Cairo University REMENA in 5 years - Uni Kassel...Mahmoud Hosny Mahmoud Megahed Mohamed Ali Metwaly Matthias Namgalies Ahmed Zakaria Nour Zoukar Issue no. 01 February 2014 REMENA INSIGHT

REMENA Insight Poll:60% of REMENA students would recommend it to a friend

Prof. Dr. Khalil: REMENA is building young professionals specialized in renewable energy

Cairo University Resurrects the CSP in Egypt

Egypt Takes Shine to Renewable Energy

Berlin Module Joins All Arab-German Master Programs

REMENA in 5 years

CONTENTS ... REMENA INSIGHT

REMENA INSIGHT P 2Issue no. 01 February 2014

Welcome Note We were challenged that this magazine couldn’t be conducted with this number of participants and contribu-tors. But all who contributed did his/her best to make this happen, and yet we have succeeded.

I want to thank everyone who contributed to the success of this magazine and tell them that without their contribution REMENA Insight wouldn’t have seen its day-light.

Also, I would like to thank Mr. Osama AbdulRazek ([email protected]), Film Director, and Ms. Rawan Hijazi ([email protected]), Interior De-signer, for their design consultation and contribution.

Last but not least, I would like to thank all the fac-ulty and administrative staff who supported us.

It was really a nice experience for me to work with all members of REMENA Batches 5 and 6 and create this work with warm friendship and group work.

REMENA Insight constitutes of a variety of topics that touches renewable energy and energy efficiency. I hope our readers will enjoy reading the magazine.

REMENA Batches 5 and 6, I wish you all the best....

Tarek M. AbdulRazekEditor-in-Chief

REMENA Insight

Editor–in–ChiefTarek M. AbdulRazek

[email protected]

Creative DirectorTarek M. AbdulRazek

ContributorsAhmed Ayad

Augusto BustamanteWael Fareed

Ehab MoukayesAmal Moussa

Philipp NüßleinJuha Rautiainen

Abdelbari RedouaneMohamed Shehata

Alireza TaheriKhaled TamiziLama Al Fakhri

Sarah El MergawyKhaled Elmoghazy

Esmaeil FallahrostamiHana FaragZakiFarag

Mahmoud HosnyMahmoud Megahed

Mohamed Ali MetwalyMatthias Namgalies

Ahmed ZakariaNour Zoukar



6 8

10

REMENA: The Begin-ning of the Story

Cairo University Resur-rects the CSP in Egypt

Steps Toward Successful Master Thesis Topic Selection

42 Rawya Elshazly Shares her Experiences in REMENA



24 REMENA Excursions

REMENA organized several excursions to visit important companies in different fields of Renewable Energies during the years 2013 and 2014.

35 REMENA Activities

Beside studying, REMENA students man-aged to organize number of activities that included visiting new cities and towns in Germany, hanging out together, and other interesting activities.

18REMENA & Interesting Cultural Incidents

What is culture? Is it a word, history, a group of actions, or a period of time, Which definitions

could describe the “culture” in the best way?! ....



29 Spain ExcursionRenewable Energy12 Egypt Takes Shine to Renewable Energy

14 Let the Sun In: FORD C-MAX New Technology Berlin - Module20 Berlin Module Joins All Arab-German Master Programs

Experiences36 An Advice to Master Thesis Applications

38 It Feels Like a Blink of an Eye

40 Think Outside the Box - My Motivation to Join REMENA

Polls50 REMENA Insight Poll

Quotes52 “Best of REMENA Students Quotes”

At A Glance

44 REMENA in 5 years

REMENA: The Begin-ning of the

StoryBy Khaled El Moghazy (REMENA 6)[email protected]

REMENA INSIGHT P6Issue no. 01 February 2014

REMENA Insight conducted an interview with Prof. Dr. Adel Khalil, the coordinator of Renew-able Energy and Energy Efficien-cy in MENA Region (REMENA) master program from Cairo Uni-versity side, who spoke about the history of REMENA and its devel-opment, and what are the future expectations from the students and the program in general.

Tell us more about yourself, educa-tion and current position?My name is Adel Khalil and I am graduated from Cairo University in 1972. I have got my M.Sc. in com-bustion engines in 1974. In 1978, I have got my PhD about supercon-ductivity and its application in En-ergy Storage. Regarding to my cur-rent position:1. I am working as consultant for some special engineering applica-tions.

2. Chairman for Regional center of renewable energy and energy effi-ciency for MENA region and I was also selected as the head of this center.3. I am a founding member of DESERTIC University Network.4. I was vice dean of the facul-ty of engineering in Cairo Uni-versity for graduate studies.5. I was the head of department of mechanical engineering in UAE for Five years, and established renew-able energy laboratories over there.

I n t e r v i e w s

How have you got involved in REME-NA master program as a coordinator?In 2007, it was the year of sci-ence and technology co-opera-tion between Egypt and Germany.This year, I was the coordinator of renewable energy activities be-tween Egypt and Germany, and my counterpart from Germany was Prof. Dr. Jürgen Schmid, head of Fraunhofer IWES in Kassel, who died last year. During that year, we organized Concentrated Solar Power

Prof. Dr. Adel Khalil


(CSP) and Desalination workshops with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cairo where we invited all scientists and decision makers to these workshops in order to speak about Renewable Energy. A month later, we had a workshop in Kassel about wind energy and grid integration. This workshop was the beginning for our cooperation with Kassel University. After that the German Academic Ex-change Service (DAAD) announced the tender for partner universities to apply for coordinating the REMENA master program, and Cairo Universi-ty was qualified for that since it is the mother of all universities in MENA region. Then, we had cooperation with Kassel University because it is very famous in the field of renewable energy. By that time, several programs were established that were character-ized by the cooperation between Ger-many and MENA region; one in Jor-dan about water management, one in Syria about economic and education management, one in Egypt between Ain Shams University and Stuttgart University about energy efficiency in urban areas, and other one between Cairo University and Kassel Univer-sity in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

What are the main challenges faced the foundation of REMENA program?The main challenge was getting the curriculum accredited and approved by the supreme council of universi-ties. We have been working so hard to prove that renewable energy is an interdisciplinary topic, and to guarantee success of such program we need engineers, lawyers, econo-mist and good managers. So, we are not in need for engineers only.

Why there is a focus on intercul-tural aspects in REMENA program?Suppose that German compa-nies want to invest in MENA re-gion, they will need to know about the culture, decision mak

ers and how they can get tenders. For this reason you will find in RE-MENA program Arabic students learning study German and Ger-man students learning Arabic. So, the intercultural activities are like a bridge between Germany and Arab Countries which make it easier for both of them to communicate and, later, to develop their investments.

“Prof. Dr. Khalil: RE-MENA is building young professionals specialized

in renewable energy”

What are the criteria for selecting students?Generally speaking, every student should have completed seven se-mesters of undergraduate study. For Cairo University, students should have at least 70% as total grade, while for Kassel they have their own way of calculations. The second cri-terion is the professional experience and personality; that is why moti-vation letters are important. Actu-ally, we don’t focus on academic students; we are more focusing on highly motivated and profes-sional students. The third criterion is the knowledge and awareness of students about the MENA region.

Do you think the subjects and courses are enough for the stu-dents to be able to work as professional energy experts?This is actually a deep challenge for us as the coordinators of REME-NA as most of the students come from different backgrounds. But as I said before REMENA program provides courses and skills to put the students on the right track. We also support REMENA students with enough information and re-sources that help them find the suit-able field of specialization under the context of Renewable Energy.

How do you see REMENA in next five years?Considering the instability of most of the MENA region, hoping that this critical situation will end soon, we are having hard times in financing the pro-gram as the DAAD financial support was stopped. So, for the coming batches, there will be no scholarships available and they have to finance themselves. Even though, we have just received ap-plication so far from ten students as self payers. We will try for the next batches to provide some possibilities of award-ing scholarship from some banks. Re-newable energy companies are not in-terested in financing the program as most of renewable energy business in MENA region is not stable these times.

What do you expect from REMENA students?Actually, the main idea of REMENA is building young professionals special-ized in renewable energy applications. So, I expect from them to be the am-bassadors of renewable energy in their countries, and promote renewable ener-gy technologies between MENA coun-tries and Europe.

I n t e r v i e w s

Steps Toward Successful

Master Thesis Topic

SelectionBy Esmaeil Fallah Rostami (REMENA 6)[email protected]


Being concerned to provide the REMENA students with advice concerning their master thesis topics to be chosen, and where and how to apply for master thesis positions, REMENA Insight conducted an interview with Prof. Dr. sc. techn. Dirk Dahlhaus, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sci-ence at Kassel University, to provide his professional and academic advice to REMENA students.

What kind of source and criteria, REMENA students, should consider for the selection of a master thesis topic?Different methods could be followed to find the topic. The classical one is to do it independently by contacting research institutions, companies or ministerial departments and ask-ing them for this purpose. The best way is to ask research groups either Kassel University or Cairo University or any other universities that we cooperate with and it could be with or without internship and with or without payments.The Object of topic is different for different students; someone may prefer to go to an institute where later they could continue working for them, and some other may like to continue his/her study for PhD degree. Also, loca-tion of activity could be different. Someone may go to a university for 9 months, and maybe later they offer op-portunities for continuing their studies. Some may go to other countries like Abu Dhabi or Egypt which may be based on their interest about solar or wind or Bio Ener-gies financed projects. This is based on individual inter-est. So, there is a chance for every student to find a place for his/her thesis, and they could apply with classical top-ics to any university that works in renewable energy.

