DENMARK: It was 2009, and while the Lebanese victory over the 2006 war was still the news, life seemed pretty normal and back on its track. Beirut’s streets were as usual packed with those leaving their work, heading to their universities, or enjoying their happy-hour drinks.

Behind all the crowd and amid all sounds, a back then 22-year-old man sat confidently on the Lebanese University’s desks preparing to take his final year exams. While his hand writing raced his thoughts and as he laid down his final words, Mohamad Khalil dictated the end of his undergraduate university years with a vision for his future: a future outside Lebanon yet, targeted towards the country.

Fast-forward to 2018. Khalil, who has now spent eight years in Europe, still carries the same dream.

After earning a BS in Physics and an MS in High Energy Physics from the Lebanese University; MS in Nuclear, Particle, Astroparticle and Cosmology from the University Paris Pierre and Marie Curie in France; and a Double PhD on X-ray and Gamma-ray imaging titled “Study of Striped Spectro-Imaging Detectors for a Future Space MeV Telescope” from the University of Paris Denis Diderot in France and University of Ferrara in Italy; Khalil decided to reside in Denmark and work for the technical University of Denmark, DTU.

His work in the X-ray field, on research projects, and his student advising sessions failed to keep his mind off Lebanon and away from his vision for the country.

“I’ve had the idea of collaborating with Lebanon ever since I stepped foot in a non-Lebanese land,” Khalil said. “I knew from the start that part of my role in Europe is to give back to the country. I was just waiting.”

As he planned, the wait was not so long.

With a few signs and major dedication, Khalil launched a first of its kind collaboration project between his current working place DTU and the Lebanese University in Lebanon. The joint program aims at providing Lebanese MA physics students with the skills they cannot acquire in the country and opening on their behalf a door of a million opportunities. The program would do so while also benefiting Denmark through providing the country with the needed skilled labor force.

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A Spark of Hope: The first steps towards giving back

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“I was waiting till I was experienced enough, my research network got well extended, and I gained the trust of those around me,” recalled Khalil as he discussed the launch of the project. “I was pretty much waiting.”

A few months ago, Khalil received a phone call from his previous PhD supervisor in France inquiring about collaborators in the Middle East.

“I didn’t know much people but, I started asking around,” he said. “During my search for some possible Lebanese collaborators for my previous supervisor, people started asking me for other possible collaborations opportunities and for help in general within my field.”

“It was then that it sparked.”

His ex-supervisor’s request and people’s inquiry and interest in collaboration, showed Khalil that he has officially earned the trust he was waiting for. Not long after, he realized that it might be the time to bring his dream into reality and start giving back to Lebanon.

After long brainstorming hours and a few visits to the Head of the NEXMAP Neutrons and X-ray for material science section in DTU, Khalil had an idea in mind and on papers ready to be pitched.

Khalil’s project works on creating a collaboration and a research agreement between DTU and universities in Lebanon. The project gives physics MA students the opportunity to travel to Denmark and do a 6-months internship in DTU, one of the very few universities in the world that can provide its students with hands-on experience in the field of X-rays due to the advanced equipment and laboratories they have.

Students would thus, gain access to state of the art instruments and gain valuable experimental experience in Denmark. When they go back to Lebanon, they would work on analysing data from the experiments and they would think about a new set of experiments for the future. They would have a weekly or monthly interaction with DTU. The program is set to run in 2020.

“If things go well, we can create new opportunities for Lebanese students as well as improve the research and development capabilities in Lebanon in my field of X-ray imaging,” Khalil said.

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A world of opportunities: What’s in it for Lebanon?

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“Most Lebanese students go to France, the US, or Canada,” said Khalil. “But, there are a lot of opportunities in Denmark that Lebanese people do not know about. I am trying to bridge this gap.”

In Denmark, the students will not be able to undertake courses because of the language barrier. The program they will follow in the country is rather targeted towards providing them with internship opportunities.

Khalil explains that pursuing any scientific degree requires students to pursue an internship in a laboratory or a company, adding that Lebanon’s internship opportunities are very little considering the small size of the industry.

Beyond giving them a good-quality internship opportunity, students coming to DTU will be faced with four major chances.

Firstly, they would have a chance to work in a 3D imaging centre. DTU is building this new centre which is expected to be commissioned in late 2019. There are only a handful of these centres around the world.

Secondly, the program they will be joining offers an industrial collaboration, which is not common in many universities and is not available in Lebanon according to Khalil. This means that the university collaborates with Danish industries. The students and the research team come up with the idea and make the proof of concept and then the Danish company takes the concept and turns it into a product that generates income. Thus, students get exposed to the industry.

Apart from working with the industry, Lebanese students will also gain the opportunity to publish in leading scientific journals.

This also means that the collaborating Lebanese universities will get their names on these journals. This would advance their status in worldwide university ranking.

“Publish or die. This is the motto scientists work by,” Khalil jokingly explained.

Forth, and according to Khalil most importantly, students will get exposed to PhD programs and possibly have the chance to continue their PhD abroad.

“Unfortunately, in Lebanon if you do a degree in science and specifically in physics or math your obvious career options are high school teaching,” Khalil added.

Earning a PhD would automatically boost the graduates’ chances back home.

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A Blessing or a Curse: Is Lebanon waving its youth goodbye?

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“Should we do this and bring students to Europe or should we do nothing?” Khalil asked.

Although the program opens many doors for Lebanese students in the field of science, the project sets on the table an alarming issue: brain drain.

According to a report issued by International Migration, the main reasons for the emigration of the Lebanese youth is the political instability and social fractionalization concurrent in the country.

The UN released that 70 percent of people migrating from Lebanon have a high education level. Which means, brain drain remains a problem in the country.

“You have to think about this in a percentage way: How many of the students will stay in Europe and how many will actually go back,” said Khalil.

When one takes into account the problems that are currently in the country, they might realize that brain drain is not very draining.

“We[Lebanon] were ranked this year by the UNDP as the second highest remittance-receiving country in per capita terms in the world: almost 23 percent of GDP per capita. Around $5.8 billion per year comes into Lebanon in the form of remittances,” as stated in a report published by Middle East Youth Initiative. The report also adds that migration decreases unemployment rate in the country.

According to Khalil, Lebanon lacks a science industry. This makes it hard for graduates to build a future within the field if they decide to stay in Lebanon. But, the program supervisor adds that this does not mean that bringing them to Europe will make Lebanon lose its youth energy. For him, leaving for a few years means some hope for a better industry back home. He expects that these students will return with twice as much energy from when they left.

“I give myself as an example,” he explained. “I have been living in Europe for the past 8 years and although I might be far, I am rooted to my country and working to advance my field in Lebanon without being on ground,” referring to his idea of collaboration as an example.

“At the end of the day, I see myself going back to Lebanon and I trust a good percentage of the Lebanese will go back as well.”

The experiences they will be gaining in the field will create a new space for science innovation in Lebanon. Students who study abroad or work for a while outside Lebanon are expected to go back home and make a change.

This was Khalil’s plan all along.

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