Projects
Freie Universität Berlin cooperates with its Egyptian partners in various fields to improve research and teaching and build up strong international networks with the MENA region. Below we list a non-exhausitive selection of past and present projects. For more information please contact our Office in Cairo or the respective project coordinator mentioned on the project page.
In Egypt, increased efforts have recently been made to implement targeted innovation support for SMEs. However, the institutional arrangements and innovation policies are often top-down structured or attempt to transfer concepts from outside the EU, in many cases without considering the specific characteristics of the Egyptian innovation context. In particular, there is a lack of empirical work that analyses the innovation activities of SMEs and prepares results for policymakers in a way that makes policies appropriate for the targeted groups of SMEs.
With the deterioration of living conditions and the shift to neo-liberal policies, the people of Egypt have developed different survival strategies to face the economic difficulties. At medical schools, the lack of opportunity to learn on patients as part of their studies led to the emergence of the "professional patient" phenomenon. The commodification of disease is having growing importance to escape poverty.
The project aims to strengthen the academic relationship between the Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, (FOPCU) in Egypt and the Institute of Pharmacy of Freie Universität Berlin (IOPFUB) in Germany, and to open a new channel of academic exchange that will be of great benefit to the academic staff of both IOPFUB and FOPCU.
Mit diesem Projekt soll Media und Information Literacy (MIL) gefördert werden – und damit Medienrepräsentationen, Medienproduktion und journalistische Ausbildung in der arabischen Welt und Deutschland/Europa kritisch hinterfragt werden. Daran beteiligt ist das 2013 gegründete Netzwerk AREACORE (Arab-European Association of Media and Communication Researchers), das neben der Freien Universität Berlin aus 10 arabischen Universitäten mit einschlägigen Instituten für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Journalistik besteht. Medienkompetenzen sind angesichts von zunehmenden gesellschaftlichen Polarisierungen und sogar Radikalisierungstendenzen unerlässlich. Das kritische Hinterfragen von Macht- und Interessenstrukturen hinter der Medienproduktion, das Wissen um die Wirkmächtigkeit von Algorithmen bei der Strukturierung von Mediennutzung und Sensibilität für die Problematiken von Repräsentationsfragen in den Medien sind zentrale Elemente von Media Literacy, die dazu beitragen können, gesellschaftliche Polarisierungen zu überkommen. Die Vermittlung von Medien- und Informationskompetenz ist also ein multidimensionales Projekt, das angesichts der geschilderten Chancen und Herausforderungen auf mehreren Ebenen der Kompetenzvermittlung ansetzen muss.
The DAAD project Euro-Mediterranean Partnership in International Development between the School of Business & Economics at Freie Universität Berlin and the Faculty of Economic Studies & Political Science at Alexandria University further advances the internationalization strategy of Freie Universität Berlin by establishing a long-term partnership with Alexandria University and other major Egyptian academic institutions. More information here.
Founded within the German-African Cooperation Projects in Infectiology and funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, http://www.dfg.de/), the molecular epidemiology network was instituted to develop new and improve existing vaccination against bovine theileriosis caused by T. annulata and T. parva in in Eastern and Northern Africa.
Das Projekt bezieht sich auf New Aswan, eine neue Stadt, die sich im Aufbau befindet. In der ersten Phase wird der Campus der Universität als Pilotprojekt betrachtet und sein Masterplan im Hinblick auf der Verbesserung des Mikroklimas, thermischen Komforts, seiner Energieeffizienz und seiner Anpassungsfähigkeit an den Klimawandel evaluiert. Unter Verwendung des Klimamodells MED-CORDEX wird das zukünftige Klima mit dem RCP 4.5 und 8.5 Szenarien simuliert. Anschließend werden Extremereignisse (Anzahl der heißen Tage und tropischer Nächte, etc.) des Zeitabschnitts 1979-2010 mit den Simulationswerten der Jahre 2019-2050 verglichen und eine neue integrierte Strategie zur Anpassung an den Klimawandel angewendet. Mithilfe der Modelle ENVI-met, Energie-Plus und CFD werden Alternativen zur Anpassung an den Klimawandel geprüft. Dabei werden Anpassungsstrategien (Grünflächen, grüne Dächer etc.) in verschiedenen Kombinationen getestet und dessen Auswirkung auf den thermischen Komfort und des Energieverbrauchs untersucht. Die Entscheidungsträger werden in die Evaluierung einbezogen.
Gebel Asyut al-gharbi, one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt, is crucial in understanding both its history and culture of this country. Despite a great wealth of remains our knowledge of Asyut and some periods of time concerning the site is still scant. Contrary to wide-held belief, activities on the gebel do not primarily date to the First Intermediate Period and Middle Kingdom; the history of the site is much longer and it continues to hide many secrets. The first and most important goal posed by Teodozja l. Rzeuska is to present the lesser known parts of the history of the Asyut necropolis, those that are under-represented in the texts, as well as those for which the archaeological evidence is insufficient. This is where the ceramic material has proven to be an invaluable source which helped to fill gaps in our knowledge. The second goal is to present the unique character of local pottery in Asyut, especially in comparison with ceramic found in other regions of Egypt.
The project aims at providing a renewed vision for socio-economic development in the south Mediterranean countries, mainly focusing on employment creation, social inclusion, and sustainable development. It supports new research activities, dissemination through the organization of annual conferences and workshop meetings to bring together leading researchers, policy makers and representatives of the civil society to discuss and debate optimal policies for the future of their region.
