The Faculty of Engineering at the University of Balamand, organized a workshop in cooperation with the Erasmus+ office in Lebanon on Thursday morning, May 12th 2022, at the Sheikh Nahyan building at the University of Balamand (UOB) in Koura. The workshop focused on water treatment in Lebanon and was attended by a number of academics and project stakeholders.

The workshop began with a welcoming address by Vice President for Internationalization and Engagement and the Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Professor Rami Abboud, in which he underlined the university’s unrelenting commitment to placing its expertise and technical capabilities at the service of local communities and sustainable development. In turn, Dr. Aref Al-Soufi, coordinator of the National Erasmus+ Office in Lebanon, stressed the importance of the projects mentioned and the need for advancing cooperation with European counterparts in this field.

The first session of this workshop included a general overview of each project and the extent to which Lebanon and the other Mediterranean countries benefited from it at scientific, technical and research levels. Important projects included a plan to convert sewage water into water suitable for irrigation (Aquacycle), which was presented by Dr. Ahmed El-Moll from the Faculty of Health at the Lebanese University. Additionally, Dr. Clovis Francis, from the Faculty of Engineering at the Lebanese University, shed light on a research project that focused on Plastic waste that contaminates sea water (Claim Project).

Lastly, Dr. Makram El-Bashwati from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Balamand (SWaTH Project Coordinator) introduced methods for the sustainable treatment of wastewater in the healthcare sector (SWaTH). As for the second session, it included detailed scientific and technical presentations for each project, where the emphasis was placed on the objectives, results and recommendations of the projects with Dr. Ahmed El-Moll, director of the scientific project in Lebanon (Aquacycle), Dr. Wael Hamd (UOB) on the Claim project, and Dr. Aline Saad on the project SWaTH.

The workshop concluded with a panel discussion session moderated by Assistant to the Vice President of the University and Director of the Student Affairs Office, Mr. Michael Salem. The session discussed ways of enhancing cooperation between the three projects, the importance of water treatment in Lebanon at the environmental, economic and social levels, and working towards unifying efforts with the European partners. The workshop included a set of questions posed by the attendees, who expressed great interest and desire to solve the problem of sewage pollution in the North.

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