Key role for OUC in water management project

The Open University of Cyprus is training Jordanian and Palestinian postgraduate students in water resources management.

The training is taking place as part of the Open University of Cyprus’ (OUC) partnership in the research project “Innovations in Water Education: Enhancing Water Security and Socio-economic Development in the Eastern Mediterranean under Climate Change” (WaSec).

One of the primary goals of the project is to review and upgrade undergraduate and postgraduate programmes of study of the participating universities operating in Jordan, Palestine, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands, and Cyprus, on water/natural resources management and climate change adaptation with an emphasis on Mediterranean conditions.

The OUC research team, led by Professor Ioannis Vogiatzakis and  Professor Thanasis Hadzilacos, is offering knowledge and know-how in the use of distance learning methods and tools. The material created as part of the project will be used in various educational activities and is expected to be freely available when the project ends.

The educational material developed was pilot tested during an event last month, during which Dr Vassilis Litskas, research associate, ran an online workshop on the topic of quantifying greenhouse gas emissions from food production and soil carbon storage. Postgraduate students from the Palestine Technical University Kadoorie (PTUK), the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), the Al Quds University (AQU), and the University of Jordan (UJ), participated in the course.

The WaSec project, funded by the Erasmus+ Programme, is expected to be completed by mid-August 2022, and has already been recognised in Palestine as a good practice example for Erasmus+ projects.