I n t e r v i e w s

Prof. Dr. sc. techn. Dirk Dahlhaus

Are Students free to select any related topic?Basically yes, they should come to us, either Prof. Adel Khalil or Prof. Mohamed El Sobki from Cairo Univer-sity, or to us here in Kassel University and provide us with a proposal otherwise we are not able to judge it if it is ei-ther sufficient or too much for a master thesis. Sometimes companies say do this and do that, and sometimes they say it is more than the need for a master thesis. We try to make sure that the topic and its scope are limited so that we can compare different topics fairly, and we try not to have students on their thesis work more than a certain level.

Is there any regulation for a stepwise reporting or a reg-ulated meeting between the supervisor and the student, or it is enough that at the end the student make a de-fense of his/her work?Yes, there is standard report. First, we have an initial dis-cussion what the topic should be about, what the student should do and how it should be done. Does it contain field research or data collection? Does it contain software simu-lation of a system? Does it contain more theoretical work?


Maybe the student doesn’t own certain skills. We have to check if she/he is familiar with statistical data, statistical hypoth-esis and data analysis. So, all of these should be discussed at the beginning and a plan is to be made how this should work.Then, as I am always doing, normally after 3 month, I ask for a presentation or a discussion of the work done so far. It could be a face-to-face meeting or a Skype in-terview especially for students who are outside Ger-many or who couldn’t be able to come to me. Also, sometimes I take my car and go to where they are con-ducting their master thesis and look over what they are doing. So, it depends on the situation and the case.

If any student didn’t find any topic or institute for master thesis, what would the university do in such case?We had 37 students in previous batches, and everyone has found a topic. So, this provides you with a sample although it is not a proof, but still a strong argument for less active students. In any case, if someone didn’t find a topic at a certain time, we would try to get into more intensive discussion with the student, and the best

way is always to find some announcements in the field of energy that we are working on in Kassel University, in Fraunhofer Institute for example, or/and Cairo Uni-versity and offer him/her a topic based on that context. In principal, it is so far enough to depend on what the student having in mind, and up till now it is working.

If a student wants to do a PhD degree with whom should he/she get into contact, and what subjects give more chance for a student to precede?To whom you should get in touch with, is depending on what you want to do. For example, one of the students in batch 3 had done his master thesis in a wind company in Oldenburg. In the process of this, he realized that wind is basically something that he wants to continue specializing in somehow, and, in his case, it was possible to do in paral-lel with his job a PhD degree. So, it wasn’t clear from the

I n t e r v i e w s

Prof. Dahlhaus (right), Alireza Taheri REMENA 5 Student (center), Mrs. Anke Aref REMENA Coordinator (left)

beginning, but later he recognized such possibility. And this doesn’t mean that you should go there to have your PhD degree. In the classical way, normally the master thesis is related to the Bachelor degree, and they follow in detail to one of subjects that they have touched. But REMENA is a different story. REMENA doesn’t give the student the pos-sibility to go deep into details in a certain topics, but even though a student may still apply for a PhD degree. The stu-dents’ subject of a PhD degree is more an individual thing rather than a general one because everyone will be looking for different things according to his/her background.

What are your expectations concerning the future of RE-MENA?It is not easy to answer. Basically, the political development in Egypt is the ultimate factor for the future of REMENA. And if it continues as it is now, then, it would be very hard to attract students. But we can still discuss the best scenar-io and everything will go smoothly. I am convinced, and I am sure that we not only have enough students, but also excellent ones in the future. We are seeking to develop REMENA further with some other universities and links in Western Europe and North Africa in order to approach renewable energy context. We have already established collaboration with the Universi-ty of Tunisia and others in MENA region. Other wishes I have for REMENA is developing the program and bring-ing lecturers of specific knowledge area.

What is your evaluation for REMENA from the beginning till now?I took it over from 2010 after Prof. Dr. Jürgen Schmid who initiated everything, and then it was given to me to con-tinue. Concerning the evaluation for REMENA, let me say that we do the evaluation for every batch, and we also receive feedback from students and lecturers in order to improve any related aspects required. We are still to an extent developing the program. We have made changes to the program in 2010. Before that students were obliged to start the program in July at Cairo University, and it wasn’t possible for them to join in the middle since we had part one and part two. But now we are basically in a steady state concerning that. We are supported by the German academic exchange ser-vice (DAAD), and this is an advantage for the program. We are trying to run the program based on the tuition fees from the students; otherwise REMENA will be dead after 2 or 3 years because we are not able to get the finance from German or Egyptian tax payers. Our plan for REMENA is a long term one that last at least for 20 years. So, we should define our targets in a way that the fund invested and the cost of the program will be covered by students. This means most of them will be self payers, but we may provide some scholarships if available. In the end, I like to encourage everyone interested in renewable energy to be enrolled in this program and continue on this path in his/her future profession.

Cairo Uni-versity Resur-rects the CSP

in Egypt

By Zaki Farag (REMENA 6)[email protected]


The research team at the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University at Sheikh Zayed succeeded to implement a 100% Egyptian

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) prototype. The structure, mirrors, tracking, control are 100% locally manufactured in col-

laboration with the local industry. This represents the building block of future CSP power plants in Egypt.

“Prof. Dr. El-Refaie: the most outcome of this project is to get local industrial capabilities ready for future projects”

The overall objective is to develop know-how of Egyptian CSP and install the prototype. The research team car-

ried out a complete design, manufacturing, implementation and performance evaluation of a CSP unit (parabolic

trough), while minimizing maintenance requirements and maximizing the local production of different compo-

nents.

The design was done cost-effective from thermal, optical, mechanical design and manufacturing view points. The

research team carried a numerical simulation for the CSP generated heat and performed an experimental paramet-

ric study on the complete CSP system at different conditions. The feasibility of local mass production of CSP and

CSP components in Egypt, which is a critical step towards maximizing the local production of CSP units in Egypt,

was studied.

Under this umbrella, REMENA Insight interviewed Prof. Dr. Mohamed Fawzy El-Refaie, Professor of Mechanical

power at the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, concerning the construction of the 100% Egyptian made CSP

module and the future plans after this wide step.

I n t e r v i e w s

Prof. Dr. Mohamed Fawzy El-Refaie, from Youm 7 Newspaper


Why is this CSP module important for Egypt in general and Cairo University in specific?It’s the first Egyptian CSP module that was developed from design to manufacturing. It included some improve-ments to match the local industrial capability, and one of the main benefits of implementing this project is to in-troduce number of Egyptian manufacturers to the field of Renewable Energy. We have at least two glass companies who got involved in the execution of the project, and by now they already have a good idea about the requirements of manufacturing CSP equipments and they are willing and eager to participate in future projects. The only thing which hinders this inclusive participation is the lack of demand, and once it becomes available, they will start to develop new products which are more suitable for CSP. We had two companies for glass installation and an-other one for the execution of the metallic supporting frame which was not an easy job because it required a very high precision in manufacturing and assembling of the different parts. I think the most outcome of this project is to get industrial capabilities or local industrial capabilities ready and willing to participate in any future projects.

If we are going to install Kuraymat project again what will be the cost reduction in that project?The matter of fact there has been a detailed economical study included in the final report of this project, but I was not personally involved. But the comparison between the cost of the first Egyptian module and the ones used in Kuraymat for example or any other solar plant will not be fair because the cost of this unit is by nature high due to the fact that you are producing a one unit prototype. The most costly parts were jigs and fixtures which were used for the assembly and they were only used for one time.

“Prof. Dr. El-Refaie: It’s the first Egyptian CSP module that was developed from design to manufacturing”

And if the mass production was planned, the cost will be much reduced, and I expect it to be lower than the cost of importing collectors. Moreover, I am pretty sure, since I was responsible for the optical design part, that the cost of local manufacturing mirrors will be much lower than the imported mirrors. Also, the cost of engineering consultancy will be compensated. So, may be if similar projects are to be executed in Egypt, the team of this research project or in gen-eral Faculty of Engineering in Cairo University can play the role of a consultant for any coming CSP projects in Egypt.

What next after first CSP Egyptian module? During the inauguration ceremony of this project, the minister and the vice prime minister said that this project should be extended and completed and this will be discussed in Cairo with the project team.

I n t e r v i e w s

Egypt Takes Shine to

Renewable Energy

By Wael Fareed (REMENA 5)[email protected]


Once an exporter of oil and gas, Egypt is now struggling to meet its own energy needs. Whilst Egypt has proven oil re-serves of 4.4 billion barrels and proven natural gas reserves of 78 trillion cubic feet, an ever increasing percentage of its daily production is being used to meet the country’s growing energy needs. Oil was traditionally the major source of fuel and power, but as production levels have continued to drop from the high of 1996 (935,000 barrels a day), Egypt has had to use its developing gas reserves as a substitute. Egypt’s demand for electricity is growing rapidly and the need to develop alternative power resources is becoming ever more urgent. It is estimated that demand is increasing at a rate of 1,500 to 2,000MW a year, as a result of rapid urbanization and economic growth. Egypt has been suffering severe power shortages and rolling blackouts over the past years, necessitating the requirement to look to alternative energy options to help meet increasing demand.

