Internship - Project Birzeit University, Netherlands

UNESCO-IHE, the Netherlands and Birzeit University (BZU), Palestine, are presently working on a joint project under the Palestinian-Dutch Academic Cooperation Program on Water that focuses on the ''Treatment of Olive Mill Waste at Rural Areas in the West Bank''. The IHE/BZU Alliance is seeking a highly motivated intern with a background in Environmental/Chemical Engineering or related field who has a strong interest in the management of industrial effluents using bioprocesses. The intern will be placed at the Faculty of Engineering, Birzeit University, under the guidance of Dr. Omar Zimmo for a period of 3 months (1 st of October 2015 - 31 st of December 2015).

The focus of this research project will be to provide a novel approach of integrating an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor, as a biogas recovery step, and an aerobic process for olive mill wastewater (OMWW) treatment. Lab-scale demonstration of these (bio) processes and techno- socio-economic analysis will be envisioned in this project by the candidate. The IHE/BZU Alliance encompasses a variety of water and wastewater-related projects, including those associated with resource recovery and sustainable environmental practices. The management of wastewater generated from olive mills remains a critical and unsolved problem, especially in developing regions.

The primary responsibilities for this internship position (3 months) will include

• Planning, conducting experiments and managing bench-scale bioreactors (already in operation at BZU)
• Conducting desktop studies, literature reviews, and related investigations specific to the subject area
• Providing practically feasible, innovative thinking to existing and new areas of olive mill wastewater research

Required Qualifications & Skills

• BSc degree in Environmental/Chemical engineering or related science discipline with specific interest in Environmental processes
• Demonstrated knowledge and expertise in wastewater treatment will be an added advantage
• Willingness to conduct vigorous lab experiments and analysis of the results.
• Strong problem solving and organizational skills.

Payment

• The intern will receive a stipend of 300 euro per month.
• International flight ticket economy class Amsterdam - Tel-Aviv will be refunded.
• All other costs, including insurance are to be covered by the intern.

Living costs for a student are estimated at 400 euro/month (130 euro for accommodation and 270 euro for living cost). Interested candidates can obtain additional information from / send their motivation and resume to the following staff members

1. Dr. Peter van der Steen, UNESCO-IHE (p.vandersteen@unesco-ihe.org)

2. Dr. Omar Zimmo, Birzeit University (ozammo@birzeit.edu)

3. Dr. Eldon R. Rene, UNESCO-IHE (e.raj@unesco-ihe.org)