Application Form Selection: 2019 KA2 – Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices – Capacity Building in the field of Higher Education Call for Proposals 2019 - EAC/A03/2018 Innovative Training Centre to support a postgraduate 3rd cycle Advanced Course to face Environmental Emergency in Azerbaijan / ITACA DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT JOINT PROJECTS (To be attached to the e-Form) Capacity Building in the field of Higher Education – Joint Projects PART D – Relevance of the Project D.1 Why does the consortium undertake this project? - Which problem(s) will the project address in the participating Partner Countries? Why are these problems pressing? - Please explain the result of the need analysis carried out for each Partner Country and for each Partner institution and provide qualitative and quantitative evidence for your results. Please refer also to studies carried out and feasibility analyses undertaken. In particular explain for each institution, why the support from the CBHE action is required. (limit 10.000 characters) The continuous increasing in oil and gas production in the Caspian area, and the simultaneous growing impact of the activities related to oil and gas extraction and transport in Azerbaijan has caused a need of specific skills in the fields of environmental protection, polluted sites remediation and sustainable development of oil and gas extraction and transport. Already in 1901-1905, half of the total volume of oil in the world was extracted in Absheron peninsula in Azerbaijan, and during the Second World War, 70.1% of all oil used in the former Soviet Union was extracted in this Country. Nowadays, in the Absheron Peninsula thousands of running and abandoned oil wells are located, and more than 3200 hectares of territories have been proved to be polluted by oil products, radionuclides and residual waters. Due to the presence of more than 200 small and big lakes, and related natural resources, the remediation of such area is a National priority of the Country. In 2014, only British Petroleum in Azerbaijan recorded six oil spills, five of which were fully contained, and produced a total of 368,839 tons of solid and liquid wastes, mainly constituted by produced waters. Only about 42% of the non-hazardous waste (5,690 tons) and 20% of the hazardous waste (63,314 tons) are currently recycled or reused, but the remaining amount required an appropriate treatment. At the same time, the high pollution of the Caspian Sea is largely due to the growing potential of the offshore oil industry, oil transportation and offshore oil pipelines. Sinking of facilities, leakage of oil products, fall of installations into disrepair are just few examples of the continuous threat to the ecosystem and to the life of the about 15 M people currently living in Caspian coastal zones. As the Caspian Sea is an enclosed system, contamination by oil is particularly severe, and several coastal areas (Baku, Sumgayit, Makhachkala, Turkmanbashi) have been proclaimed “environmental disaster zone” in Azerbaijan and neighboring countries since 1992. As a consequence, a high demand of specialist in the field of polluted sites remediation, especially skilled on the design and practice of equipment and plants suitable to afford the main environmental problems of the country has become an urgency, and it represents a crucial and necessary step in Azerbaijan development. On the other side, the HE Master Sc. courses on Environmental Engineering and Ecology currently held in Azerbaijan are mainly oriented toward fundamental aspects and traditional environmental technologies, thus missing to provide specific professional skills to the graduates for their sudden entrance into the job market. In EU such kind of professional skill ready to enter the job market are provided by one year postgraduate 3rd cycle course, which are managed in collaboration between industry and academia. The current HE system in the Country, does not include a 3rd cycle of education different from Ph.D. course, thus determining a substantial gap between the academic world and the market job. As a results of such approach, especially in the field of ecology and environmental science as well as engineering, a bridge between Universities and industries could contribute to solving the actual and emerging issues in the field of environmental remediation and to afford the following challenges: 1. Sustainable oil and gas production and waste minimization. Innovative Training Centre to support a postgraduate 3rd cycle Advanced Course to face Environmental Emergency in Azerbaijan / ITACA Page 2 of 221 Capacity Building in the field of Higher Education – Joint Projects 2. Effective management of industrial wastes, remediation of all polluted formerly industrial areas with harmonization among industrial zones, populated areas, recreation centres and natural environment. 3. Zero discharge of non-treated wastewaters to environment. In summary. the professional skills of specialists facing the above mentioned needs should be addressed to: • design and management of technical solutions; • solving environmental issues, both in industry and public institutions. (Please add Partner Countries/partners as appropriate) Please identify the target groups and their needs in each Partner Country and in each Partner Country institution. (limit 8.000 characters) From a general point of view, the target groups reached by the project will be graduated students, teachers, technicians and administrative staff, both belonging to universities and companies. Regarding graduated students in Azerbaijan, they especially need a more practice and problem solving oriented formation, to face the emerging environmental issues in the Country. The Training Centre organized by the consortium will exploit the long term experience of EU teachers in 3rd cycle advanced course jointly held with industrial partners. The project involves the organization of an advanced course, as a 3rd cycle of education, aiming at increasing the professional skills of graduates in the field of environmental remediation in Azerbaijan, thus allowing an easier introduction into the job market, and, at the same time, thanks to their enrollement, enhancing professionality and competitivity of all the subjects active in environmental remediation in the Country (both academic, and industrial). To be admitted to such course, students must have a 2nd level degree, in Ecology, applied and industrial Chemistry, or in every industrial and environmental engineering field. In a more general vision, the Training Centre will also represent a tool to be used for developing continuous education in the Country, at a public and private level. It will contribute to meet also the government and industries expectations of providing a platform to enhance the knowledge of technicians employed in all the engineering areas. In this view, also other Ministries apart from the Ministry of education are targeted as potential beneficiaries of the project, just for the continuing education of the staff of both state and private companies with the potential of sustainability. Regarding academic staff, teachers will be trained by EU experts on an innovative teaching methodology, based on the solution of selected case studies, involving multidisciplinary knowledge and practical skills. This will be coupled with their need of increasing the quality of research, and, on the other side, to favour their collaboration with alla stakeholders working in the field of environmental protection, monitoring and remediation. Technician will benefit of the collaboration with EU experts in the acquirement to pilot plant of purchased with project funding. EU experts will help them to practice with innovative tecnologies to be implemented to solve the main environmental issues in the Country. Administrative staff at the Azerbaijan HEs will be involved in the organization and managing of the Training Centre, as regards the relationship with the industrial sector. This will meet their expectation of increasing their competences in managing international grant, and establish strong and long term relationship with EU institutions. More in detail, all the Azerbaijanian academic institutions involved in the project have already participated to international research or didactic projects, but all of them are relatively young in the field of environmental engineering. The recent boost of environmental concern at national level, requires their active participation to the solving of environmental issues in the Country. AzUAC have only recently inaugurated a laboratory of environmental monitoring, but needs Innovative Training Centre to support a postgraduate 3rd cycle Advanced Course to face Environmental Emergency in Azerbaijan / ITACA Page 3 of 221 Capacity Building in the field of Higher Education – Joint Projects supports by EU experts for staff training on more advanced technologies application. BSU has a long term expertise in the filed of ecology, chemistry and nanotechnology, but a more engineering approach is required to implement technologies on a field scale. BHOS staff is skilled in the field of oil and gas extraction, but more advanced skills are required in view of the introduction of sustainable extraction technologies. BEU is equipped with pilot plant and instrument in the field of chemical and mechanical engineering, and could take advantage form the participation in the consortium by introducing new and more appropriate technical solution to solve environmental