First Regional Diploma to Train Engineers in Green Technologies

 Green Technologies

Due to the amplifying pollution problem, many regions around the world are realizing the importance of utilizing green technologies in everyday life. Building on this premise, AUC’s School of Sciences and Engineering (SSE) has collaborated with a consortium of partners to launch the region’s first professional diploma in green technologies. Set to launch in the 2015 – 2016 academic year, the program will enable engineers to embed green concepts into water and energy conservation practices, as well as in the construction of environmentally friendly buildings.

“The program aims to convert the regular engineer into one who is able to integrate green concepts in everyday work,” said Ehab Abdelrahman, associate dean of graduate studies and research at SSE and director of the Yousef Jameel Science and Technology Research Center. “In light of the impending energy and water crises, the application of green concepts will no longer be a luxury. It will be absolutely crucial not only in Egypt, but in the entire Arab region and the world. Very soon, the region will have demand for zero-energy buildings that are able to conserve energy and heat during the day for use later at night.”

With a two-year duration period, instruction for the pro-green dual professional graduate diploma and professional degree in green technologies will be provided through blended and e-learning methods. All engineers enrolled in the diploma will be required to take core courses alongside specialization classes. The program targets university professors, students and working professionals in fields related to engineering, architecture, science and technology who want to develop further skills in the growing sector of green energy. The introduction of this program aims to address a multitude of issues, including the frail link between university degrees and societal needs, the small number of academic degrees that address green technologies and the lack of proper training for professors who teach courses that are related to green technologies.

According to the 2009 annual report of the United Nations Environmental Programme, awareness through education is needed to develop environmental jobs that contribute to a growing green economy. Investors are also looking to green technologies and their rapidly growing global market, where global clean technology investment has increased by 50 percent from 2006 to 2007 (92.6 billion to 148.4 billion).

“The current economic and energy crises position us at a crossroads,” said Abdelrahman. “One path leads backward toward the kind of carbon-intensive, high-waste, low-road economic development strategies that we have been pursuing for decades. The other leads into a new green future, where acting sustainably requires not only choosing lower-carbon, more environmentally friendly energy, fuel  and zero-energy buildings, but also choosing to pursue sustainable green economic growth strategies that create high-quality, family-supporting jobs and long-term prosperity. The crisis offers an opportunity and incentive to improve efficiency in the use of energy and materials, to move toward more sustainable manufacturing and to develop new green businesses and industries.”

Funded through a TEMPUS grant, the program brings together 10 partners from Lebanon, Egypt and Europe who will be collaborating over a period of three years to launch the diploma. Partners from Lebanon include the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University. Egyptian partners hail from AUC, Helwan University and Suez Canal University. European partners include: University of Alicante, Spain; Lund University, Sweden; Politecnico di Torino, Italy; Mediterranean Universities Union, Italy; and University College Dublin, Ireland.

“Clearly, the region’s entrance to a green economy will be based on qualified and well-trained human resources who are able to deal with the challenges of the new technologies’ economy,” said Abdelrahman. “Therefore, effective systems of education and training programs away from speculative engineering are vital and directly linked to the creation of new jobs in the market.”