A fruitful, immersive three days for the young generation to learn more about water challenges. 48 students were selected to join the first edition tour and come to Wetsus, a Water4All partner in the Netherlands.

They came from different European countries, from Estonia to Portugal, and Italy to Lithuania but all with equal enthusiasm for water technology. For some, drinking water availability was already on top of their mind as it was scarce at home. Others wanted to explore the usually hidden world and discovered a passion.

Other sessions will be planned: learn more here.

The programme

The programme began with an ice break meeting of all the students organised by Wetsus. Whilst sharing a well-welcomed meal the students had the opportunity to hand each other a small gift from their home country.

• On the first day, the Wetsus and the Water4All partnership's presentations officially opened the tour. The students were inspired by the many scientific projects presented that day. From pipe inspection robots to nitrogen recovery from urine, and the making of cloud factories to ensure rain in the desert – the students had a crash course on what water technology can entail and they had a chance to see it all in the labs of Wetsus. The lab tour was soon followed by presentations of various scientists on micropollutants and nanoplastics. The visitors sat at the edge of their seat carefully listening to every word that said, as they had just learnt they were going to work a challenge to combat these world water problems.
• The second day, to witness the scale of operation and to inspire the students, a visit to a water purification plant followed. It allowed the participants to understand better how a plant of that type works, to see the installation and to understand the challenges posed by microplastics or other pollutants and, finally, the different processes to remove them from treated wastewater to get it to an ultrapure level, technically suitable for drinking. Furthermore, they enjoyed a unique insight in the workings of a biological carbon-granule based purification step – findings that were up until recently, a mystery to the plants astonishingly low membrane replacing rate and surprisingly clean processing tanks.  Learn more on the plant: link here: nwtr.nl
• On the third day, a visit to the town of Leeuwarden was organised. The theme of the visit was "water in town”. As in many places in the Netherlands, water is fully integrated into the landscape with numerous aquatic channels. Leeuwarden is surrounded by channels created during the rich history of the country and the town. It is a place where attention to water is more intense as it emerges everywhere and needs to be taken into account in the town's architecture.

The challenge

The challenge proposed to the students was targeting microplastics in freshwater. They had to work during two-and-a-half days in groups of five on this issue.  At the end of the three-day tour, each group presented their proposal to remove microplastics.

The winning group was Water Lettuce, which presented a promising plant-based alternative to clean up polypropylene from a plastic recycling facility. The jury of water technology professionals thought that the cherry on top of the superb plan was the expected poem that scored creativity bonus points and a standing ovation from the audience. It was an interesting moment for them to work together and to exchange points of view on water issues.

What is Wetsus, learn more

Wetsus, European centre of excellence for sustainable water technology, is a facilitating intermediary for trendsetting know-how development. Wetsus creates a unique environment and strategic cooperation for development of profitable and sustainable state of the art water treatment technology.

The inspiring and multidisciplinary collaboration between companies and research institutes from all over Europe in Wetsus results in innovations that contribute significantly to the solution of the global water problems. Wetsus’ scientific research program is defined by the private and public water sector and conducted by leading universities.

Link to website: Wetsus.eu