Improving MEDiterranean irrigation and Water supply for smallholder farmers by providing Efficient, low-cost and nature-based Technologies and practices MED-WET.
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Hochschule Wismar
University of Applied Sciences Wismar is a state university with over 100 years of tradition. HSW has 3 faculties – Engineering, Business and Architecture & Design. The enrolled students in 2018/19 amounted to 7.979 students, approximately the half of it in distant or blended learning forms. HSW has 428 staff members. The special strength of the education at the HSW is the scientific-based and application-orientated approach. As a university of applied sciences, HSW works closely with the business sector in developing and delivery practice-orientated study offers. The collaboration with business and industrial partners is also an integrative part of our applied-research approach towards providing practical solutions for pressing societal challenges. Research is part of the mission statement of our university and focuses on application-related joint projects in the triangle education-research-innovation. Within the faculty of engineering, the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering offers currently a bachelor’s degree in process, energy, environment and biological engineering and a master’s degree in process and energy engineering is offered. The research focus of the Department for Process Engineering of Biogenic Raw Materials is:
- Technology development for the extraction of high purity plant substances and bio fine chemicals for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries
- Research on materials, technologies, and processes
- Development of innovative refining and isolation processes, consider the preservation of specific usable properties of biogenic raw materials
- Holistic use of renewable resources HSW is operating as leading coordinator of the project management of MED-WET. The expertise of the HSW is characterised by a broad background within the fields of applied research as demonstrated within a track record of leading projects. The HSW also supports a network of existing relationships with most partners of the project. HSW is serving as a knowledge transfer partner for process engineering, entrepreneurship and educational training scenarios.
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Contact:
Contact person: Regina Krause;
Scientific lead: Prof. Tassilo-Maria Schimmelpfenning; tassilo-maria.schimmelpfennig@hs-wismar.de
SLECI - scientific: Jan Siering;
HSW MED-WET: https://www.hs-wismar.de/en/vernetzung/institutionen-hochschulunternehmen/rsi/international/present-projects/med-wet/
Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development
Currently, the Civil Engineering Department of HUSD includes a distinguished and most promising program “Water Engineering Program”. It is a discipline which concerns the up-to-date applied water sciences and technologies. HU includes the Research and Innovation Research Observatory (HIRO) to be the core center within the university, concerned with all issues related to applied research and innovation. HIRO receives contributions from the entire HU’s academic staff, researchers, and professionals in order to enrich the sustainable knowledge-base of HU. It acts as a hub for innovative, demand-driven and applied research in fields directly relevant to sustainable development. Water Engineering Program of HUSD as a partner of the MED-WET project will lead the project pilot of the wetlands technology and contribute especially to the training components, publishing scientific papers and field visits, through its collaboration with farmer associations and inclusion of student internships and graduate research studies to ensure the project reaches the target groups as well as the beneficiary farmers. The motives for HUSD to carry out this research project component is the acute water scarcity Egypt is facing combined with the escalating water needs that drive the researchers and scientists to find new non-conventional water resources. Therefore, this research project aims to provide cutting-edge technologies of low-cost and affordable solutions to increase water resources by natural treatment of communal or farming wastewater into reclaimed irrigation water through a constructed wetland system.
Within WP2 (Wetlands Treatment) the goal of HUSD is the implementation of a pilot site for water-producing technology (constructed wetlands) and creation of farmers networks and stakeholder engagement through its relation with the Egyptian Biodynamic Association (EBDA). That goal can be achieved through the execution of the following research activities:
1. Undertake a limited survey among the rural inhabitants for example to identify the available and suitable local plants in Egypt.
2. Design and implement the productive constructed wetland including plotting the pilot sites (placement of units, pilot fields/control fields), digging works for wetlands and irrigation
3. Conduct operation, testing and analysis/evaluation of various system configurations. During the pilot implementation, the test group users (smallholder farmers) will be regularly invited to ‘open days’ to provide valuable feedback on the system to prepare a successful eventual rollout to users.
4. Develop a technical guidelines and O&M manuals
5. Conduct capacity building, awareness and communication on the merits of good practices that achieve sustainable development.
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Contact:
Malta College for Arts, Science & Technology
The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST) is a vocational education and training institution in Malta. Established in 2001, MCAST offers 180 full-time and over 300 part-time vocational courses ranging from certificates to Doctoral degrees. MCAST has six institutes focusing on applied sciences, creative arts, engineering and transport, business management and commerce, community services, and information and communication technology. MCAST’s relationship with industry stimulates the College’s success – its programmes are flexible, relevant and responsive to the aspirations of the students and to the needs of industries which are constantly evolving to meet the challenges of a changing global economy.
