On Wednesday, May 28, 2025, An-Najah National University organized the final workshop for the Design Futures Exchange project. This was a joint virtual exchange project with Arizona State University (ASU) in the United States, involving students from the Architecture Department and the Master's Program in Sustainable Engineering at An-Najah National University, as well as students from the Architecture and Design Department at Arizona State University.

The workshop took place in the An-Najah Innovation Park hall, with the participation of numerous students involved in the exchange program and faculty members from various disciplines. It included advanced training and interactive sessions focused on innovation in education and architectural design, in addition to virtual reality applications in architecture specifically and engineering design in general.

The workshop featured intensive practical training on using Virtual Reality (VR) technologies, including interactive headsets, and a review of their diverse applications in science, engineering, and education, with a special focus on their use in presenting and analyzing architectural projects. The training was supervised by the staff of the Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence Center.

The workshop, attended by students in the final phase of the project, was supervised by the university's exchange project team: Dr. Moatasem Babaa, Project Director; Professor Dr. Allam Mousa, Director of An-Najah Innovation Park and Director of the Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence Center; Dr. Sameh Mona, Project Coordinator and Head of the Civil and Architectural Engineering Department; and Engineer Waleed Abu Zaina, Virtual Reality Center Trainer.

In his opening speech, Dr. Babaa welcomed the attendees, emphasizing the project's importance in developing students' skills and enhancing their ability to interact with multiple cultures and engage with global communities through joint architectural projects that brought together students from An-Najah University's Architecture Department and Sustainability Master's Program with their counterparts at Arizona State University.

He also expressed his sincere gratitude to the An-Najah National University administration for its continuous support and significant interest in international projects. He conveyed his deep appreciation to the colleagues at Arizona State University—faculty, administration, and students—for their fruitful cooperation and commitment to the project's success.

In turn, Professor Dr. Mousa welcomed the participants, highlighting the vital role An-Najah Innovation Park plays in introducing modern technologies into the university environment, especially virtual reality, which allowed students to collaborate with their peers at Arizona State University within a unique model of virtual exchange in architectural design. He emphasized the importance of using virtual reality applications in all fields and the future prospects they open.

Dr. Mona reviewed the key programs and activities implemented within the project, pointing to the evolution of cultural exchange and architectural cooperation. He highlighted the joint final project, which involved designing a kindergarten in the Ain Beit El Ma' camp in Nablus, with active participation from students of both universities.

The workshop concluded with the distribution of participation certificates by the project director to the students, in a celebratory atmosphere filled with hospitality and appreciation for everyone's efforts.