Innovation in water education programs in the Eastern Mediterranean to enhance security and socio-economic development under climate change

A high-quality university-level education and strengthening the collaboration of stakeholders are essential issues for water security, particularly under climate change conditions. This research involved a questionnaire survey in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and beyond. The aim was to capture the current situation in curricula and evaluate the potential for improving the collaboration among universities, enterprises, and the public sector. While many (68%) of the EU universities have internship programs in collaboration with the private and public sectors, only a few Jordanian (18%) universities currently have such programs. However, 72% of the participating universities have memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with the private sector. On the contrary, 52.4% of the private companies responded that they do not have a policy for collaborating with universities. Our results show that the incorporation of topics such as applied ecology, the water–energy–food nexus, transboundary water management, and environmental policies and legislation into undergraduate and postgraduate curricula could enhance integrated water resources management. Additionally, supporting collaboration among universities, enterprises, and the public sector via funded applied research projects, traineeships, and master’s theses could strengthen the capacity of the key stakeholders to deal with water resources management sustainably under climate change.