PolicyHistory shows that establishing a new industry requires not only firm de-mand, but also policy incentives and concessionary financing terms. This is particularly relevant to renewable energy industries, such as solar and wind energy that has to compete in the marketplace against already es-tablished and highly subsidized fos-sil fuels. A level playing field can only be established through proper legislation and temporary govern-ment incentives for these renewable. Egypt’s New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) was established to act as the national focal point for expanding efforts to develop and introduce renewable energy

technologies on a commercial scale, Egypt’s present energy strategy (ad-opted by resolution of the SCE in February 2008) aims at increasing the share of renewable energy to 20 per cent of Egypt’s energy mix by 2020. This target is expected to be met largely by scaling-up of wind power projects with the share of wind power in total electricity generation being expected to reach 12 percent. This translates to a wind power ca-pacity of about 7200MW by 2020.

“It is estimated that demand is increasing at a rate of 1,500 to 2,000MW a year”

R e n e w a b l e E n e r g y

Current renewable energy capacity in Egypt

SolarEgypt has an average level of solar ra-diation of between 2,000 to 3,200 kWh per square meter a year, giving it signif-icant potential for utilizing this form of renewable energy, there is some so-lar projects constructed as following:

-Egypt’s only major solar power proj-ect was commissioned in Kuraymat. The plant is a 140MW solar ther-mal combined cycle power plant of which 20MW is from solar energy.

- Established solar energy factory for producing 2MW/years mono-crystal-line solar cells by ministry of defense.


-The remote village of Abou Monkar has become the first Egyptian town powered partly by a solar-power plant.

Renewable energy might be the only way to meet Egypt’s ever-growing electricity needs, especially in remote areas where connecting villages to the electrical grid is prohibitively ex-pensive. Egypt is recognized as hav-ing vast potential for solar energy ap-plication, but the investment cost of solar power plants is currently very high in comparison with oil and gas fired power plants and it is envisaged that Egypt’s strategy for developing its renewable energy capacity will be mainly directed at the wind sector.

HydropowerHydroelectricity has played a role in electricity generation in Egypt for decades. Projects such as:-Aswan Dam-Aswan low Dam

The Aswan Dam produce 15,300GWh a year, or roughly five to ten per cent of Egypt’s annual energy needs. As 85 per cent of Egypt’s hydropower po-tential has already been developed, this is not regarded as a premier growth sector and the Government’s focus has been directed more towards the wind and solar energy sectors.

WindEgypt’s best-developed wind region so far is the Zafarana district, with average wind speeds of around nine metres a second. The project (which is owned and operated by NREA) con-sists of a series of linked wind farms, the first of which started construc-tion in 2001. In 2010, Zafarana wind farm’s total installed capacity reached 550MW, making it one of the larg-est onshore wind farms in the world.Egypt is recognized as having some of the world’s best wind re-sources, especially in the Gulf of Suez area, with significant

additional potential along the east and west banks of the Nile. According to the Egypt Wind Energy Association, 700 square kilometres have been set aside for new wind projects in the Geb-el el-Zayt area which has wind

speeds of 11 metres per second.The NREA is currently finalizing a 200MW project in the Al-Zayt area which is expected to become operational in the first quarter of 2014. Whilst there are a number of wind energy projects in the pipe-line, the majority of which will be managed by the NREA, renew-able energy industry, investor un-certainty and a weakened econo-my following the ousting of the previous government have slowed down development significantly.

“Kuraymat is a 140MW solar thermal combined cycle power

plant of which 20MW is from solar energy”

ConclusionEgypt is making good prog-ress towards becoming a sig-nificant player in the re-newable energy industry.

Renewable energy projects al-ready enjoy priority of dispatch and Egypt’s central bank guarantees all financial obligations of the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company under the PPAs. The Government recognizes that reforms are necessary

to attract private sector investment and the new electricity law is making serious attempts to address private sector concerns.In recent months, positive steps have been taken to revive Egypt’s stalling renewable energy industry. Imple-mentation of the new law will be key to attracting foreign investment in the sector and enabling Egypt to meet its target of 20 per cent renewable energy production by 2020.

References-http://www.egyptindependent.com/opin-ion/investing-renewable-energy-egypts-fu-ture.-http://ww w.nortonrosefulbright.com/k nowledge/publ icat ions/74735/renew-able-energy-in-egypt-hydro-solar-and-wind#section1-http://www.al-monitor.com- h t t p : / / e n . w i k i p e d i a . o r g / w i k i /Category:Hydroelectric_power_stations_in_Egypt


Kuraymat Power Plant

Let the Sun In: FORD C-MAX New

TechnologyBy Sarah El Mergawy (REMENA 6)[email protected]


The New Year 2014 has begun with an announcement of the first sun-powered hy-

brid car feasible for daily use. A concept called C-MAX Solar Energi was launched

in collaboration between the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Ford Motor

Company in partnership with SunPower. It is first-of-its-kind sun-powered vehicle

with the potential to deliver the best of a plug-in hybrid without depending on the

electric grid for fuel.

Fitted with photovoltaic cells the model harvests energy by a solar concentrator which is made as Fres-nel lens. Its work principle is similar to a magnifying glass though thin-ner one. The Fresnel lens is sup-posed to stand over a parked car as a canopy gathering and focusing the sunlight onto rooftop solar panels. At the same time likewise a sun-flower the car should autonomously track the sun and position itself in the path of the rays. As the result it will be able to juice the battery up to 8 kilowatts of electricity. In a sunny day it’s equal to the conventional plug-in charge. Ford is introducing the new vehicle in the end of Janu-ary in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show – the biggest one of the year. But no plans were re-vealed on selling the car to the public, so far, it’s still a prototype.

Instead the manufacturer is go-ing to test out the concept in real world environment. By using re-newable power, Ford C-MAX So-lar Energi Concept is estimated to reduce the annual greenhouse gas emissions a typical owner would produce by four metric tons.

Ford developed a model which is able to drive on one day solar charge from 3 to 21 miles – a big leap to a market solution. According to the devel-oper one full charge can meet 75% all-day needs of an average driver. “Ford C-MAX Solar Energi Con-cept shines a new light on elec-tric transportation and renew-able energy,” said Mike Tinskey, Ford global director of vehicle electrification and infrastructure.“As an innovation leader, we want to further the public dialog about


“Ford C-MAX Solar Energi Concept is estimated to re-duce the annual greenhouse gas emissions a typical own-er would produce by four metric tons”

the art of the possible in moving the world toward a cleaner future”.In his interview Ford’s manager of elec-tric vehicle infrastructure and smart grid David McCreadie mentioned that the most complicated task was to keep the Fresnel lens focused on the solar panels.– auto-parking system. It’s too early to make conclusions about safety or efficiency of a self-driving car be-fore the field-testing, now Ford proved its ability to generate innovative solu-tions in renewable energy technologies.The way to make the solar-powered


car independent from the grid by improving speed of charge is not the only approach. Tesla Motors moved to another direction. Instead of mak-ing an individual charging system (rather expensive one) Tesla propos-es an alternative - charging batter-ies stored at solar-powered stations.

Price as well as speed of refilling in such stations could compete with a conven-tional car with gasoline. Both ways are quite aspiring and fresh although raising a lot of questions. One of them – do auto industry take these market and consumer demands seriously?Realistically Ford’s C-MAX Solar Energi will hardly have ever come to commercial life. Then again the

“one full charge can meet 75% all-day needs of an average driver”

company’s media release doesn’t hide it, too. With all its futuris-tic features, challenging solutions and visible results it reminds a well-designed scientific experi-ment collecting best practices to implement in future projects. Ac-cording to Mike Tinskey, Ford’s global director of vehicle electrifi-cation and vehicle infrastructure, results of field tests are going to be used to determinate the proto-type’s perspectives for production.

As Tinskey added the inspiration for

the concept came from long partner-

ship with SunPower company and

Georgia Tech. The first one was devel-

oping solar panels, the second – Fres-

nel lens, and Ford managed to make

the auto-parking system. This collab-

oration afforded to incorporate finally

solar technology into the car.

Referenceshttps://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2014/01/02/let-the-sun-in--ford-c-max-solar-energi-concept-goes-off-the-gri.html


By Mahmoud Hosny (REMENA 6)[email protected]


N e w s

Renewable Energy News

Saudi Government determined to use solar

Saudi Arabia may be at the beginning of this chain when it

comes to solar energy, as it works on establishing the neces-

sary regulatory infrastructure and commercial framework,

yet all the signs are already pointing to a remarkable deter-

mination by the government to diversify the national energy

mix. Dhuba 1 Independent Power Project (IPP) is a 550 MW

gas-fired Integrated Solar Combined-Cycle (ISCC) plant

that will incorporate a 50 MW Concentrated Solar power

(CSP) portion, according to Fouad Alsherebi, executive vice

president of Power Generation at Saudi Electricity Company

(SEC). For this project, the utility firm has selected parabolic

trough technology, and had invited expressions of interest on

December 25, 2013. In the same week, SEC commissioned

two major power projects at Qurayyat with a capacity of

7,900 MW, which included the 3,927 MW Al-Qurayyat IPP,

the world’s largest independent power generation project.

