Pioneering German wastewater treatment technologies at Al-Balqa Applied University

AMMAN— A high-ranking German delegation of forty-two stakeholders representing directors of institutions, scientists and researchers at German universities and research centers, members of the German parliament and German journalists visited Al-Balqa Applied University in Jordan.

The delegation was led by Professor Otmar Wiestler, president of the Helmholtz Association. The Helmholtz Association is a key science foundation in Germany, managing eighteen research centers specializing in energy, land, environment, health, aeronautics, space, transport, materials and other technologies.

The visit is a continuation of the efforts by the university and its president Professor Abdallah Al-Zoubi, to enhance scientific and academic cooperation with high-level institutions around the world, in an effort to re-discover the university's potential to create a competitive environment that promotes entrepreneurship towards excellence and creativity.

The visit was dedicated to the Wastewater Treatment Facility established at the university through the Smart Project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research through the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research, and in cooperation with the Jordanian Ministry of Water and Irrigation. The visit reflects the local and regional importance of this unique facility, being the only one of its kind in the Middle East that demonstrates, operates and manages decentralized waste water treatment technology. It offers educational and training programs and is an exclusive platform for researchers and postgraduate students. It is the cornerstone of the recently launched Technical Diploma in Water Treatment at Salt College of Technology at BAU.

The visit also comes as part of a delegation tour related to a high-level environmental award from the Federal Government of Germany.

On behalf of BAU president, Prof. Ghandi Anfoka, Acting President of BAU;Prof. Saed Dababneh, Dean of Scientific Research; and Dr. Omar Al-Dabbas, Dean of Salt Technical College welcomed the delegation. Professor Ghandi Anfoka briefed the delegation about the role of BAU in managing and sustaining this unique facility. On his turn, Professor Saed Dababneh, Dean of Scientific Research at BAU delivered a speech in which he stressed the importance of the facility in supporting scientific research and in providing a platform for researchers and graduate students.  Dean of the Salt Technical College, Dr. Omar Al-Dabbas, stressed on the importance and excellence of the facility in supporting technical education, especially in the newly developed technical diploma program in water treatment engineering. Prof. Wiestler stressed on the importance of the collaboration and expressed his support to pursuing future mutual efforts with Jordanian partners.

The delegation toured the existing technologies in the facility, where Dr. Naser Almanaseer, project and facility manager, briefly demonstrated the efforts put to design, build, operate and maintain multiple technologies, and how they are used in education and training programs. The delegation was briefed on the research and graduation projects carried out by university students. Prof. Wiestler praised the role played by the university in using the station to facilitate students’ projects, which enables them to innovate. Dr. Nasser Almanaseer presented a concept on the future of the facility and BAU vision towards transforming it into a regional platform for innovation and excellence in wastewater management.

The visit was concluded by thanking the delegation for the distinguished German support provided through the Helmholtz Association, which resulted in adopting pioneering projects for scientific research that tackle national and regional issues in important sectors such as the water sector.