10 May Jordan Alumni Impress at Water Research Alumni Forum
Jordanian Alumni of the MEDRC Fellowship program were given a valuable opportunity to present their research findings to a distinguished audience of key water stakeholders during the Alumni Water Research Forum, held in Amman, Jordan on May 10th, 2018.
The Forum is a follow up initiative of the Fellowship program, designed to facilitate support for water research by offering a platform from which current students and alumni can showcase their work, view research outputs of their peers and connect with leading experts in the water sector. MEDRC Research Fellows are committed to the development of water management, desalination or reuse in their respective countries and the Forum is developed in a problem-solving context in close collaboration with local water authorities.
The event was held under the title ‘Integrated, Decentralized, Wastewater Management for Resource Recovery in Rural and Peri-Urban Areas’ and was attended by Dr. Khalil Alabsi of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation/ Jordan Valley Authority.
The entire schedule was put together by a student steering committee comprised of current and former students. The committee was chaired by MEDRC Alumnus, Ms.Tasneem Tawalbeh who was, along with her committee members given responsibility to; propose the forum theme; curate discussion panel topics; nominate expert participants; select moderators and manage event logistics.
The agenda included several expert panel discussions allowing for dynamic conversation and knowledge exchange with an informed audience of stakeholders and experts from a diverse set of backgrounds and experiences. MEDRC Fellows, Eng. Feras Al-Amaireh (Jordan University) Heba Kanaan (Jordan University of Science & Technology) Eng. Weam Mehdawi (Jordan University of Science & Technology) were given the honor of presenting their research findings at the event.
MEDRC’s Fellowship program is delivered in partnership with water authorities in Palestine and Jordan. It offers exceptionally talented students an opportunity to pursue post graduate research at participating universities. To date the program has awarded 191 Fellowships in Palestine and Jordan with 30 more due to be awarded this year, bringing the total to 221.
MEDRC Development Cooperation Program Manager, Brendan Smith said of recent Alumni events in both Jordan and Palestine, “MEDRC’s Fellows took a leading role in bringing together a diverse array of water sector experts to discuss the water challenges of the region. These events showcased the brilliant talent of the youth in the region, and in particular the exceptional professionalism of our MEDRC Water Research Fellows, and their potential to be significant contributors to finding solutions to their national water issues. We are very proud of the work they have put into these events.”
Pictured above; Dr. Maha Halalsheh (University of Jordan), Dr. Marc Breulmann (Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ), Dr. Samer Talouzi (Jordan University of Science & Technology (JUST), Eng. Mufleh Abbadi (Swiss Agency for Development & Cooperation (SDC), Eng. Osama Qattan, (Ministry of Agriculture)