In the context of the MED-WET project, MCAST will be responsible for dissemination and capacity building. Being an educational institution, MCAST has extensive experience and wide competences in developing capacity building and executing dissemination activities. Additionally, MCAST is also very well connected with industrial stakeholders in the agricultural and water sectors, and liaises with the Maltese Directorate of Agriculture on matters related to research and educational programs. MCAST has several protocols and systems in place, including quality assurance, which make it the ideal partner to coordinate dissemination and capacity building.
EcoGozo Directorate, Ministry for Gozo
The protection and conservation of Gozo’s natural, rural, and historic environment is crucial to ensure that these play a significant role in presenting Gozo as a community which is welcoming and sustainable, attracting domestic and international visitors as well as investors to the Island.
The main objectives of the Eco-Gozo Directorate are:
- Protect and enhance Gozo’s biodiversity, natural, traditional, and historic heritage
- Heighten Gozitan communities’ awareness and appreciation of our natural, traditional, and historical heritage
- Sustainably manage and protect Gozo’s water resources
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Sultan Moulay Slimane University
In Morocco, the Sultane Moulay Slimane University (USMS) and the National Institute for Agronomic Research (CRRA Tadla-Beni Mellal) will establish and equip experimental pilot trials with innovative SLECI irrigation technologies. The specific objectives to be exploited from the experimental pilot tests are:
- evaluate the hydraulic performance of the SLECI according to the characteristics of the soil, the quality of the water and the crops irrigated by SLECI and by alternative irrigation; assess crop yield and biomass quantity. And analyze ecophysiology and biochemistry to assess the development and quality of crops irrigated by SLECI and alternative irrigation;
- study the agronomic efficiency of irrigation by SLECI and alternative irrigation;
- analyze economic efficiency, cost-benefits, and macro-environmental and sectoral policies;
- conduct sensitization programs for graduates and specialists, and strengthen the participation and awareness of smallholder farmers on the benefits of irrigation by SLECI technology.
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University of Beira Interior
University of Beira Interior (UBI) is one of the most recent public universities in Portugal. Several learning and research facilities, structured into 5 Faculties, 14 research units, have been carefully implemented. The fields of knowledge present in the Faculties encompass Engineering, Exact Sciences, Social Sciences, Humanities, Arts and Health Sciences.
UBI has been growing in terms of number of students; having presently around 8000, nationals and foreigners. UBI offers 30 graduation courses, 59 masters, and 30 doctoral courses in the 5 faculties. UBI currently has more than 1000 academic staff (full and part time) and 330 non-academic staff in its 5 faculties and 14 departments. Nowadays, UBI is a national and international reference institution, in the spheres of education, research, innovation and entrepreneurship. Relying increasingly on quality, UBI has invested in creating well-equipped laboratories; in the expansion of its facilities - either dedicated to teaching and research activities, such as those required to offer their students the best working conditions and social support – in the progressive involvement in national and international research projects; and also in a highly qualified teaching staff.
UBI is leader of WP4 Impact evaluations of the irrigation and water solutions that will make three types of analysis: (i) sustainability assessment; (ii) impact and efficiency analysis; and (iii) sensitivity analysis in order to evaluate and demonstrate the viability of technologies, experiments and projects, under analysis.
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INRA Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Maroc (MA)
The National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRA Morocco) is a partner of the Med Wet project through the Regional Agronomic Research Center of Tadla-Beni Mellal. This center represents the center of excellence in irrigation at INRA level. BOUAZZAMA Bassou PhD, Researcher and Engineer in Rural Engineering, has been in charge of the development and implementation of research programs on irrigation since 2002. Research projects at the center are carried out in collaboration with nationals partners represented by training institutions for agricultural engineers (IAV Hassan II, the National School of Agriculture in Meknes) and Universities (UM6P in Bengrir and the University of Beni Mellal, etc.) and international partners, especially ICARDA, FAO, MIT, IRSTEA… The contribution with the partners of the PRIMA MED WET project is an important step since it will allow us to open up more to new international partners who work on common current issues such as irrigation, improving water management and mitigating the effects of climate change. As part of this project, INRA contributed to WP2 relating to technology development and adaptation. The activities carried out in full contribution with the USMS Beni Mellal concern the choice of sites, the installation and the follow-up of the tests of comparisons between the irrigation by SLECI and other technique of surface and subsurface drip irrigation.
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Municipality of Fundão (PT)
Transmit the experience, also have a pilot site to test and demonstrate technologies. Fundão is located in Castelo Branco District, Centro region (NUT II), Cova da Beira sub-region (NUT III), occupies an area of approximately 700km2 and has a population of 26509 inhabitants (INE, 2021). Over the past years, the Municipality of Fundão has been developing a consistent integrated urban development strategy, where innovation takes the central stage. Thus, within the scope of the MED-WET project, the Municipality of Fundão will share its experience and welcome a pilot test in the Seminário Experimental Farm to test and validate the SLECI technology.
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