You are here

Jordanian, US, Iraqi students team up to design sustainable food strategies

‘Global Solutions’ programme graduates first cohort of students from 12 colleges

By JT - Mar 08,2020 - Last updated at Mar 08,2020

Thirteen binational teams from 12 universities across the US, Jordan and Iraq collaborated through digital platforms to create sustainable business solutions to address food waste as part of the Global Solutions Sustainability Challenge (Photo courtesy of IREX)

AMMAN — As part of the Global Solutions Sustainability Challenge, college students from across Jordan, the United States and Iraq worked together for 10 weeks to design and prototype solutions to sustainability challenges affecting the global food industry. 

The Global Solutions Sustainability Challenge is a programme implemented by IREX and supported by the Stevens Initiative, according to an IREX statement made available to The Jordan Times. 

Thirteen binational teams, composed of 232 students from 12 academic institutions across the US, Jordan and Iraq collaborated through digital platforms to create sustainable business solutions to address food waste. 

The top finalist teams, voted for by an international panel of experts, will be provided with funds supported by Atheer Telecom Iraq Limited (Zain Iraq) to continue working on their business concepts and prototypes and eventually market their solutions.

The three finalist teams were announced earlier this month during a Virtual Global Business Expo, the statement said. 

The first place in the challenge went to a team of students from Balqa Applied University in Jordan and Montgomery College in the US, who designed a “juicer” to preserve surplus fruits and vegetables. 

Students from Jordan’s Khawarizmi University Technical College and Kirkwood Community College in the US, who created a mobile app to help schools, students and other institutions limit food waste, came in second. 

Third place went to a team of students from Kirkwood Community College in the US and university students in Iraq, who designed a machine to turn food waste into reusable methane gas, according to the statement.

Each cohort of participants is called upon to tackle sustainable challenges in a different sector. The second cohort of Global Solutions participants, which will include around 500 students, will tackle a challenge within the technology industry, the statement said, adding that the cohort undertaking food industry challenges was the first of four planned under the programme. 

“This programme made me more enthusiastic and interested in my community,” said Anas Roud, a participant from Balqa Applied University. 

“I learned how to work as a team and respect other perspectives. I believe that the experience and skills I’ve acquired will be a great addition to my professional career,” he noted in the statement.

The Stevens Initiative is an international effort to build global competence and career-readiness skills for young people in the United States and the Middle East and North Africa while enhancing the field of virtual exchange, including online, international and collaborative learning. It is sponsored by the US Department of State with funding provided by the US Government, and is administered by the Aspen Institute. It is also supported by the Bezos Family Foundation and the governments of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, the statement said. 

A global development and education organisation, IREX works with partners in more than 100 countries in four areas essential to progress: Cultivating leaders, empowering youth, strengthening institutions, and increasing access to quality education and information. IREX has been working in Jordan since 2005, according to the organisation.

up
59 users have voted.


Newsletter

Get top stories and blog posts emailed to you each day.

PDF