Birzeit University participates in closing ceremony of OKP project and internship on climate-smart agriculture in Netherlands
Faculty members at Birzeit University attended the closing ceremony of the Capacity Building in WASH and CSA Education and Research in Palestine project, organized by the Orange Knowledge Programme (OKP) on March 17, 2023, at the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Netherlands.
Nine Palestinian and five Dutch universities participated in the conference to promote collaboration between Dutch and Palestinian researchers and academics interested in water and agricultural issues in Palestine.
Birzeit University was represented by Dr. Rashed Al-Sa’ed, faculty Member at the Institute of Environmental and Water Studies; Dr. Grace Khoury, dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics; Dr. Rania Abu-Hamdah, dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions; Dr. Nidal Mahmoud, faculty member at the Institute of Environmental and Water Studies; and Dr. Ahmed Abu Hanieh, dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research.
The attendees shared their research and addressed recent innovations, trends and practical challenges in the fields of water and agriculture.
From March 13 to 16, Dr. Al-Sa’ed and eight faculty members from Palestinian universities participated in an internship on problem-based learning in climate-smart agriculture at Wageningen University and Research, Netherlands. The participants explored case studies of water harvesting techniques and their relation to agriculture in the Middle East and North Africa. These case studies will be incorporated into the Environmental Impact Assessment, Solid Waste Management and Bioremediation courses offered to graduate students at Birzeit University.
During the internship, Dr. Al-Sa’ed collaborated with peers from the Water Resources Management Group, Soil Physics and Land Management Group and Environmental Technology Engineering Group on developing research proposals to submit to Dutch and international funding agencies.
