Palestine takes steps towards ERA
The Palestine for European Research Area (PERA) project, which was designed for the EU to help build Palestine’s own research capabilities in the fields of agriculture, energy and water management through FP7 funded projects, has now concluded, bringing Palestine one step closer to the European Research Area (ERA).
The PERA project focused on the Palestine Technical University, Kadoorie (PTUK). The objective was to turn the Palestinian institution into an international centre of excellence, to reinforce its co-operation and research capacities in the water and energy sectors, and to facilitate its participation in relevant European initiatives through an inclusion in the ERA.
The three-year project came to an end on 22 September with a final conference in Tulkram, Palestine. The conference welcomed all water and energy stakeholders involved in PERA, and it was a great opportunity to look back at the project’s achievements.
Dr Samer Najjar, the co-ordinator of the project, said: “PERA has achieved all its objectives and more, in terms of improving the capabilities of the Palestine Technical University to carry out sustainable research in water and renewable energy sectors.
“Within this context, PERA delivered the important outcomes of formulating a business plan, and enhanced capacities in research fund raising, technical knowledge, and stronger potential for more integration in the ERA.”
“PTUK and I are very pleased, that PERA has improved our ability to positively change the socioeconomic impact on the Palestinian community – which was a crucial part of our vision,” he concluded.
The conference saw the participation of all the important Water and Energy related stakeholders, who offered a high level of support and involvement in the project, leading to the project’s success.
Four final sessions were held, instead of the originally two planned, in order to accommodate and present the extra research produced.
Palestine’s inclusion in the ERA is expected to reinforce the country’s scientific development and to strengthen its capacity to meet present and future water and energy challenges. Project partners are already considering follow up initiatives such as training and coaching for Horizon 2020 activities, improvement of regulatory aspects and increased synergies with European partners.
PERA was backed by FP7 funding and gathered four different academic institutions and businesses (Politecnico di Torino, Europe for Business, Palestine Technical University and Fundació CTM Centre Technologic).
