Education
• Gender Equality and Equity
• Sustainability in Higher Education
• Soft Skills
• Digital Skills

Additionally, as part of the knowledge transfer, the “FREE - Forum: Female Empowerment in Academia - A conversation with…” is hosted regularly.

• Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Jorge Marx Gómez