Partners

Founded in 1088, the Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna (UNIBO) is known as the oldest University of the western world. Nowadays. UNIBO still remains one of the most important institutions of higher education across Europe and the second largest university in Italy with 11 Schools, 33 Departments and more than 84.000 students. With regard to the international reputation, UNIBO has been awarded the use of the logo “HR Excellence in Research” and is among the top 5 Italian universities in the main International rankings, e.g., 1st Italian university (182nd position) in the international QS – World University Rankings of the world best universities since 2010. UNIBO is one of the most important institutions of higher education across EU and the second Italian University in access to EU funding. UNIBO has gained a considerable experience in International and European research projects, successfully participated in FP7 with more than 275 funded projects in different
specific programmes (acting as coordinator in 58 of these, total budget 87.5 m€). In Europe, Unibo is member of the major European Networks and stakeholders’ thematic groups, such as: the European Climate Research Alliance (ECRA); the European Technology Platforms (ETP) SuSchem, WSSTP, BioFules; the Joint Programming Initiatives (JPI) Water challenges, FACCE, Oceans; the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Spire; the KIC Climate; the EIP Water Challenges. In addition Unibo is candidate of the consortium for the KIC RawMatters. At national level UNIBO is member of the SPRING National Cluster on Green Chemistry.

The University of Manouba, Higher Institute for Biotechnology, Laboratory of Biotechnology and Bio-Geo Resource Valorization (UMA) is a governmental Institute for education and research located at Sidi Thabet city, Tunisia, which offers academic programs that respond to both multiple aspects of applied biotechnology and multidisciplinary skills needs of the industry. Besides the education role, ISBST/UMA includes many research structures which develop the management and use of bioresources methods. The UMA team activity is mainly devoted to the microbial and molecular resources management in the areas of (i) bioremediation (industrial effluents and pollutants, wastewaters) and biological control; (ii) extremophile communities’ diversity and functionality, and (iii) risk assessment and evaluation of selected molecules and biotech microorganisms. Members of the research team were partners in the European research projects BIODESERT and ULIXES
(FP7), beside several bilateral projects with European and non-European countries.

The School of Environmental Engineering of the Technical University of Crete (TUC) accepted its first undergraduates in October 1997 and its first graduate students in February 1998; and very quickly became a major centre of environmental engineering research in Greece. Presently, the School has 25 faculty members. Currently it has about 450 undergraduates and about 90 graduate students pursuing MSc and PhD degrees. Despite the fact that the School is rather new, it has managed to acquire through National and University grants for fostering research and scholarship at the graduate level, all necessary laboratory equipment for undergraduate teaching and graduate research. TUC brings in extensive experience in design and analysis of environmental processes, bioremediation of oil spills, ex-situ bioremediation, wastewater treatment and in mathematical modeling.

The University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) was established in 1987 under the name “University of Science, Technology and Medicine of Tunis” and has had its current name according to the Decree No. 2000-2826 of November 27th, 2000. The University of Tunis El Manar is an administrative public institution comprising 4 faculties, 2 schools, 7 institutes, 2 research institutes and 5 doctoral schools. The Faculty of Sciences of Tunis was created according to the Decree N° 98 of March 31st, 1960. The laboratory of Microorganisms and active Biomolecules (LMBA) was established in 2003 at the Faculty of Sciences of Tunis. The lab was restructured by Decree No. 2009-644 of March 2nd, 2009. The lab team is joining competences of researchers working on microbial ecology and water treatment. The laboratory workforce is composed of 28 permanent staff, 8 Post Doc, 55 PhD and Master Students, 5 technicians and 2 administrative managers. The laboratory published more than
230 papers in JCR indexed journals and participated to 24 international projects (including 2 FP7 projects, ULIXES and BIODESERT) and 17 national projects (2003-2015).

Stichting Dienst Landbouwkundig Onderzoek (DLO Foundation) consists of a number of specialised institutes for applied research in the domain of living environment. DLO collaborates with one other legal entity – Wageningen University – under the external brand name Wageningen UR (University & Research centre). To realise this aim,
the DLO Foundation operates through its research institutes, among which Alterra is involved in this proposal. DLO has a trong track record of multidisciplinary projects and is involved in hundreds of FP6 and FP7 projects and many other large national and international research projects. One of the strengths of Wageningen UR (including DLO) is that its structure facilitates and encourages close cooperation between the approximately 3000 experts from the University and various research institutes, which cover a wide range of expertise including food technology, plant, animal and economic sciences. Alterra belongs to the Environmental Science Group. Alterra employs 450 staff, combining expertise on green economy & biodiversity, soil, water & food security, spatial planning and ecology, and water resources and Climate Change. Alterra engages in strategic and applied research to support policy-making and management at the local, national and international level

The School of Life Sciences (HLS) of the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) is located in the centre of the tri-national Basel area (CH – FR – DE). The four institutes of the HLS are Pharma Technology, Medical and Analytical Technologies, Chemistry and Bioanalytics and Ecopreneurship (IEC). Approximately 200 scientists at HLS work currently on about 240 projects. The R&D activities of HLS encompass a wide range of projects ranging from the development of new products and devices as well as the optimisation of production processes in terms of material and energy saving up to life cycle and risk assessment of some of these products.