This year, SEC is reportedly planning to

tender the 1,800 MW Dhuba 2 IPP, an-

other ISCC project, with steam running

on liquid fuel oil, and one that will be

50% owned by SEC. The procurement

for each of Dhuba 1 and Dhuba 2 will

be undertaken on a build-own-and-

operate model, and they are projected

to be in operation by 2017 and 2018

respectively. “Eleven thousand mega-

watt IPP generation capacity is to be in

service by 2018, so that shows a great

opportunity for investors in the IPP,” highlights

Alsherebi. “We have the solar energy is coming at

the peak when we need it, and it can save not only

energy but can also help us in curbing the peak

load,” says H.E. Dr. Abdullah Al-Shehri, Gover-

nor of Electricity & Cogeneration Regulatory Au-

thority (ECRA). Indeed, CSP with storage, which

is required by King Abdullah City for Atomic and

Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) in the upcoming

tenders, will be an optimal way of meeting both the

daytime and evening peak demands of the king-

dom. With K.A.CARE’s target of having 25 GW

of CSP capacity installed by 2032, and with more

solar projects coming from SEC and Saudi Aram-

co, the global CSP market can look forward to a

very active year in a rapidly expanding solar power

market. ... From: csptoday


N e w s

First Solar awarded contract for 13 MW MENA installation

Photovoltaic activity in the MENA region continues to pick up, with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) awarding the 13 MW first stage of its 1 GW Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum project to First Solar. As the economics of photovoltaic begin to stack up the MENA region, particularly as a replacement to oil-fired generation, approval and construc-tion of projects is beginning to get underway. The most recent announcement is the First Solar will supply the first stage of the eventual 1 GW Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The project, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is to be part of a new policy direction in the country. The Dubai Energy Strat-egy 2030 aims at seeing energy sources in the country diversi-fied to include 1% renewables by 2020 and 5% by 2030. While these goals may appear unambitious, demonstration projects may prove to utilities the financial reality emerging in the re-gion. DEWA is managing and executing the solar project, and the initial 13 MW installation will be connected to the DEWA grid. The utility reports that it received six bids to the tender, issued June 26, from international photovoltaic players. First Solar has been selected to provide both modules and Engineer-ing, Procurement and Construction services and the project is set to be completed by October 2013. UAE and this most

Saudi Arabia and Germany collaborate onrenewable energy research

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) and German based Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE) signed a collaboration frame-work agreement. The agreement will cover renewable energy R&D as well as testing and training, serving as a basis for vari-ous projects between the organizations, which are committed to develop, support and deploy renewable energy technology locally and across the globe. Serving the organizations' goals to develop research capabilities, human capacity and ways to solving engineering challenges unique to the region, the agree-ment covers various technologies including solar thermal, PV, energy storage, grid integration and design, water desalina-tion, solar and renewable energy efficient cooling as well as ef-ficient building. The R&D will also focus on standardized per-formance and reliability testing and certification. KACARE vice president for renewable energy Khalid Al-Sulaiman said "We greatly value the opportunity to work closely with a re-nowned and respected organization such as Fraunhofer ISE."

recent announcement, First Solar reports that per-formance of modules in high temperatures was an important consideration of DEWA in the awarding of the contract to the American company. A spokes-person for the company also chose to highlight the significance of the contract win, given it is a flagship project. First Solar’s largest installation in the MENA region at present, is a 5 MW power plant in Masdar.

Fraunhofer ISE director Eicke Weber said, “Fraunhofer ISE is looking forward to working with K.A.CARE to develop solar energy capabilities for a very promising market in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region."

... From: pv-magazine

... From: ifpinfo

REMENA & Interesting Cultural Incidents

By Mohamed Shehata (REMENA 5)[email protected]


What is culture? Is it a word, his-tory, a group of actions, or a pe-riod of time, Which definitions could describe the “culture” in the best way?! Does it have dimen-sions? To which extent can a sim-ple term vary from one culture to another? What are the projections and the things to be taken into consideration when dealing with “others” –from a totally different background- that might spice up or put-out the ignition of the first unconscious mutual impression.

Cultural dimensions theory is a framework for cross-cultural communication, developed by Geert Hofstede. It describes the effects of a society’s culture on the values of its members, and how these values relate to behavior, us-ing a structure derived from fac-tor analysis. The six dimensions are Power distance independence, individualism v.s. collectivism, uncertainty avoidance index,

masculinity v.s. femininity, Long-term orientation, and indulgence v.s. restraint.1

Intercultural REMENA For an interdisciplinary bilateral program like REMENA this is-sue had to be tackled through an academic course giving the par-ticipants to get exposed to hear and share their personal experi-ences and analyze those experi-ences through highlighting the course target in their examples. “Intercultural communication” is course responsible for tackling such issues and assisting the pro-gram target of getting the student more exposed to different cul-tures, vibes and gestures.

As reported by some REMENA students “It is important to main-tain the degree of respect during the course studies” so we have to understand about one another’s

“REMENA students: “It is important to maintain the degree of respectur-ing the course studies” so we have to understand about one another’s cultures to understand the driving mechanism behind any action”

cultures to understand the driving mechanism behind any action. I personally attended that course and I find it very interesting to listen to cultural stories and know more about the others. I would like to state some of the interest-ing experiences I have listened to, and some various definitions for the term “Culture” and its implica-tion from different perspectives.

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofstede’s_cultur-al_dimensions_theory

I n t e r c u l t u r e P a g e


Cultural-conflicts during meet-ingsHossam El Degwy “Researcher at Fraunhofer institute” (RE-MENA 4) narrated: I once at-tended a meeting with a German consultant discussing issues for our wind project. The discus-sions got a little bit tense sud-denly I saw the German guy hit-ting the table and saying “No”.I noticed as well that he crossed his legs when sitting. I controlled my temper and left the room.Hossam’s perspective: In is not considered polite to hit tables dur-ing a meeting and to sit crossing legs, this way of sitting means that you are not respecting the others!German consultant’s perspective: It is considered normal in our culture to sit whatever way that make you comfortable, more-over hitting tables is an objection sign and also considered normal.

Shaking hands in the Arab worldMathias Graunke “Researcher at Masdar institute” (REMENA 4) narrated: I once been through a normal situation of greeting someone (an Arabian lady) and I got stopped from the reactions I saw on the face. Despite of how normal a situation might look like for you, but some cultural experiences can’t be just read it

could only be gained by experience!Lady’s perspective: I am not used to shake hands with men, why are you getting me out of my comfort zone?!Matthias’s perspective: I am trying to keep the first im-pression by shaking hands and showing respect.

Here are some other various exam-ples of the meaning of “Culture””Culture is a set of traditions and habits collecting a group of people in a specific place” …Ehab Moukayes (RMENA 5)

”The culture of a specific commu-nity depends on its habits, tradi-tions, history, and civilization ”… Tamer Hanna (REMENA 4)

“It is a relative term but if we are to compare it with the com-munity at a specific time I would say that the community should incubate the different individual

cultures rose in it” …Tarek AbdulRazek (REMENA 5)

”For me culture is a group of people who lived together for a long time, and tried to figure-out together and question the reason behind their existence, therefore

the idea of religion is introduced and I personally think that the religion is the culture founder ” … Philip Nüsslein (REMENA 5)

”I am convinced that culture is related to a community’s spo-ken language and its origin de-spite the remoteness of Ecuador from Spain but Ecuadorians still practice some Spanish traditions just because of the language” … Agusto Bustamente (REME-NA 5)

Maybe it is the glasses we put on to perceive the world they way we got used to, regardless of the place, people and time. And for sure it will be the same glasses used to highlight the differ-ences which might be compre-hend or sensed but rest assured we won’t understand everything … Mohamed Shehata (REMENA 5)

I n t e r c u l t u r e P a g e

Philip Nüsslein and Agusto Bustamente, Students of REMENA Batch 5

Ehab Moukayes, Student of REMENA Batch 5

REMENA Batch 4 and 5

Berlin Module Joins All Arab-German Master

Programs

By Amal Moussa (REMENA 5) [email protected] Ahmed Zakaria (REMENA 6)[email protected]


The German Federal ministry for Economic Cooperation and development (BMZ) via the German Agency for the

International Cooperation (GIZ) and the German Federal ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) commis-

sioned the German academic exchange service (DAAD) to establish postgraduate programs for young German and

Arab professionals. Participants study both at an Arab and a German university one of the following five subjects:

1. Water Management (since 2007) at the University of Jordan and at the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne;

2. Economic Reform (since 2009) at the Universities of Damascus (until 2010, from 2014 at the Lebanese American

University) and the University of Marburg;

