Short bio

The Higher Institute of Applied Biological Sciences of Tunis (ISSBAT) is an institution of higher education and research affiliated to The University of Tunis El Manar and enjoys legal personality and financial autonomy. The institute workforce is composed of 60 permanent scientific staff.
The Research and Technology Center of Energy (CRTEn) [www.crten.rnrt.tn] will provide P8-ISSBAT with in kind contributions not used in the Beneficiary premises against payment in line with Art. 11 of the PRIMA Annotated Model Grant Agreement.
CRTEn, located in Borj-Cedria, is a Public Scientific and Technological Institution operating under the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR). It was created by decree No. 2005-338 of 16th February 2005. The CRTEn is a Technology Transfer & EU Projects Office that includes also five laboratories. The EU Projects Office of CRTEn supports public institutions in Tunisia in the management of H2020 projects in which they are involved. Within FIT4REUSE CRTEn will handle the financial and administrative management on behalf of ISSBAT. As a “Public administrative body” ISSBAT is subject to prior control and this could cause delays and noncompliance with European management standards. CRTEN accounting practices are more flexible and could be adapted to EU regulations without colliding with national rules. CRTEn as a Third Party (TP) will open an escrow bank account in EURO to manage the project funds which will be received by ISSBAT since both (ISSBAT and CRTEn) have the same parent organisation which is the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and they operate under its control.

Connection with FIT4REUSE

Within FIT4REUSE, CRTEn will perform the following services:

• Open a bank account in EURO for P8-ISSBAT assigned to the FIT4REUSE project;
• Take the necessary steps to obtain tax exemptions from the competent authorities in Tunisia;
• Ensure the payment of expenses related to the execution of the project;
  ISSBAT is WP2 leader and will contribute to the design, setup and optimization of nature based (WP2) and intensive wastewater treatment (WP3) technologies and their physical integration at pilot scale (WP5). In WP4 ISSBAT will be in charge of the design and implementation of a hybrid membrane desalination system (Nanofiltration (NF) and Reverse osmosis (RO)) and the valorization of brine in biomass production. ISSBAT will also study the reuse of high quality treated wastewater in irrigation (WP6).