IMaREC is an Interdisciplinary Master Program on "Resource Efficient Cities”.
Many cities of the global south suffer from key pressing challenges such as continuous population growth, severe energy crisis, water poverty issues, inadequate urban mobility, inefficient waste management, social disparity and inequality, and increasing / increased level of pollution. Education and research respond to such challenges mostly by disciplinary approaches to technical or socio-economic solutions (e.g. technical engineering, urban planning, social and natural sciences, and economics), but often lack a deliberate and integrated approach to the city as a system. Therefore, IMaREC targets to respond to these challenges from an integrated view of engineering, social sciences, economics and governance, where resource efficiency and sustainable consumption and production patterns are key aspects – tackling energy, water, transportation systems, food supply, urban design, resilience and much more. Additionally, the use of advanced and information technology to optimize the operations of cities is addressed through the concept of “Smart Cities”included in IMaREC.

IMaREC targets to qualify graduates and professionals who are involved in planning, design, management and operation of cities with competences and skills that enable them to deal with real-life problems and respond to current pressing challenges in cities using an integrated and cooperative / participatory / team approach, given the principle of city as a system of all sectors to provide the basic functions for its inhabitants on all scales.
IMaREC is jointly developed by 5 universities partners including Ain Shams University, Egypt; TH Köln University of Applied Sciences, Germany; Autonomous University of San Luis Potosi, Mexico; Kenyatta University, Kenya, and Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia under the umbrella of the global CNRD-Exceed Network of excellence of universities. IMaREC Program implementation will start in September 2017 in Egypt and is planned to be replicated in Mexico, Kenya and Indonesia in the near future.