Kholoud Hassouneh

Jordan has set priority plans to mitigate climate change impacts, where Jordan moves towards low emissions by promoting the Electric Vehicle and Hybrid-Electric Vehicle (EV/HEV) market. Therefore, there will be a pressing need for professionals in the field of maintenance and design of EV/HEVs. Accordingly, surveys were conducted to address the market needs in Jordan. The surveys targeted main stakeholders from different geographical locations in Jordan. This study was concerned with project partners, Academic staff, and students from eight universities located in Balqa’a, Irbid, Al-Karak, Tafilah, and the capital city Amman. The responses obtained are from 8, 140, and 799 project partners, academic staff, and students, respectively. The results, including surveys on teaching and training facilities, are analyzed and discussed. In conclusion, this study presents a crucial foundation for three specialized diploma programs (vocational diploma, technical diploma, and higher diploma) and a bachelor program tailored to Jordan’s EV/HEV market needs. Through a deliberate alignment of the curriculum with the evolving demands of the EV/HEV sector, the diploma programs will foster graduates who hold the essential knowledge and skills to excel in this rapidly expanding field. Furthermore, the programs address the distinct competencies and expertise that the local market requires, ensuring that graduates are well prepared to meet industry needs. The significance of this work serves as a bridge between academia and the market, resulting in graduates who possess the knowledge and skills, that are highly sought after by prospective employers.

Energy policy in Jordan is a contested issue as several options for deployment of technologies exist. Shale oil and renewable energy sources are two energy generation technologies which are currently being intensively considered by the Jordanian energy policy process and there are shale oil and renewable energy projects which are currently in operation, in planning or in construction. Each of these options relates to various perceptions of risks and benefits of a given technology and has its opponents and supporters. Understanding of how inhabitants of communities where infrastructure is planned perceive these energy generation technologies is crucial as infrastructure will impact the life of the community and the feedback from the community can improve the deployment of infrastructure. The major focus of this paper is on attitudes of local communities where shale oil and renewable energies are in operation. To identify of how various environmental, technical, social and environmental factors influence attitudes including awareness and perceptions of these two energy generation technologies we conducted large scale surveys in four different communities of Jordan. Two of these communities (Ma’an and Tafileh) had renewable energy projects and other two communities (Lajoun and Attarat) had projects on shale oil extraction and power generation.

The water and energy sectors are fundamentally linked. In Jordan, especially in the face of a changing climate, the water–energy nexus holds a number of challenges but also opportunities. A key point in exploring synergies is the identification of such, as well as the communication between the water and energy sectors. This paper promotes the importance of using a co-creative approach to help resolve opposing views and assessing stakeholder preferences in the context of the water–energy nexus in Jordan. A computer-supported, co-creative approach was used to evaluate stakeholder preferences and opinions on criteria and future scenarios for the energy and water sector in Jordan, identifying common difficulties and possibilities. The criteria describe socio-ecological aspects as well as techno-economic aspects for both systems. Discussing a set of preliminary scenarios describing possible energy and water futures ranked under a set of sector relevant criteria, a consensus between both stakeholder groups is reached. The robustness of results is determined, using a second-order probabilistic approach. The results indicate that there are no fundamental conflicts between the energy and water stakeholder groups. Applying a participatory multi-stakeholder, multi-criteria framework to the energy-water nexus case in Jordan promotes a clear understanding of where different stakeholder groups stand. This understanding and agreement can form the basis of a joint water–energy nexus policy used in the continued negotiation process between and within national and international cooperation, as well as promoting and developing acceptable suggestions to solve complex problems for both sectors.