YHELD – Yemeniti Higher Education Leading to Development of relint offices
Project Focus
YHELD is an Erasmus+ project (2023–2025) aimed at internationalizing Yemeni universities. By establishing International Relations Offices and strategic frameworks, the project connects 8 Yemeni and 4 European institutions to foster innovation and quality education in crisis settings.
Projekt Website: https://www.yheld.net/
Partnership
- Link Campus University (Italija)
- Fakulteta za uporabne družbene študije v Novi Gorici (Slovenija)
- Unione delle Università del Mediterraneo (Italija)
- Accreditation Council for Entrepreneurial and Engaged Universities (Nemčija)
- Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (Nemčija)
- University of Abyan (Jemen)
- Al-Adel University (Jemen)
- Universeity of Aden (Jemen)
- Hadhramout University (Jemen)
- University of Lahej (Jemen)
- Seiyun University (Jemen)
- University of Shabwa (Jemen)
- Taiz University (Jemen)
Project description
The project responds to an urgent and concrete request formulated by Yemeni Universities to support them in overcoming some of the difficulties and the isolation problems created by the recent and current history of the PC. The higher education is one of the sectors that sustained serious destruction and is not considered as priority due to the humaniatarian emergency. In addition, the security issue as well as the lack of qualified employment opportunities have discouraged students to participate in the academic life.
The specific objective of the project is to enhance Yemeni HEIs capacities and abilities to work at international level, through the establishment of IROs – International Relation Offices and the definition of internationalization strategies in the partner Yemeni universities. IROs will be academic window on international scenario, a strategic “tool” to involve local educational community in international innovative initiatives, giving visibility, supporting, and monitoring the Universities’ initiatives also assuring good quality standards.
Project main aim
The goal of the Yemeni Higher Education Leading to Development of relint offices project (YHELD) is to contribute to reduce the internationalization isolation of Yemeni HEIs, promoting their role in the educational, cultural and economic actions for the reconstruction of the country.
Results / Activities
In order to achieve our objectives, we will use a multidisciplinary methodology that will allows us to approach the challenge from different perspectives:
- Develop new innovative and multidisciplinary abilities to improve HEIs abilities and capabilities;
- Design a coordinate internationalization strategy for each participating HEI to make effective resources, activities and capacities;
- Create national and international network.
The project will last 24 months and it has been designed to balance the collaboration of all partners and the clear responsibility in the management of every single task. The consortium is composed by 8 Yemeni Universities, with a current small operational capacity, 4 EU HEIs, representatives of three European countries, and 1 EU Association of Universities.
Project news
On 24 June 2025, the partners of the YHELD (Yemen Higher Education Leadership for Development) project held their monthly virtual coordination meeting. This EU-funded initiative brings together universities from Yemen and Europe with the aim of strengthening leadership capacities, internationalisation, and the resilience of Yemeni higher education institutions.
The meeting featured a high-level exchange with Ms. Carla Giulietti, the project advisor from the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Ms. Giulietti acknowledged the improved coordination within the project and confirmed EACEA’s willingness to support a six-month extension to facilitate the implementation of on-site training, while reiterating that no additional funding will be provided.
Participants discussed the possibility of conducting on-site training in Jordan or Egypt to overcome travel restrictions in Yemen. UNIMED proposed a two-week in-person training course focused on implementing internationalisation strategies and improving communication skills. The establishment of a national IRO (International Relations Office) network and a platform for academic cooperation between Yemen and the EU was also proposed to foster long-term institutional ownership and cross-border collaboration.
Yemeni partner universities, including the University of Aden and the University of Abyan, expressed satisfaction with YHELD’s role in establishing and strengthening international offices. They highlighted local challenges, including low faculty salaries and limited travel opportunities, which continue to hinder participation in international training programmes.
LCU, the project coordinator, addressed these challenges with a proposal to reallocate the budget across work packages to finance training and travel. Partners agreed that a cost assessment should be prepared to support the request for a necessary budget modification.
The meeting also reviewed progress on upcoming deliverables. ACEEU is finalising enhanced research tools to support deliverables 2.1 and 2.2, which will collect input from at least five representatives from each Yemeni university. The findings are expected to guide future project activities in a more efficient and targeted manner.
Dissemination and communication efforts were also discussed. SASS emphasised the need for greater contributions from all partners and called for more proactive sharing of event reports, media links, and participant data to enhance the visibility and reach of YHELD.
The meeting concluded with a joint commitment to finalise key project activities before the summer break. The next YHELD partners’ meeting will be held in July 2025, with the exact date to be confirmed via a Doodle poll.
🚀 YHELD Project – Advanced Report D1.5 Published!
📅 Period: 1 December 2023 – 1 December 2024
📍 Coordinator: Link Campus University (LCU)
🎯 Objective: Strengthening International Relations Offices (IROs) at Yemeni Higher Education Institutions
🔍 Key Highlights:
✅ Introduction of management tools, a risk management plan, and a quality assurance system
✅ In-depth training needs analysis conducted by ACEEU
✅ Development and customisation of e-learning tailored to individual Yemeni universities
✅ Ongoing training sessions – with a focus on leadership, management, and e-learning methodologies
✅ Institutional-level SWOT analysis to support internationalisation strategy development
⚠️ Challenges:
Some training activities (T3.3, T3.4, T3.5) are yet to be implemented.
Others (T3.1, T3.2, T3.7) are ongoing in a hybrid (online and in-person) format.
The kick-off meeting was conducted remotely.
📬 More Information:
🌐 Website: https://research.unilink.it/yheld
📧 Contact: a.damiani@unilink.it
🔗 Follow us: Link Campus University on LinkedIn
#YHELD #ErasmusPlus #HigherEducation #CBHE #Yemen #InternationalCooperation #IRO #EUProjects #LCU #ErasmusCBHE
YHELD project arises from the collaboration of various universities aiming to strengthen their capacities and foster international cooperation. Supported by the Erasmus+ program, several partners have previously collaborated on European projects and are already active in EU networks, recognizing the importance of global cooperation.
The consortium brings together diverse expertise, including European universities with extensive experience in internationalization, mobility, and cooperation projects.
The project also involves several Yemeni universities, all committed to innovating practices, enhancing staff capabilities, and contributing to Yemen’s educational development. The project aims to redesign strategies and foster international partnerships through knowledge exchange.
The consortium was designed to balance collaboration and clearly define responsibilities among partners, ensuring resilience and commitment despite challenges posed by local instability in Yemen. Through joint efforts, the project aims to contribute to capacity building, reconstruction, and dialogue in the region.
More of the results, of this project you can read at: https://www.yheld.net/projects
Last week, January 18, 2024, we attended the kick-off of the project entitled: YHELD – Yemeni Higher Education Leading to Development of relint offices. The kick-off took place online.
The SASS project team and project partners discussed organizational aspects of the project (schedule, financing…), contents of individual work packages, challenges posed by the situation in Yemen for the successful implementation of the project’s objectives.
Together with our partners, we will strengthen the capacities and abilities of Yemeni higher education institutions to work at the international level by establishing IROs – International Relations Offices. IROs will be an academic window to the international world, a strategic “tool” for the inclusion of the local educational community in international innovative initiatives, which will ensure visibility, support and monitor university initiatives, and ensure good quality standards.