QU organises online summer school on desalination technologies

The Unesco Chair on Desalination and Water Treatment in the Centre for Advanced Materials at Qatar University (QU) organised recently a two-day online summer school on "Desalination Technologies.”The event, in collaboration with Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), India, addressed global water challenges, with a specific emphasis on the importance of water treatment and its alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 for clean water and sanitation.The event, which provided a platform for discussing emerging and cost-effective solutions that can contribute to a more sustainable future, saw 100 students selected from over 600 who registered.Donia Abdelwahed, a representative from the Unesco Doha office for the GCC and Yemen voiced Unesco's unwavering support for such initiatives. There were lectures by renowned experts in the field of desalination technologies and virtual lab tours and training for the various desalination techniques, providing participants with a visual experience of the different technologies employed in the desalination processes.Distinguished professors and experts shared their knowledge, experiences, and insights, engaged participants in stimulating discussions in the field of desalination and water treatment, and presented innovative ideas.Prof Syed Javaid Zaidi, the Unesco chair, emphasised that the summer school would significantly enhance the students' scientific pursuits. The experts shared their knowledge and experience in the fields of desalination, water treatment and presented innovative ideas.The guest speakers included Prof Faisal Irshad Khan from Texas A&M University, US; Dr Ali Altaee from the University of Technology, Australia; Prof Nadeem Khalil from AMU, India; Dr Georgios Kolliopoulos from Laval University, Canada, Dr Mohamed Hassan from QU and Prof Syed Javaid Zaidi from QU.The speakers highlighted the various aspects of desalination technologies, including desalination fundamentals and the basics of desalination techniques, security and safety measures in desalination plants, wastewater treatment, various water treatment projects, membrane-based desalination, and emerging pressure-restricted osmosis.