The Water Institute is a global leader in water research and education. We collaborate
with leading water organizations around the world to make a difference.
“My time as a Visiting Fellow at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) in 2018-2019, facilitated by the Water Institute, was not only a tremendous personal and professional experience, but re-affirmed the importance of connecting to the world’s leading water research organizations.”
Professor Mark Servos
Department of Biology
BREAKING BOUNDARIES IN WATER RESEARCH
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
On September 24, 2018, 200 water researchers, practitioners and students gathered at the University of Waterloo for the Water Institute’s “Breaking Boundaries in Water Research” international conference. The event showcased cutting-edge research taking place at Waterloo, and at partner institutions worldwide, in five priority areas: human health and well-being, urban water systems, watershed management, blue economy and global water cycle. 2016 Stockholm Water Prize winner Professor Joan Rose of Michigan State University delivered the opening keynote lecture, while students of Waterloo’s Collaborative Water Program presented outcomes of their interdisciplinary, experiential course work. The event concluded with the annual Water Institute RBC Distinguished Lecture featuring 2018 Stockholm Water Prize winner Professor Mark van Loosdrecht from the Delft University of Technology.
QUEEN ELIZABETH SCHOLARS – ADVANCED SCHOLARS PROGRAM
The Queen Elizabeth Scholars – Advanced Scholars (QES-AS) program is a Canadian initiative that supports doctoral researchers, postdoctoral fellows and early career researchers from Canada and Low-and-Middle Income Countries (LMICs) to develop solutions to complex national and global challenges.
During 2018-19, the Water Institute, with McMaster University, hosted 14 international scholars in executing the QES-AS “Water Security as a Foundation for Healthy Communities and Sustainable Livelihoods” project in partnership with the Kenya Medical Research Institute, Uganda Christian University, University of Zambia, UNDP Global Environment Small Grants Program in Pakistan, China University of Geosciences and Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources in Iran. The project is building the institutional capacity of LMIC partner institutions in climate-smart agriculture for food security, climate-proof public health services under increasingly severe drought and flood conditions and safe water supply and sanitation facilities to improve the health status of mothers and infants.