The core activities of the IEC at the FHNW include Environmental Technologies, Environmental Biotechnology and Sustainable Resources Management. It possesses lab facilities such as pilot-scale lab, trace analysis lab and radioisotope lab, which are all equipped with cutting-edge devices. IEC holds close contacts to relevant water authorities, water equipment providers, end-users in the region such as municipal water and wastewater utilities which allows for on-site pilot-testing. The institute covers the whole life cycle of technologies from proof of concept and assessment over implementation to monitoring and evaluation. Water frameworks and conclusive indicator systems play a crucial role in our daily work of assessments and evaluations in water management and technologies. The institute has extensive experience in leading and collaborating in large research projects and feasibility studies in developing countries in the water sector and adopted technologies.

The Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine (IAV) is a multidisciplinary polytechnic centre for biological and earth sciences and technologies based on an integrated system for high education, training and scientific research to serve agricultural and rural development. It’s composed of several schools (Agronomy, Veterinary school, Agro-food industry, Horticulture, Topography, Rural engineering). The institute is offering engineering, veterinary medicine, master and PhD graduation diploma. More than 700 African students are graduated from IAV Hassan II. It does accounts 320 scientists and faculty members and 180 Technical staff – in 22 departments hosting different laboratories.

IAV scientists are involved in multidisciplinary international networks and collaborative research programs. In addition a large number of research-development projects are implemented in partnerships with European, African, and Mediterranean countries. Participation to the FPs (European programs) is a long tradition for the IAV. Currently, the number of projects involving IAV scientists is 51 from FP1 to FP6. Recently the IAV takes part in more than 13 projects in FP7 with 9 projects in FAB thematic (2011 EC statistics). Among those projects, IAV had a strong participation to MELIA project and actually is starting the Mediterranean INCONET Medspring. The IAV is also involved in national initiatives aiming to structure agricultural research and contribute to the Moroccan and regional development of agriculture. IAV Hassan II has profound expertise in water resources management under severe drought stress and intensive groundwater mining enabling the assessment of the multiple stressors on the economic, social, and environmental impacts of various water resources allocation alternatives at the overall river basin level. IAV is actively involved on integrated water resource management, particularly on the reuse of nonconventional water, and in the economic management model at the river basin scale.

Università degli Studi di Milano, Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS). The University of Milan is a public teaching and research university, which – with 8 faculties and 2 schools and a teaching staff of 2000 professors – is distinguished by its wide variety of disciplinary fields. It is a leading institute in Italy and Europe for scientific productivity and is the largest university in the region, with approximately 64,000 students. The research team which will participate to the project is part of the Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS). Its mission is to promote education and training and to step up research in order to guarantee a safe, innovative, top quality food supply using sustainable technologies along the entire chain. DeFENS aims to preserve and improve the environment, systems, products and to provide a holistic approach with the ultimate aim of safeguarding and enhancing human health and quality of life.

FAO is an agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information, and helps developing countries and countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring good nutrition and food security for all.

The Regional Office for Near East and North Africa, whose headquarters are located in Cairo, helps Member States work toward sustainable increases in agriculture production, minimize depletion and degradation of already scarce natural resources, boost rural development and reduce food loss and waste; the final objective being to achieve sustainable food security for all and to help vulnerable communities cope with and recover from shocks and crises. The Regional Initiative on Water Scarcity has been formulated to support the countries of the MENA Region to cope with one of their most striking challenges: the pursuit of food and water securities, for a sustainable social and economic development, under an unprecedented severe escalation of water scarcity. The objectives of the initiative are: enhancing policies, investments, governance and best practices to sustainably increase water and land productivity; providing tools for strategic planning of optimal and sustainable allocation of scarce water resources; implementing a regional collaborative strategy for a water-reform agenda.

UPM is the largest Spanish technological university as well as a renowned European institution. With two recognitions as Campus of International Excellence, it is outstanding in its research activity together with its training of highly-qualified professionals, competitive at an international level. More than 2,400 researchers carry out their activity at UPM, grouped in 216 Research Groups, 10 Research Centers and 55 Laboratories, all of them committed to transforming the knowledge generated into advances applied to the production sector. The dynamism of R&D&I activity at UPM, together with the transfer of knowledge to society, is among its lines of strategy. These two commitments place it among the Spanish universities with the greatest research activity and first in the capture of external resources in a competitive regime. UPM participated in more than 280 FP7 projects, annually applies for around 40 patents and receives a similar number of concessions demonstrating a high commitment to innovation.

