Bringing Jordan closer to Europe
The EU and Jordan share common interests in ICT, creating a favourable environment for strategic research and development (R & D) cooperation. The 'Jordan Europe wide enhanced research links in ICT ' (JEWEL) project increased awareness of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and Horizon 2020 among Jordanian organisations. This allowed them to gain further insight into European networks and platforms. The aim was to promote EU-Jordan collaboration to facilitate new project initiatives in ICT.JEWEL offers Jordan the possibility to improve its research activities under the FP7's ICT thematic priority through twinning activities between the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) and their long-term partner Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) in Greece.JEWEL aims to promote cooperation in fields that are relevant to the ICT research priorities. These include low-power electronics as well as modelling of nanoscale and carbon-nanotube transistors. To encourage joint participation in ICT monitoring and control systems – a research field that is gaining more ground in Jordan – the project mapped the competence of relevant Jordanian organisations and assessed their potential. Furthermore, it organised brokerage and training events in Jordan and selected European countries regarding relevant monitoring and control calls.A range of different activities were planned. This includes twinning activities between JUST and AUTH, training and coaching events, as well as international conferences. Furthermore, the project team together with leading academic and industrial experts from the EU and the United States offered a number of recommendations and concrete project initiatives.The project generated many indirect, however, important outcomes, laying the foundations for long-term collaboration. Firstly, it contributed to the initiation and execution of Jordanian-based projects in ICT and secondly, it underlined common R & D interests in monitoring and control of complex systems.International collaboration plays an important part in promoting research excellence and JEWEL has already paved the way. The project also plans to launch a joint funding scheme, link EU and Jordanian R & D networks with similar research interests, encourage researchers' mobility and support joint initiatives.
Keywords
Information and communication technologies, monitor, research and development, Seventh Framework Programme, collaboration