3. Renewable Energy (since 2009) at the Universities of Cairo and Kassel,

4. Education Management (since 2011) at Helwan University and University of Education Ludwigsburg, and

5. Town Planning (since 2011) at the Ain Shams University Cairo and the University of Stuttgart.

B e r l i n - M o d u l e



These master programs are accred-ited both in the Arab countries and in Germany. During the first three years, participants should be from the Arab and the German countries. After three years of the start of each program, the program is opened to international participants too. The basic criteria for the student selection are the pro-fessional experience and motivation for international cooperation in the Arab region. The teaching language is English, and the participants will be taught basic German and Arabic. The Masters students are also required to

understand the interaction between development, economic, foreign and culture politics and the way the German Parliamentary and governance system function. As a result, the Berlin module was organized where all the five master programs students join for one week seminar "German-Arab cooperation in Development, business, culture and Poli-tics" in Berlin. In May 2013, 65 Arab students from Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen, 21 German students, and 7 students from other countries participated in the module.There are three objectives for the Berlin Module: 1-To realize the objectives and instruments of The German-Arab relations in the field of Politics, Economics, Culture. It means to clarify what is the way to do the required action.2-To understand the set-up and interplay of institutions and organizations with relevance to German-Arab relations. It means to get the idea of who are the drivers of the working procedures.3-To encourage the assessing of the impact of the objectives, instruments, institutions and organizations. To show the effectiveness and the efficiency of these instruments. The focus in the Berlin-Module in May 2013 was to understand the set-up and interplay of institutions and organizations with relevance to German-Arab relations. It means to get the idea of who are the drivers of the working procedures.



The official opening of this seminar took place in the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development in Berlin on Monday May 13, 2013. During the following days, the participants were subdivided in eight working groups. Each working group dealt with a different topic, each of them of relevance both to Germany and to the Arab region. The groups had the chance to discuss these topics with Members of the German Parliament, with the relevant ministries, and with specialized organizations. In addition, they had the chance to participate as observers in a session of one of the parliamentary committees. The participants summarized the findings of the working groups in separate reports.On Wednesday May 15, 2013, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in cooperation with the German-Arab Friendship Association organized a special evening event with parliamentarians and experts from Germany and the Arab region, discussing the role and importance of values (moral and religious) in politics in different cultures.



REMENAOne of the extraordinary joint Masters programs existing now a days offering both technical and practical preparation in the renewable energy field, aiming to make this world a better place with all the uprising challenges that emerged with the technology and prosperity requirements for the hu-man race.

The name REMENA stands for Renewable Energy and En-ergy Efficiency for the Middle East and North Africa region. It is a double international Master of Science degree program offered by the joint collaboration between Cairo University in Egypt and the University of Kassel in Germany. It is spon-sored by the German Federal ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) via the German Agency for the International Cooperation (GIZ) and the German Federal ministry of Education and Re-search (BMBF), commissioning the German academic exchange service.

We might all wonder why specifically it was founded between those universities from two different regions, the answer is quite obvious; the world needs the cooperation of different nations with different backgrounds and resources in order to overcome the obstacles the world is facing for the present time and the future. The program diminishes the distance between the Middle East region and Europe through providing the opportunity for the students to live and learn in both Germany and Egypt. It has to be mentioned that the course is taught in English language which is a privilege for international students. And not only students get their share of the knowledge offered in the energy sector by high-level professionals and experts from both regions, but they get to learn the spoken languages and traditions in both countries as well. Highlight-ing that fact, this prepares the students -independently of their nationality- to be open for the intercultural exposure and making the best out of this experience during the 21 months of the program. Another thing that makes this program unique, is the fact that it embraces students with different backgrounds of social or natural sciences, economics, or engineering. Hence, having a set of expertise that would fill the gaps to make the wheel turn in the direction of green energy and energy efficiency.

Students prospects of the program would be as following:- To be an expert in interdisciplinary field of renewable energy- To have excellent career in international projects- To have leadership positions in the public and private energy sectorsThose prospects where already met by all the four batches students who finished the program ever since it started in 2010.

The program is growing as the outcome is promising and fulfilling the objective it was established for, prov-ing that the academic exchange is a brilliant approach to put the corner stones for a worldwide progress, built by the hands of people all over the world as one nation seeking better life for all.

By Abdelbari Redouane, [email protected], Alireza Taheri, [email protected] Khaled Tamizi, [email protected] (REMENA 5)


REMENA organized several excursions to visit important companies in different fields of Re-newable Energies during the years 2013 and 2014. In this article you will find a snapshot of some visited excursions.

REMENA EXCURSIONS

E x c u r s i o n s


EnerconOn the 29th of May, as REME-NA students, we had the op-portunity to visit ENERCON in its facilities in Magderburg, Germany. ENERCON began when Aloys Wobben founded the company in 1984. We visited the blade manufacturing area,

which is a huge part of the whole facility. There, we could see high technological machines which manufacture the big structured wind turbines. According to En-ercon’s webpage, ENERCON rotor blades are manufactured with a vacuum infusion process using the so-called sandwich technique. ENERCON has in-stalled one of the most powerful wind energy converter around the world, an E-126/7.5 MW, at its site in Magdeburg-Rothens-ee. Indeed ENERCON has im-pacted the whole Wind Energy industry around the world with its designs in every area includ-ing aerodynamics, electrical ma-chines, grid integration and oth-ers. This impact has made that its turbines have been installed in more than 30 countries and more than 20000 wind turbines.

CubeREMENA has had a meet-ing with Mr. Peter Ritter who is the second top-manager of Cube Engineering Company in the main office of Cube in Kas-sel, Germany on July 25, 2013.In a friendly atmosphere, we have simply understood who is Cube

and its partners, what is Cube’s motivations, expertise, and ac-tivities, as well as where is its de-partments.Cube’s services include Project Ideas, Screening, Engineering, Realization, Operation and Re-powering from A to Z. They usu-ally teach customers as a duty af-ter running their services.

They are also successful in business development, advicing ministers, and planning and project manage-ment. Cube has already the follow-ing subsets:- EOL, Energy online.de GmbH.- More Energy GmbH.- CUBE solar Ltd.- CUBE Engineering America LLC.- EMD Deutschland GbR.

CUBE Engineering is a leader in site assessment and consulting. It is an independent company with a global reach who has realised over 4000 wind power projects with a com-bined capacity of some 15000 MW worldwide during the last 20 years. Therefore, it is an active potential of Germany, near to us in Kassel, who can provide and improve a lot of services like Management con-sulting, Wind assessment, Planning and project management, Environ-mental assessment, and etc.

BremerhavenREMENA has also visited wind park in Bremerhaven, north of Ger-many, with Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Henry Seifert, Head of the Institute for Wind Energy, fk-wind at the Uni-versity of Applied Sciences Bremer-haven, on July 5, 2013 as a practical part of the Mechanical aspects of wind turbines course. This excur-sion was held in the wind faculty of Bremerhaven Hochschule. After a workshop about technical issues about wind energy, we had a tour in the wind park there.

Alireza Taheri, Student of REMENA Batch 5

E x c u r s i o n s

REMENA Batch 4 and 5 at ENERCON


GIZREMENA visited GIZ headquarters in Eschborn, Ger-many where it has participated in a seminar about Renew-able Energy development in MENA region. This seminar was animated by Mr. Werner Wasmuth and Mr. Werne Ahringhoff, experts from GIZ. They presented to us the strategy and the vision of GIZ for MENA region. They also spoke about their ambitious objectives regarding the pro-motion of Sustainable Development and the reductions of CO2 through supportive and innovative technical and po-litical energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammen-arbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Society for International Co-operation) or GIZ is an international enterprise owned by the German Federal Government, operating in many fields across more than 130 countries. It primarily works with states, state agencies, and the private sector. Its headquar-ters are located in Bonn and Eschborn, Germany.

E x c u r s i o n s


E x c u r s i o n s

ViessmannREMENA visited Viessmann headquarters in Al-lendorf, Germany where we met Dipl. Ing. Ger-hard Schäfer who presented to us the strategy of Viessmann for the next decade. He also exposed to us your ambitious objectives regarding the re-ductions of CO2 through energy efficiency, renew-able energy and some other innovative solutions.

This excursion allowed us to have a direct insight in one of the most successful companies in Ger-many. The organization of the factory and the seri-al production lines gave us a clear idea about how does the efficiency of the work and the quality go together in practice. Also the presentation given by the directors and high officers of the company raised our awareness to sustainability and CO2 emissions reduction potential in building and in-dustry sectors. Hence the efficiency of the use of conventional energy sources, and the use of new alternative energy sources could improve people life and the Planet future.

The Viessmann Group is one of the leading in-ternational manufacturers of heating systems. Founded in 1917, the family business maintains a staff of approximately 10,600 employees and gen-erates 1.89 billion Euro in annual group turnover. With 27 production divisions in 11 countries, sub-sidiaries and representations in 74 countries and 120 sales offices around the world, Viessmann is an internationally orientated company.