The School of Agronomy (Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos, ETSIA), as part of the UPM, is a well-known institution for research in the fields of biotechnology, plant and animal sciences, rural engineering, agro-industry, and agricultural economics. The Department of Agricultural Economics and Social Sciences, within the ETSIA, is being engaged in a number of national and international projects in agricultural policy, agri-food markets, rural development, agri-environmental policies and natural resources, and has an extended experience in these fields. The Department has 30 fulltime professors and lecturers, several full-time research scientists, and it is responsible for all academic courses related to social sciences at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

The Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari (IAMB), established in 1962, is the Italian affiliate of the CIHEAM (Centre International d’Hautes Etudes AgronomiquesMediterraneennes), an inter-governmental institution founded under the auspices of the OECD and of the Council of Europe. The main activities of the Institute are advanced education, training, research, consulting and international cooperation in the domain of irrigated agriculture, integrated pest management, organic farming and sustainable agriculture development. A relevant part of the research work focuses on the application of new technologies (GIS, Remote Sensing and Modeling) in land and water management. Over the last decades, the CIHEAM-IAMB has participated in the realization of several EU-funded projects dealing with land and water management and developed tools and implemented activities tackling Irrigation Management Transfer and Participatory Irrigation Management funded by the World Bank, the FAO, the IFAD and the EU. It conducted research activities in the fields of water resources management, water saving and land conservation mainly in the Mediterranean Region and promoted and coordinated a number of cooperative research networks. In the period 2002-2006, these networks were incorporated into two EU-funded Mediterranean-wide Thematic Networks, coordinated by CIHEAM-IAMB, on land degradation and soil conservation management in Mediterranean context (MEDCOASTLAND – http://medcoastland.iamb.it) and Water Saving in Mediterranean Agriculture (WASAMED – http://wasamed.iamb.it), involving more than 80 Mediterranean partners (research institutions, development agencies, ministries and final users). Moreover, CIHEAM-IAMB was and is involved, as coordinator or partner,
in several other networks and EU projects. Acronyms of the most relevant and pertinent ones are listed hereafter: ACLIMAS; EcoWater; CLIMAWARE; MEDPRO; DIMAS; ICZM-Port Said; NOSTRUM-DSS; AQUASTRESS; WatNitMED; SCENES; PUER.

The CNR-Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA) (linked CIHEAM-IAMB third part), plays a key role in the management and protection of water resources and in developing methodologies and technologies for water purification and treatment of wastewater. CNR-IRSA mainly operates through the development of Innovative Research on processes and methodologies related to environmental investigations; Pre-normative Research and Activities to provide institutional users with basic tools for interventions at technical and legislative level; Educational and training activities at different levels (scholarships, PhDs, post-graduate courses) for the growth of culture on water problems.

The National Water Research Center (NWRC) is the national institution devoted to water resources applied research in Egypt. NWRC was founded in 1975, as the research body within the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation (MWRI). NWRC consists of twelve specialized research institutes comprising the various water engineering disciplines. Besides, NWRC’s attached facilities include: a Strategic Research Unit, a Central Laboratory for Environmental Quality Monitoring, a Geographic Information System, Information/ Documentation Center, and a highly specialized Central Library. Via its twelve research institutes, NWRC’s mandate encompasses: i) Conducting applied research vital to the management, development and protection of Egypt’s water resources; ii) Providing scientific knowledge needed to policy makers and pertinent public & private
sectors; iii) Implementing investigations and research related to water-dependent socio-economic development; iv) Monitoring and evaluation of the status of water quantity and quality; and v) Proposing measures and design for environmentally-sound and economic development of the water structures, irrigation systems and channels. Among these twelve research institutes, are the Drainage Research Institute (DRI) and Central Laboratory for Environmental Quality Monitoring (CLEQM). DRI is mandating with carrying out integrated research for land drainage, drainage water re-use, surface water quality monitoring, and pollution control. On the other hand, CLEQM is the responsible institution for performing all chemical analysis for water, soil, and plant. Currently CLEQM has been approved by UNESCO to be Category II center for its excellence performance. The research in NWRC is not performed from one institute in isolation from the others. NWRC believes in the effectiveness of
interdisciplinary research approach, therefore more than one institute is cooperating together in performing high priority research following the various water challenges facing Egypt.

