U N C H A I N UNCHAIN With the support of three EU Universities and the UN Industrial Development Organization, the aim of the UNCHAIN project is to increase the success rate of innovations through implementation of Industry - University cooperation to apply science and technology. The network will strengthen the role of higher education institutions in society; addressing the "knowledge triangle" of education, research and innovation at university level; and to encourage links between higher education institutions and the labour market, including the promotion of entrepreneurship and the creation or support of business start-ups in the MEDA region. Joint theses should cover the needs of businesses Product Innovation This activity under the UNCHAIN project is devoted to strengthen the ability of MEDA Universities to solve problems that occur in the businesses of their country. The problems should be raised by the companies, the methodology and the project design will be made in a cooperation of the companies, the MEDA and the European University. Process innovation A reduction of production costs goes hand in hand with the minimisation of emissions, if innovative changes are made in production processes. UNCHAIN aims at a more effective use of water, chemicals and energy while improving the product quality at the same time. Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Strategies Energy is one of the key issues in industry, and in every country. Energy efficiency and the utilisation of renewable forms of energy will be designed and evaluated in the joint theses. This regards to production processes (drying, cooking, pasteurisation, cleaning, …) as well as for heating and cooling in general. Boiler Fuel TH TP TS Process Solar C ollector H otW aterorSteam HotW ater Innovative products are needed to fulfil the needs of the population in the participating countries. Recent projects showed that there is a need especially in household products, packaging and transport. Mr. Galal Hassan Galal-Edeen