15-10-2013. Source: ENPI-info

The production of a business plan, enhanced capacities in research fund raising, technical knowledge, and stronger potential for more integration in the European Research Area: these are some of the outcomes celebrated during the final conference of the PERA (Palestine for European Research Area) project, which has taken place in Tulkram, Palestine. The meeting examined the positive impacts that the EU supported project has had on the capacities of the Palestine Technical University research centre, working towards answering some of Palestine’s most important societal challenges related to water and energy scarcity issues in Palestine.

The conference saw the participation of all the important water and energy related stakeholders, who offered a high level of support and involvement in the project. Four final sessions were held, instead of the originally two planned, in order to accommodate and present the extra research produced. PERA has involved the collaboration of four different academic institutions and businesses (Politecnico di Torino, Europe for Business, Palestine Technical University and Fundació CTM Centre Technologic), and has supported the participation of Palestine in FP7. The project was able to weave together structurally important support schemes in a politically and geographically complex context such as Palestine.

These achievements and milestones have also been presented in a video, which illustrates PERA’s legacy of laying the foundations of future EU-Palestinian Energy and Water Science and Technology collaboration. Dr. Samer Najjar, the Coordinator of the project, said: “PERA has achieved all its objectives and more, in terms of improving the capabilities of the Palestine Technical University to carry out sustainable research in Water & Renewable Energy sectors.”

PERA – Palestine for European Research Area – is funded under FP7, the Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes, created by the European Union in order to support and encourage research in the European Research Area (ERA).