German-MENA university network

LOCATION:

Algeria, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt

TARGET GROUP:

  • Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as research/teaching staff
  • National decision-makers
  • Public authorities and organisations
  • Waste management experts and other key stakeholders

CHALLENGES:

Insufficient study programmes for waste management and circular economy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

SOLUTION:

An online study programme on integrated solid waste management and circular economy was developed to qualify future personnel of the public and private sector with regard to improved and integrated waste management solutions for a sustainable circular economy.

DESCRIPTION:

Improper waste management has become one of the major environmental challenges in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). To address this problem, each country requires a new integrated solid waste management system, sufficient financing and a skilled workforce to manage the rapidly growing waste amounts sustainably. This project established a collaborative network between German universities and universities in the MENA region, with the long-term goal of generating qualified personnel for the political, regulatory, municipal and private sector.

The network developed an online educational programme on state-of-the-art technologies in waste management and circular economy for under-graduate and graduate students. The online programme was scaled to other universities, educational institutions and decision-makers in the region, e. g. in Tunisia, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia. 15 online lectures on best practices of waste management and circular economy, which can be used for education and know-how transfer worldwide, will be published and accessible on Hamburg Open Online University by the end of 2022.

 

Milestones:

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Mid 2021

Collaborative German-MENA University Network established with 3 German universities and 4 partner universities in Morocco, Algeria, Egypt and Jordan

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End 2021

Online educational programme of state-of-the-art technologies in waste management and circular economy for (under-)graduate students developed and started

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Mid 2022

Online programme applied and scaled to other universities and educational institutions in the region

Resources: German-MENA University Network

Achievments

Pitch video on the German-MENA University Network

In this 7-minute video, Isla Hodgkinson from Dresden University of Technology (TU Dresden) pitches the concept of the German-MENA university network as well as next steps to scale up this project.


Achievments

Video: Education is the Foundation of the Circular Economy  

The project was presented at the Circular Solutions Festival. Watch the recording of the session to learn more about the lessons from the German-MENA University Network.


Achievments

Self-study online course: Wastiepedia

For the circular economy to work, technical solutions for waste management as well as financing and governing systems are needed. Therefore, Wastipedia combines lectures on technical solutions with aspects of management and decision-making. The free course is divided into 15 lessons from which you can choose independently. The course was developed by the German-MENA University Network as part of the PREVENT pilot project. 


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