Quantum Materials & Energy Technologies

Summer School

The AGYA Summer School on ‛Quantum Materials for Energy Technologies’ combines effective networking opportunities for Arab and German students with expert presentations on sustainable energy technologies. In conjunction with the summer school, AGYA representatives held high-level strategy talks on future cooperation possibilities between the academy and Jordanian partners.

Interdisciplinary platform for research on energy technologies

What are the potentials of 2D materials for electronics? How can material sciences help to find solutions for climate change? In close cooperation with the Arab Open University (AOU) in Jordan, the summer school provided a unique interdisciplinary platform for Arab and German students to exchange with international experts on future energy technologies. After an international call for participation, 20 Arab and German young scientists from Egypt, Germany, Jordan, Morocco, and Palestine had been selected to present their work to international academia. New connections were forged that resulted in several new collaborations for the young scientists.

I have been able to create a significant Arab-German network that involves AGYA members and other eminent academics from the field of new materials.

Hnawi Salma Kaotar, PhD-student from Morocco

The events were festively opened by His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Talal Al-Saud, chairman of the board of trustees of the Arab Open University (AOU). He strongly advised to consolidate and expand the newly developed scientific collaborations and to establish new Arab-Arab-German partnerships in the field of sustainable technology and higher education development. AGYA Principal Investigator Prof. Dr. Verena Lepper and AGYA Co-President Dr. Mahmoud Abdel-Hafiez seized the opportunity and exchanged ideas for future research cooperation with the Secretary General of the Jordanian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research Dr. Mamoun M. Al-Debi'e and Dr. Mohammed Rasool Qtaishat, Director General of the Arab Open University in Jordan.

Jordan as a hub for continuous Arab-German knowledge exchange

Sustainable energy technologies are of high importance to Jordan and the whole region. The Arab Innovation Forum on Sustainability Development Goals (AIFSDG), organized by the Arab Open University in Jordan, underlines the priority of this topic. The forum was organized in conjunction with the AGYA Summer School and served as a think tank to develop science-based policy recommendations with regard to the water-energy-food nexus.

To strengthen Arab-German research collaboration, Jordan is an excellent choice. Jordan’s higher education system has expanded considerably in recent years and has witnessed a steady increase of young talents.

Jordan also hosts a synchrotron, which is the only large-scale research facility of this kind in the region. The Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME) provides an inclusive space for interdisciplinary and international research cooperation. AGYA members and participants of the Summer School enjoyed the opportunity to visit the synchrotron and to connect with local researchers.

The AGYA Summer School offered the opportunity to initiate new research collaborations and to exchange with high-ranking political decision-makers.

Dr. Mahmoud Abdel-Hafiez, AGYA Co-President

About the Arab Open University (AOU) in Jordan

The Arab Open University in Jordan has been established in 2002. As one of the very first universities, the AOU has introduced blended learning as a form of learning combining the advantages of face-to-face events and e-learning in Jordan and across the Arab region.

For more information: https://www.aou.edu.jo/Pages/default.aspx