Bio gas plant, GranadaREMENA visited a Bio gas plant in Granada, Spain. The plant land was assumed to be a source of pollution until it was converted into a useful source of energy. The land is covered by a soil layer to prevent the methane gas from spreading into the air, and collect the gas through pipes connected to the central station to be used in the cogen-eration Heat and Power (CHP) cycle to produce electricity and heat. The capacity of that plant is 750 kW and it can produce energy for 10 years.

E x c u r s i o n s

REMENA organized for Batch 4 and 5 an excursion to Spain last Sep-tember, 2013. It was one of the most important and amazing excur-sion. This visit enriched the knowledge of the students and brought them close to the different types of renewable energy resources and part of Spain’s history. It consisted of four major visits to Wind farm "El-Marquesado", Alhambra palace and Bio gas plant in Granada, and to the German Aerospace Center (DLR) Platform Solar researches,in Tabernas.

Spain Excursion


E x c u r s i o n s

In the province of Almeria in southeast Spain, on the edge of Tabernas Desert, lies the Plata-forma Solar de Almeria (PSA). Owner and operator of the PSA is the Spanish research center for energy, environmental studies and technology CIEMAT, a co-operation partner of the DLR for many years. On the facility ground, REMENA students were able to view a composi-tion of solar technologies entailing, among others, solar tower, parabolic trough, Sterling dish and Fresnel collectors. The solar irradiance of southern Spain is the perfect spot in Europe to develop more efficient technologies in order to harvest the solar potential.

DLR Platform Solar researches,Tabernas

Wind farm "El-Marquesado" , Granada

It is the second-largest wind farm in Eu-rope and it has a capacity of 198 mega-watts (MW) with an annual output of 450 gigawatt hours. It is consisted of four wind farms; each with a capacity of 49.5 MW, the majority of wind turbine is 2 MW and pro-duced by Gamesa.

Alhambra palace, Granada“It is a palace and fortress complex located in Grana-da, Andalusia, Spain. It was originally constructed as a small fortress in 889 and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid 11th cen-tury by the Moorish king Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Kingdom of Granada who built its current pal-ace and walls, and later converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada”.ref: http://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/historicalintroduc-tion.asp

REMENA ACTIVITIES

A C T I V I T I E S

By Lama Al Fakhri, [email protected] and

Mohammed Nour Zoukar, [email protected]

(Batch 6)

Issue no. 01 February 2014 REMENA INSIGHT P30

Beside studying, REMENA students managed to organize number of ac-tivities that included visiting new cit-ies and towns in Germany, hanging out together, and other interesting activities. In this article you will find a snapshot of selected activities.

REMENA INSIGHT P31

A C T I V I T I E S

Issue no. 01 February 2014


A C T I V I T I E S

Bergpark Kassel (Herkules) (Dec 14, 2013)We can’t stay in Kassel and not visit the great Bergpark to see Hercules statue. The statue is located at the top of a Pyramid, which stands on top of the Octagon. The overview from there is outstanding; we can see the whole city from above. We played with the snow, walked in the park, passed by the old castle and enjoyed a hot drink and warm fire in a small hut.

“REMENA students: Ac-tivities are the times for relaxation from classes stress”.

Weimar (Nov 17, 2013)REMENA students organized a trip to Weimar, Germany. Weimar has a great va-riety of museums which we visited and they are the The Goethe-Nationalmuse-um and the Duchess Anna Amalia Li-brary at Platz der Demokratie. We also had a walk in the Park an der Ilm. We also visited Buchenwald concentration camp which is a German Nazi concentration camp established on the Ettersberg near Weimar, in July 1937, one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps in Ger-many. Finally, we had lunch at Zum Schwar-zen Bären restaurant.


A C T I V I T I E S

Marburg (Oct 26, 2013)

We also went to an amazing city called Marburg, Ger-

many. We strolled around the old city and enjoyed the

medieval atmosphere in combination with the spirit of

a university town. Moreover, we visited the Elisabeth-

Church, Germany’s oldest gothic church, and the old

castle at top of the “Oberstadt”.

We passed by the old university building, and met with

some friends. And of course we couldn’t leave Marburg

without tasting the Auflauf, especially from one of the

famous restaurants in Marburg. Auflauf is a pretty stan-

dard fare for Germans (a bit like casserole) but it’s super

popular in Marburg. Finally, we wandered around a lit-

tle more, and visited some shops. It was an unforgettable

trip that we will always remember.

“Marburg Trip: It was an unfor-gettable trip that we will always re-member.

The Auflauf


A C T I V I T I E S

REMENA DinnerREMENA has invited its students to have dinner with some of their professors and with the presence

of REMENA team in Kassel University.

“REMENA stu-dents: Weih-

nachtsmarkt is a must-see event”.


A C T I V I T I E S

Kassel Weihnachtsmarkt (December 13, 2013)

Weihnachtsmarkt, or Christmas market, is a spectacular part of

Christmas in Germany. A must-see fevent or any traveler to Eu-

rope between the end of November and the New Year. In Kassel, the

festivals lasts for the entire month of December. In the Weihnachts-

markt, people stands in circles around tables out in the cold, keep-

ing warm by drinking Glühwein and other hot beverages. Feeling

excited to participate in this event, we gathered in a weekend drank

Tea, Hot chocolate and Glühwein, and we enjoyed tasting the variety

of yummy food.

Even shivering on a December evening, a giant candle standing be-

hind you in the Marktplatz laughter surrounding you brings true

yuletide cheer.

This year in Kassel Weihnachtsmarkt, the theme was a fairytale

theme; you can really live the Grimm adventure, with handmade

fairy tale characters on display, especially the long department store

window display of a Steiff winter scene. It was unbelievable.

An Advice to Master Thesis Applications

By Augusto Bustamante (REMENA 5)[email protected]


I would like to start this article by sharing some personal information. In 2012, I won 130 000 Euros Scholarhips. I trav-

elled to four continents America, Asia, Europe and Africa. I have traveled and enjoyed a lot of places like: the Red Sea,

the Great Wall of China, Pearl tower in Shanghai, Eiffel tower in Paris, Berlin and the list does not end here. And what is

more important than visiting new or historical places that I have imagined of visiting someday. I think the new knowledge

acquired from these travels are precious and useful. So, when I will be back to my country, I will be able to make it better

than before. On the other hand, as you know, batch 5 is facing a crucial time trying to find a place to develop their master

thesis. Fortunately, I have applied to some companies and Institutions in Germany and abroad, and I have got four inter-

view meetings with Fraunhofer (Bremerhaven), Microenergy (Berlin), Sowitec (Sonnenbühl) and Forwind (Oldenburg).

I do not have to mention that getting scholarships and interviews are not an easy job. I am sure that I got these scholar-

ships and the interview opportunities because my application was well written. With this brief information, what I would

like to share in this article, is my experience applying for the Master Thesis positions. I will divide the information in three

main topics. The first will be related to the master thesis topic itself, the second is referred to the formal requirements for

applying and the third point is that I will mention some hints for applying.

Master thesis topic selectionFirst of all, the student must differ-entiate between Master Thesis offer and Internship. The master thesis is the development of a topic that the company has a special interest in and which could be proposed by the student or by the company. And what is important is to find the right supervisor with whom you will con-duct a successful thesis. Normally, big companies like SMA, ENER-CON, Fraunhofer and Universities offer this type of opportunities.

On the other hand, the Internship is a special work that you must do day by day for the company, could be related 100% to renewable ener-gies or energy efficiency but also can include organizational and support activities. And what is important to know in this case, they do not offer you any supervision in the 99% of the cases. And for sure, they are not useful for our objective, which is to finish the Master Thesis.Moreover, I must mention that find-ing a Master Thesis Topic could

E x p e r i e n c e s

have two options: the institution has a topic or you have your own topic. Nor-mally, what is easier is to go for a topic already established by the company and also it includes a budget to sup-port the research. But it has its own difficulties. For example, it could be too complicated to solve in 6 months, maybe because you have to learn a new software or the topic does not have a well-documented state of art. This is the case of some of the students in other batches.


Another disadvantage lay in the fact that the topic is not of your interest, like what happened to people from former batches. On the other hand, developing your own topic always take more effort. This is because you must formulate a topic which might be in accordance of some research centers or companies. When you al-ready make the general frame for the topic, you might contact the supervi-sor inside the institution and he will decide if the company has the inter-est and the budget to suppor this re-search.

The formal requirements for apply-ingThe second part, I will use some hints given by Evelyn Brudler and Hans Holtorf in an article wrote for the uni-versity magazine in Oldenburg, which its main topic is related to a PhD ap-plication. In General, the typical doc-uments that you must have to send to the companies are:1. A cover letter. Here you address in a condensed form why you apply for the specific job offer and what you think qualifies you for the respective position. This is a 1-page letter. Since this should encompass your address and your signature, you may realize that only half a page is left to describe why you are the one, what qualifies you and what your special interest in that topic is. For me, I think is the most important part in the applica-tion, because with this one page you are telling to the people who is read-ing, why you are the right candidate for the position. Then, my advice is to read carefully the job offer, which you will match with your skills and educa-tion. If the cover letter is enough clear and is written all they want to read, they will go carefully with the CV. In the case, you do not have previous ex-perience, I do recommend you, which subjects or topics you developed in the Master academic courses, which will support you as base knowledge to develop the work.

