WDI's Jordan Project Progressing Well
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Dr. Munir Rusan and Dr. Mohammad Bataineh of the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) recently completed a visit to WDI and one of its partner institutions, Cornell University.
WDI has a three-year agreement with Higher Education for Development to implement the Jordanian Education for Water and Environmental Leadership – or JEWEL project. It was designed by WDI with the objective of empowering leadership and decision-making. It also will create resources and knowledge networks to improve decision-making in integrated natural resources management in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
The first leg of the visit at Cornell focused on technical meetings on capacity building. It produced palpable progress in envisioning a fully functional Center of Excellence for Sustainable Natural Resource Management.
Great progress also was made in two main components at the meetings at WDI and the University of Michigan.
Drew Horning, managing director of the Erb Institute at U-M, presented the Jordan team with ideas on operating the center. Professors Steve Yaffee and David Allan from U-M’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, lauded JUST’s design of the Masters of Science program and offered sharing their syllabi. The technical meetings with key personnel allowed JUST professors to take home many innovative ideas to be shared in Jordan.
Makiko Omitsu, project administrator at WDI’s Development Consulting Services, said: “More than ever, the partners are aligned towards a common goal and we are already beginning to see the tangible results.”