IRSTE focuses its research on water and environmental quality, risks, regional planning and sustainable development through environmental technologies. Its scientists are specialists in hydrology, geography, biology, chemistry, physics, computer sciences, economics, sociology, environmental sciences. The activities include experimentation, theoretical modeling and technical innovation. They contribute to appraisal and assessment consultancy projects to support public decision-making or carry out collaborative research with industrial companies. IRSTE is divided into nine regional centers to make sure its multidisciplinary teams are in direct contact with the areas in which their research is based.

The PNO Group, established in 1984, is Europe’s largest independent Grants and Innovation Management advisory, providing support services to private and public organizations in innovation processes, technology transfer and funding for research, development & innovation. PNO is made up of a pool of around 250 professionals across 6 Member States including scientists, engineers, consultants, a Brussels policy advisory service, as well as financial and legal experts. The growth of the company can be attributed to a unique combination of services, based on profound insight in research, innovation and funding strategies, up-to-date knowledge and 30 years of expertise with more than 500 funding programmes in most EU countries. The company has the proven capability to link innovation suppliers and adopters from a unique Europe- wide client network in multiple sectors, using advanced methodologies and proprietary on-line networking.
PNO’s core business is to support industries, Public Administration and research organisations in the definition, implementation and realisation of their innovation strategies. PNO supports over 2,000 clients throughout Europe, annually developing over 120 European consortia projects and fostering their successful implementation in many technology domains through project management, technology intelligence, innovation services, exploitation and dissemination services, and the setting up of international technology transfer networks and knowledge sharing communities. For dissemination and communication activities, PNO has its own community building, management and dissemination tools, the core one being Innovation Place© (www.innovationplace.eu). PNO manages several open innovation Web portals (www.innovationplace.eu, www.smartransport.eu) serving over 8.000 high-tech companies and organizations in Europe.

CIAOTECH S.r.l., a branch of PNO Group, will take part in the MADFORWATER project as a linked third party of PNO Innovatieadvies. CIAOTECH is specialized in Innovation Management, providing support services to private and public organisations in Product and Process Innovation, Technology Transfer, IT solutions and support for research and development projects.

S.K. Euromarket Ltd (SKE) is an established water and wastewater engineering company with over two decades of experience in the design and construction of complete plants and equipment that cover a wide range of applications in the residential, municipal, industrial and agricultural sector. SKE is a reputable, highly competent, and professional engineering company with international operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and has a track record of over 300 successful water and wastewater projects to date.

Dedication to the continuous acquisition of innovative technology breakthroughs in the world of water and wastewater engineering has been a key commitment and a competitive advantage of SKE since the beginning of the company. The design-build core of SKE’s operations represents the combination of our highly experienced engineering team and our state of the art in-house manufacturing capabilities. SKE offers prefabricated wastewater treatment plants that cover a range of capacities and applications. Our prefabricated plants offer high tech quality, expedient and cost-effective solutions for the needs of our diverse clients in the residential, the municipal and industrial sectors. In addition to the design and construction of complete water and wastewater treatment plants, SKE also offers a number of other products and services. These include the preparation of design plans and specifications, cost estimates, feasibility studies, retrofits and upgrades of existing plants or equipment, and the design and construction of customized equipment according to client plants and specifications. SKE has been involved in several international research projects aimed at the development of innovative WW treatment processes

Rolla is leader of the French irrigation sprinkler market. It is exporting in Europe (Belgium, Netherlands, United kingdom, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania), Africa (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Senegal), Middle East (Egypt, Iraq) and Oceania (New Zealand, Australia), especially on fruit farming, garden farming, extensive cultivation and horticulture. Rolla also manufactures a full range of pop up sprinklers for green spaces, golf course, and stadium. Rolla is leader in Europe on frost irrigation and fruit farming.

Since 1994, Rolla is providing fire sprinkler equipment. We became the first and only French fire sprinkler and alarm valves manufacturer. The fire sprinkler division is ISO 9001: 2000 quality certified and has launched FACTORY MUTUAL (FM, USA) and The LOSS PREVENTION COUNCIL (LPC, UK) approved products.

Founded in 1902, Nanjing University (NJU) is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions of higher learning in China. Nanjing University is in the first group of a limited number of high-level research universities for prioritized support by the Central Government of China under the ‘985 Project.’ According to different rankings and in terms of various indexes of academic strength and comprehensive academic performance, Nanjing University is always one of the leading universities in China.

The School of the Environment of Nanjing University has “State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse”(Coconstructed with Tongji University). The school has also undertaken numbers of national, provincial, ministerial, and local research projects. Tens of science and research achievements have passed the provincial or ministerial appraisals. Many of these achievements have won varieties of awards and prizes.

MADFORWATER Consortium