The AMIDEAST organization on Thursday, 23 July 2009, awarded Dr. Islah Jad, the head of the Institute for Women's Studies at BZU and a Professor of Philosophy and Cultural Studies, its Palestinian Faculty Development Project (PFDP) Teaching Excellence Award for 2009.

The award was given to Dr. Jad in addition to a number of faculty members from other Palestinian universities during a gala dinner at the An-Najah National University on the occasion of the holding of a two-day conference on higher education, organized by the AMIDEAST.  The conference addressed teaching practices in Palestinian higher education, and aimed to bring together faculty members from all universities to discuss educational issues.

The first-day sessions focused on issues related to higher education.  In the second session of the first day, Dr. Baihan Qaimari from BZU gave a presentation including an analysis on the discovery of the professional identity of Palestinian instructors using speech analysis skills.