2. Your CV: what Brudler and Holtorf advice, is that you may check internet pages which are up-to-date for formats for Germany. I think the format is not so im-portant but for sure it must have a logic and chronologic development of the facts regarding the applica-tion. Besides, all time gaps without employment or education should be explained: a child, internships, etc. At the end the CV typically lists language skills, computer skills and other relevant skills. Moreover, I used to emphasize the activities I made in my previous works that matched with the activities that will be performed in the master work. 3. Reference letters: What was listed in the CV has to be proven by a reference letter or certificate. They must be sorted in order with the most recent letter first. Never-theless, some positions required a specific reference letter. Normally, you can ask to REMENA board, who will be very happy to give it. As a commetar of our collegues in batch 4, if you have written an skill or knowledge in the CV and you do not have a certificate, there is not problem, but it may be that the em-ployee would prove it in a certain context in the interview, and if you can not accomplish it, you will be sent to the blacklist of this company and you will never can apply for it.4. Grades Record: In Germany, the grades are really important. The 99% of the companies will ask you about the grades. This infor-mation will be delivered to you by REMENA staff, or an informal document you can find in your personal University Web Page.

It is also important to mention, ad-ditional activities for qualification: language proficiency certificates, training certificates, internship certificates, social activities (inter-cultural, social, etc.), sorted in or-der with the most recent letter first.

Hints for applyingConcluding, I will refer to some impor-tant hints that I realized during my ap-plication period. In my personal case, I found that it is very important to find among the staff of the institute and com-pany I am applying for a person who can speak my mother language and estab-lish an informal contact. This is impor-tant to know what they need specifically. Another important thing, especially for the people who are not from Germany, is that the German companies are inter-ested to develop business, sell products or services. Then, it is useful to find proj-ects that are conducted between Ger-many and, in my case, Latin-American or Ecuador. Indeed, these cases happen a lot in the last batches where for exam-ple Fraunhofer is interesting to develop some projects in Egypt, and our colleges are currently working there. Last but not least, read carefully the application 3 or 4 times before you submit it. Be sure that the name of the company, the position and other details are precise. Avoid any kind of false information. I would like to add is important to start the applica-tion before 3 or maximum 4 months in advance. Of course, this is a small guide based on my experiences and they are not absolute facts.


It Feels Like a Blink of an EyeBy Juha Rautiainen (REMENA 5)[email protected]


My name is Juha Rautiainen, and I am a 27-year-old engineer from Finland. In the late summer of year 2012, I was talking to my wife, Swarna (in photo above), about an option of moving to Germany. She had already been accepted to the modern dance school she applied for in Kassel. So, I started to apply for a job in Kassel and close-by cities. After 3 months of job searching, I realized that my expectations to find a job really fast were quite naive so I decided to start looking for study possibilities in Kassel University.

The beginning of the storyAfter a brief “googling”, I found a few master programs at Kassel University which were suitable for me. The first program I found was ECE (Electrical Communication Engineering), and the second one was REMENA (Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency for Middle East and North Africa). After I read about both programs, it became clear to me that I would love to study in REMENA, even though it was quite expensive (10 000€ study fee) compared to ECE, which was

basically free of charge. The facts that lead me to choose REMENA instead of ECE were my keen inter-est in renewable energy, and that it would provide a valuable knowledge for the future job market wherever I am.I had done my engineering thesis concerning renewable energy (RE). The objective of my thesis was to design, build and bring into use an automated laboratory-scale biogas reactor. Before this, I was a mem-ber of a team that made a project concerning RE usage in Finnish


households and especially about the surplus energy fed into the public grid. The study was conducted in co-operation with a few companies pro-viding technical specifications and equipment for our project. We studied the Finnish grid operator policies and possible feed-in tariffs, which did not exist in Finland at that time, not even for bigger scale projects.Moreover, I am originally from a small village called Konginkangas, and this region was one of the places chosen for more detailed site inves-tigations for final disposal site for


spent nuclear fuel. As you can imag-ine, a country that produces more than a quarter of its electricity with nuclear power, and – short remark: is the only country in Northern Europe which is still building more nuclear reactors - have to have a place to store the waste, which no one wants to have in his backyard. These undertakings in my past had left me an interest to-wards RE, which had now burst into flame with REMENA.

The big step Then started the application part, or better to say: figuring out if I am ap-plicable to apply. First of all, I con-tacted the REMENA team concern-ing the admission requirements. They had a look at my scanned doc-uments and replied that I am suit-able to apply for the program. Then, I started to arrange all the neces-sary papers to submit the applica-tion. After visiting several offices, I

Then, finally, my flight date was ahead of me. Swarna had come to Finland for her spring vacation so we flied together. After a 2 hour 40 min flight, we got to Frankfurt from where we took a train to Kassel. I arrived in Kassel on the 3rd of April 2013. The next day I met Mrs. Anke Aref and Mr. Richard Müller at the University. For a pleasant surprise, I also got to meet few of my future col-leagues, Ramy Essam and Mohammed Ouda from Egypt. As the first things in Kassel, I had to get my semester ticket and study related papers in order to reg-ister at the Rathaus (city hall) as a new inhabitant, and also to get a bank ac-count. I managed to get everything done before our lectures started on the 11th of April with the help of REMENA tutors.

I am Happy HereSo here I was, in Germany. A year ear-lier I didn’t have a clue where I would be today. Few months earlier, I was still stressing about how I could get here, but then, finally, I was here ready to study a master in renewable energy. My time started to fly, so many new friends, “REMENIANS”, we called each other, who shared the same interest, pas-sion, for renewable energies. It is hard to believe that already 10 months have passed away, it feels more like a blink of an eye, but we have learned so much. I was looking for a challenge that I surely found. Much has happened, but more is to come and I am lucky to face it with such a team.


managed to get everything to-gether (birth certificate, offi-cial hard copies of my bachelor’s papers, job cer-tificates, etc.). After sending the application and all related documents, I spent a few ner-vous months waiting for a reply. When I finally got the highly expected approval from the REMENA office, I was able to apply for a study leave from my resent job. My boss

understood my case and approved my application for the study leave which made my life easier, as I didn’t need to resign from my job. Next I had to apply for a study loan from a bank to finance my studies and the study fees. The application was more a formality, because all students in Finland, with credit, will get the loan. Another thing was to arrange insurance for my studies, because it was one of the things Kassel Uni-versity required from every student. Then I started to make preparations for moving to Germany. I packed our small property into my moth-er in-law’s garage and I decided to take only clothes with me. Luckily, I didn’t need to bother myself with apartment issues, because my wife had already lived in Germany for 6 months in a flat that was suitable for two of us. The first payments, like study and semester fee, had to be paid before coming to Kassel.

Think Outside the Box – My Motivation to Join REMENA

By Philipp Nüßlein (REMENA 5)[email protected]



Children´s toys lie abandoned in yards, bicycles rust on front porches and only an occasional

truck passes through the quiet streets: this is today's description for the village of Iitate in Ja-

pan's Fukushima prefecture that was once home to 6,000 people. Today, however, it is essentially

a ghost town, evacuated after the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant just 40 km away

following the earthquake in March 2011.



The disaster of Fukushima happened in Japan, far away from my home country Germany. However, it opened our eyes for the negative impacts of the pretended cheap nuclear power. Moreover, it recalled to me that the sketched scenario of Fukushima was much closer to me than the geographical distance may imply: I also grew up in a small Bavarian village at the countryside, characterized by farms and a peaceful nature. As a teenager I could not appreciate these values, even less the protests against a 2 MW nuclear power plant that should have been built just 2 km far away from our house. I just trusted the biased presentation of the proponents that highlighted the invincible low electricity price. The memories of the nuclear catastrophe of Chernobyl that happened in my year of birth 1986 became forgotten.

Children in my village Viereth

Against the background of the Fukushima events I realized the importance of environment protection and I learned to be grateful for the power of the protests preventing my village from becoming a ghost town like Iitate. I began to deepen my knowledge in this field, became more and more interested for the possibilities to leave the nuclear track and found REMENA. The interdisciplinary character of this program allows me, a former student of Economics and Arabic Studies, to understand the technical, political as well as economical dimensions of the international energy transition and to think outside the box that tells us endlessly the lie of cheap nuclear and fossil power.

“Philipp: The interdisciplinary character of REMENA program allows me to think outside the box that tells us endlessly

the lie of cheap nuclear and fossil power”


By Ahmed Ayad (REMENA 5)[email protected]

A l u m n i

REMENA Insight had the chance to meet with the REMENA Alumni speaker Mrs. Rawya Elshazly who spoke about her experience in REMENA and also her career path after join-ing one of the most successful financial entities in the Field of Renewable energy Kredi-tanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW) bank, which is a German government-owned develop-ment bank serving the Middle East and especially Egypt.

“Throughout the centuries there were men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision”

Starting with this quote for Mrs. Ayn Rand, the famous American Philosophical writer, Mrs. Elshazly will thread her experience with REMENA Insight as a student and Alumni Speaker.

