USJ won first prize in the category of outstanding contribution to regional development. (Credit: Times Higher Education Awards – Arab World 2025)
Saint Joseph University (USJ) won first prize at the Times Higher Education Awards – Arab World 2025 for outstanding contribution to regional development. The award honors the work of Operation Seventh Day (O7), which will mark its 20th anniversary next year.
“O7 serves people in the most difficult times and works across the country and in many fields for more than 20 years,” said its coordinator, Joe Hatem.
More than 700 universities worldwide responded to the call for entries. Of those, 80 finalists were selected across several categories, including international strategy of the year, most innovative teacher, outstanding contribution to environmental initiatives and regional development, exceptional student support, and technological or digital innovation.
The awards recognize “the values and efforts that enhance the prestige of universities in the region,” and were given at a ceremony held Nov. 25 in Amman
USJ was also shortlisted for exceptional student support and outstanding contribution to environmental leadership, making it the only Lebanese university nominated in three categories.
Extensive work in the service of society
The application process required detailing O7’s humanitarian and community projects since its launch in 2006 during the 33-day war, including their objectives, beneficiaries and impact.
Central to these efforts are volunteer students organized into 37 cells — operational units within each faculty — focusing on areas such as architecture, the environment, citizenship, human rights, culture and heritage, dialogue and mediation, education and social development, management and entrepreneurship, health and human development.
“Each of these 37 cells is led by a representative and a steering committee that organizes projects year-round and mobilizes students to serve society,” said Dr. Grace Abi Rizk, president of the O7 steering committee. Additional activity cells involving USJ institutions, Hôtel-Dieu de France and the Berytech technology hub were created to respond to communities hit hardest by the crisis.
Judges were particularly struck by the scale of O7’s response during the September–October 2024 war, which caused massive population displacement. O7 returned to its core mission by distributing food, essential supplies and medical care, and by organizing recreational activities for displaced families.
A mission rooted in solidarity
The September–October 2024 war disrupted the start of the academic year and plunged the country into renewed hardship. O7 responded by launching an emergency fundraising drive and mobilizing faculties and student cells nationwide.
Mobile medical clinics were deployed to underserved areas, with medical and pharmacy students providing care and medication to displaced people. Law students and faculty offered free legal aid and human rights education to vulnerable groups, while other faculties provided professional training, dialogue sessions, educational workshops and mediation programs.
“It was this large-scale mobilization and O7’s structured, multidisciplinary approach that allowed students to respond effectively, even in dangerous conditions,” Hatem said. “That is what impressed the juries.”
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