The German-Jordanian University and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) have always been close. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed to formalise the partnership. Many alumni are working in GIZ Jordan and many graduates will hopefully follow in their footsteps. In recent months, a new chapter in this partnership has been written. Three students from the translation programme at the School of Applied Humanities and Social Sciences, which is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), have been assigned to support GIZ in the impact assessment of its projects. The Technical University of Darmstadt is conducting a long-term evaluation of the impact of the Solid Waste Management Project in Jordan (SoWas), implemented by GIZ and funded by the German Government and the European Union. The three students, Selena, Ebaa and Dima, supported Tim Kornprobst, a researcher from the Technical University, with their translation skills. Together they conducted interviews with various partners: Greater Amman Municipality officials and informal recyclables collectors, all of whom are supported by SoWas to improve waste management in Jordan to increase recycling and improve the incomes of disadvantaged groups. The students translated, transcribed and made recommendations on the interpretation of the results.
Mr Kornprobst said: "The students did an impressive job of translating the interviews into English and German for me. I was amazed at how professionally they translated live and summarized the partners' messages. Without their dedicated work, our research would not have been possible. This shows how well students are selected and trained by the GJU."
After the successful first phase of interviews, GIZ and TU Darmstadt will ask more of our students to support the interviews. We look forward to the next steps in this win-win cooperation.