UNIVERSITY OF JORDAN

Their core work

The University of Jordan is Jordan's flagship public university, contributing to EU-funded research primarily in water treatment technologies and societal challenges affecting the Middle East. Their technical work focuses on membrane-based water purification and energy recovery from saline water streams, relevant to arid-region resource management. They also engage in science diplomacy and refugee integration research, reflecting Jordan's position as a major refugee-hosting country and a bridge between European and Middle Eastern research communities.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

The University of Jordan's H2020 trajectory shows a clear shift from soft policy engagement to hard technical research. Their earliest involvement (MERID, 2015) was a Coordination and Support Action focused on EU-Middle East research dialogue — essentially a networking and policy project. By 2019-2020, they had moved into substantive research: first on refugee integration (FOCUS), then into applied water treatment engineering (intelWATT). This progression suggests a university that used early framework participation to build European networks, then converted those connections into technical research partnerships.

Moving toward applied environmental engineering, particularly water-energy nexus technologies suited to arid and water-scarce regions.

How they like to work

The University of Jordan has participated exclusively as a partner, never coordinating an H2020 project. Their consortia are sizeable — 46 unique partners across 19 countries from just 3 projects — indicating they join large, well-funded international teams. This pattern is typical of a non-EU associated country building its European research footprint: they bring regional expertise and pilot-site access rather than project management leadership.

Despite only 3 projects, UJ has built a broad network of 46 partners across 19 countries, reflecting participation in large consortia with wide geographic spread. Their network bridges European research institutions with the Middle East and Mediterranean region.

What sets them apart

The University of Jordan offers something few EU partners can: direct access to a Middle Eastern research environment with real-world testing conditions for water scarcity, refugee integration, and arid-climate technologies. As the top-ranked university in Jordan and one of the most established in the Arab world, they provide a credible institutional anchor for any consortium needing a Southern Mediterranean or Middle Eastern partner. For water technology projects in particular, Jordan's extreme water stress makes UJ an ideal validation and demonstration site.

Highlights from their portfolio

• intelWATT
  Their largest funded project (EUR 105,744) and a shift into applied water-energy engineering with membrane technology and reverse electrodialysis.
• FOCUS
  Their highest single funding (EUR 166,688), addressing refugee-host community solidarity — directly relevant given Jordan hosts over 750,000 registered refugees.