A signature ceremony was held on Friday June 4, 2021 at the main offices of EBML, the Water Authority for Beirut and Mount Lebanon, in which AUT President Ghada Hinain and EBML General Director Jean Gebran sealed an agreement of collaboration between AUT’s Water Resources department and EBML.
Included in the memorandum of understanding are: internships for AUT Water Resources students, exchange of expertise, and joint projects.
President Hinain stressed the importance of water and pointed at the lack of experts in this domain, adding that AUT’s program is producing graduates that can palliate this lack in Lebanon. She also pointed at water as a cause of conflict in the area.
Gebran thanked AUT for this collaboration, and spoke about the many issues he is facing in the water sector. He pledged to open the way for internships to AUT students, stressing the fact that EBML is in need of young people who can bring fresh, educated ideas and solutions to existing problems. He also welcomed the idea of using AUT’s water labs as regional labs for water quality.
AUT started its Water Resources program in 2011. It collaborates with the UNESCO Institute for Water Education in Delft, Holland. It has helped many municipalities get their water sources tested for quality. Graduates in this program now work as consultants in local and international organizations and NGO’s, and in the quality department of bottling companies and in water dams in Lebanon.