Rawya Elshazly Shares her Experiencesin REMENA


A l u m n i

“My name is Rawya Elshazly;

Working in the Renewable En-ergy sector makes many people think I am an Engineer, but actu-ally I am not. I studied Econom-ics and Finance at the German University in Cairo and gradu-ated with highest honor degree in 2007. Destiny made me focus in my job as Market Analysis and Research Specialist in the Renewable Energy (RE) sector. This is how I was first intro-duced to the sector and got re-ally impressed by the enormous potential of Renewable Energies in Egypt especially in wind and solar. This huge interest in the sector made me want to pursue my career in the RE sector.

I joined, therefore, the REME-NA program, which I am proud to be one of its first graduates and the alumni representative in its board of directors. The beauty of the program being a multidis-ciplinary program allowed me to study the topic from different angles. The courses offered are a mix between technical, market related, and economic courses. Furthermore, project manage-ment and social skills are of the core studies. Not to forget the unique structure of the program that stresses on improving the intercultural skills; the program participants mix (being from different countries and back

grounds) as well as allowing one to study in two different countries- Egypt and Germany. During my whole life, I was in close contact with different cultures, especially, the German one, but this interest-ing experience during REMENA has definitely enriched my inter-cultural understanding and toler-ance further.

I am currently working at KfW, Cairo office. KfW has a big port-folio in Egypt especially in the en-ergy sector. We finance Renewable Energy Projects, Energy Efficiency (EE) Projects and Transmission Expansion Projects. Working as a Project Manager in KfW allows me to practically apply what I have learned in REMENA.

I see a huge potential in Egypt and the MENA region for RE and EE that can be utilized. My dream for my country is to focus on its natu-ral and renewable resources that could guarantee reliable supply of energy and water which are the backbone of every economy.

For the current REMENA stu-dents, I wish you best of luck and encourage you to benefit and en-joy every moment and opportu-nity during the program. I would also like to motivate you to get into contact with the REMENA alumni and the other German-Arab Mas-ter Programs students to share and benefit from their experiences.

I am also looking forward to welcome you in the REMENA alumni community.

As for REMENA Alumni, Ihope everyone has found his way and is pursuing his career successfully. I would like to fur-ther encourage you to actively participate in the alumni com-munity. We are trying to plan some activities but your support is the key.”

To sum it up, REMENA Insight would like to thank the Alumni Speaker for sharing her expe-riences and thoughts with us.

“Man’s Ego is the Fountainhead of Hu-

man Progress”

With this quote, REMENA In-sight persuade each one to de-velop his/her ideas for the sake of our energy sustainability.


R E M E N A i n 5 y e a r s

REMENA in 5 years

REMENA this year celebrates its 5th year of launching. During this period, REMENA suc-ceeded to graduate 3 Batches and gain a well known reputation in the energy market. RE-MENA celebrates its 5th year by organizing a Soccer tournament between Batch 5 and 6 and the Administration on Wednesday February 19, 2014. The tournament witnessed the pres-ence and participation of Prof. Dr. Sayed Kaseb, Manager of REMENA, Cairo University, and Prof. Dr. sc. techn. Dirk Dahlhaus, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Kassel University. The results of the tournament was: Batch 5 team won the first place, Administration team won the second place and Batch 6 team won the third place. In the coming pages, REMENA Insight wanted to summarize the 5 years in the most memoriable moments of the students.

By Ehab Moukayes (REMENA5), [email protected], Matthias Namgalies (REMENA6), mat-

[email protected], and Mohamed Ali Metwaly (REMENA6), [email protected]





Batch 2



Batch 3



Batch 4



Batch 5 & 6

REMENA Insight PollBy Hana Farag (REMENA 6)[email protected]


P o l l s

Being concerned with the feedback of the students about the REMENA master program, REME-NA insight conducted a Ten questions survey which was distributed among current REMENA Batches; Four, Five and Six to collect their opinions regarding specific aspects in the REMENA Program.

First question: “How did you know about RE-MENA program?”33.3% knew about the REMENA pro-gram from a friend, 33.3% from a Professor, 30% knew about the program from website search and 3.4% knew through other sources.

Third question: “Do you believe that the infor-mation present on the REMENA website suffi-cient for program details?”The answers showed that 43% believe that the website information can be improved while 40 % answered yes it is useful and 17% said no.

Second question: “Before applying to REMENA who provided the most beneficial feedback about the pro-gram?” 30% stated that REMENA professors provided the most beneficial feedback about the program, 30% from REMENA graduates, and 20% from REMENA Administration Team.

Fourth question: “Which of the following information you would like to have on the REMENA website?”Two answers were of the highest percentages; 60% pre-ferred to add information about possible institutes for Master thesis and after graduation career opportunities.

REMENA Insight Poll


P o l l s

Fifth Question: “What was the biggest obstacle faced during the REMENA Program?” 73% answered Courses intensity was the biggest ob-stacle and 70% expressed that Time constraints was their biggest issues.

Sixth question: “Which subjects students wished RE-MENA have addressed in depth during the study pe-riod?”56% of answers wished to have more technical cours-es discussed in depth during their study period.

Seventh Question: “Which was the most beneficial as-pect of the program being a bi-cultural one?” Changed your perspective about MENA/European countries was of the most beneficial points along with enhancing second language (Arabic/German) each with 28%.

Eighth question: Which of the following describes your overall satisfaction from the gained knowl-edge from the REMENA program?” Answers showed that 56% were moderately satisfied with the knowledge conducted during the program.

Ninth question: “Generally, which of the following describes how you feel about joining REMENA? 47% considered it a good decision, 30% excellent decision and 23% fair decision.

Tenth question: “Would you recommend the REME-NA program to a friend?” 60% said yes, 33% said maybe and 7% said no.

In general, it can be concluded that most of the stu-dents seem to be satisfied with REMENA program.


“Best of REMENA Students Quotes”

“Khaled Tamizi: RE-

MENA is the bridge to

green planet”

“Matthias Namgalies: You cannot escape

the responsibility of tomorrow by evading

it today - Abraham Lincoln”

“Esmaeil Fallahrostami: You must learn

the rules of the game, then you will be al-

lowed to play”

“Khaled El Moghazy: Sustainability is the

future, so we are making the future”

“Ahmed Zakaria: Priceless knowledge,

friendship and responsibilty realization;

that’s what it is all about”

By Mahmoud Megahed (REMENA 6)[email protected]

“Alireza Taheri: Pro-

duce and manage sus-

tainable energy to in-

crease the quality of life”

“Mahmoud Megahed:

Working For World Bet-

ter Energy Future”

“Juha Rautiainen: We are here together to-

day for sustainable tomorrow”

Q u o t e s

“Hana Farag: Finally learning how RE

systems work! Very interesting material is

discussed, very nice experience and I love

the diversity in cultures. One of the best

decisions I’ve made is to join the REMENA

program”


“Best of REMENA Students Quotes”

“Mahmoud Hosny: Try the

new or you will miss the

view”

“Mohamed Ali Metwaly: After graduation

from REMENA, I expect that my colleagues

and I will be able to produce Energy from

renewable and sustainable resources”

“Wael Fareed: REMENA provides students

with knowledge to make them able to plan

renewable energy projects and put their en-

ergy in the right project”

“Mohame d S hehata : How f ut ure e ne r g y

p l an s cou l d b e e f f i c i e nt ly / e conomi caly int ro du ce d”

“Zaki Farag: REMENA is

the path to the future”

“Sara El Mergawy: Up-

grading our knowledge

and getting explored to the

world”

“Ehab Moukayes: Every-

thing can be done; just

think positive”

Q u o t e s

REMENA Students 2009 - 2013

to be continued...

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region

- REMENA –

Double degree international Master of Science (M.Sc.) program

More information

www.remena.uni-kassel.de

We offer

• joint M.Sc. program by the University of Kassel (UKAS) in Germany and the Cairo University (CU) in Egypt

• living and learning in Germany and the MENA region

• courses on advanced renewable energy and energy efficiency concepts and technologies

• excursions to relevant institutions and companies

• first hand advice from high-level professionals and experts in the Arab and German energy sectors

• training in intercultural competencies

• project management

• experience in German-Arab institutions and projects

Program structure

• overall 21 months full-time program in English

• program start in Kassel or Cairo

• 6 months studies at CU in Egypt

• 6 months studies at UKAS in Germany

• 9 months master project with an institution or company in the MENA region

Admission requirements

• bachelor degree in social or natural sciences, economics, or engineering

• open to all nationalities

• working experience in renewable energy sectors

Deadlines for application

• August 1 for winter term (program start in October in Cairo)

•March 1 for summer term (program start in April in Kassel)

Academic degree awarded

• double degree program with

M.Sc. degree from UKAS and

M.Sc. degree from CU

Your prospects

• expert in interdisciplinary field of renewable energy

• excellent career in international projects

• leadership positions in the public and private energy sectors

Ich liebe Deutschland

I love the world

Prof. Dr. Sayed Kasseb

Documents

Cairo University REMENA in 5 years - Uni Kassel...Mahmoud Hosny Mahmoud Megahed Mohamed Ali Metwaly Matthias Namgalies Ahmed Zakaria Nour Zoukar Issue no. 01 February 2014 REMENA INSIGHT