Das Projekt hat zum Ziel, die Lehrmodule der Zieluniversitäten zu prüfen und das Modul Urban Modeling sowie letztendlich ein Urban Climate Lab in das Lehrprogramm zu integrieren. Es werden dabei die Themen Stadtentwicklung, Stadtplanung und lokales Mikroklima in der Zukunft diskutiert. Den Dozenten und Studierenden soll die Wichtigkeit des Klimawandels und die Problematik des Stadtklimas erläutert und veranschaulicht werden. Das Urban Climate Lab besteht aus Computern, die mit frei zugänglichen Programmen den Studierenden die Wichtigkeit des Klimawandels und die Problematik des Stadtklimas erläutern und veranschaulichen. Der große Vorteil des Urban Climate Lab ist, dass die Auswirkungen des Mikroklimas eines Bauprojekts mit Hilfe von städtischen Modellen im Voraus analysiert werden können. Demzufolge haben Stadtplaner die Möglichkeit, durch Änderungen im Bauprojekt einen optimierten Bauplan zu entwickeln, in welchem das städtische Mikroklima und der thermische Komfort für die Einwohner berücksichtigt werden können.
The multilateral project "Dialogue and Asymmetries: Debating Development, Memory and Migration" engages lecturers, students and experts from Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Libya and Germany in a dialogue on what is perceived as main challenges for political and social sciences on both shores of the Mediterranean. The three subtopics of development cooperation, memory and migration, which link the Northern and Southern shores of the Mediterranean in a complex way will be addressed in teaching events and staff exchanges aimed at building students' capacities as well as strengthening institutional efforts to foster cross-cultural learning and understanding.
The MERID project proposes a comprehensive action to intensify and encourage research and innovation cooperation between the EU and the Middle East region, directly involving partners from Egypt, Iran, lraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. The project intends to build upon the experience carried out in countries of the region, with comparable framework conditions, that have already participated in the previous framework programmes, and therefore are at a relatively advanced stage of research cooperation with Europe, like Egypt and Jordan.
The Egyptian city of Asyut, located about 375 km south of Cairo on the west bank of the Nile, has more than 4,300 years of history and is one of the central places of the Pharaonic era. Since 2003, archaeological work was carried out again with German-Egyptian cooperation for the first time in more than 80 years on this mountain, where tombs were built, but also stone bridges, monasteries and hermits' houses.
Frühere Projekte
Two DAAD-financed excavations schools have taken place since 2011 at the archaeological site of Qesna, where students from Minufiyeh University and Freie Universtät Berlin, as well as employees from the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities have been trained in excavation methods. The school is headed by Dr. Joanne Rowland from the Freie Universität Berlin. More information ->
The start-up support of the Freie Universität Berlin profund facilitated the establishment of four technology centres in Egypt, which were opened at the American University in Cairo, as well as Cairo University, Asyut University and Helwan University in 2010. The project was funded by the European Union. It aims at transfering research results from the Egyptian universities to the local economy and thus strengthening their innovation capacity. The cooperation took place over three years.
This project is based on a long-term cooperation between the Center for Middle Eastern and North African Politics of Freie Universität Berlin and the Master Program Euro Mediterranean Studies of Cairo Universität. It seeks to develop new learning methods and research approaches in political science and Middle East studies, in order to integrate the challenges of recent political developments in the region into the discipline. More information ->
Seven institutes of communication studies are working together in the DAAD-financed project, “Communication in Transformation – Transforming Communication Studies”. The network aims to explore new developments in research and to actively include new methods and findings in media studies into the curriculum at the seven different locations. More information ->
There often is a fundamental difference between researching Arabic literature from a “Western” and from an “Arabic” point of view. In order to create a closer exchange between the different research cultures, the project “Arabic Philologies” brings together scholars from both regions and linguistic backgrounds. In several summer schools they test didactic methods for joint learning, teaching and research. More information ->
Egyptian and German universities share a common problem: The low number of female professors and female workers in leading positions. By exchanging successful models and elaborating new instruments, four Egyptian universities and Freie Universität Berlin are promoting equality objectives on the legislative and administrative level and anchor gender sensitivity in research and teaching. More information ->
In this study program, students learn how to implement scientific knowledge on children's rights in politics. The project was funded until 2013 through the European Union and is coordinated by Cairo University. Besides the Freie Universität Berlin and CeDiS, other Arab and European institutions are also participating in this project. The diploma studies started in 2011 at Cairo University and Asyut University. More information on www.dppcr.net.
The project aims to analyse the impact of climate change on megacities and to develop policy-recommendations on how urban development can improve the microclimate. In this BMBF co-financed project scientists from Freie Universität Berlin are cooperating with scientists, city planners and inhabitants of Cairo, Nairobi and Istanbul. More information ->
Since 2005, regular collective excavation campaigns have been held by the Universität Mainz and Sohag, as well as Freie Universität Berlin at the Gebel Asyut al-Gharbi. Findings, inscriptions and decorations of various princes’ graves from the 21st and 20th centuries B.C. are published within the framework of the DFG-financed project. More information ->
Since 2012, the Freie Universität Berlin has invited student representatives from both Cairo and Alexandria Universities two times, to provide them with an overview of the inner university decision structures and to offer different models of student self-administration. The experience should support student representatives in participating actively in university life. More information ->
In this one-week workshop German and Egyptian Academics from different disciplines discussed the impact of the rapid social, cultural and political change in the Arab region on key concepts such as freedom, justice and dignity. More information ->
