The European Water Tech Week 2018, a flagship event which is the first of its kind in the city, aims to bring together water technology hubs from around the globe.
Translation by Traci White
The five-day event will feature 21 sessions and 70 speakers from the water technology sector, both within the Netherlands and beyond. “Innovation, technology, science and policy leaders from companies, universities and governments will get together” during the event, according to Wetsus’ website.
Keynotes
Featured speakers over the course of the week include Mona Keijzer, the Dutch Secretary for Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and Dirk Jan van den Bergof the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. Keynote speeches will be given by Prince Constantijn van Oranje, professor Rong Wang from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and professor Kaijun Wang ofTsinghua University in China.
Events will be held at venues across Leeuwarden, including tours of the labs and other facilities at Wetsus and the WaterCampus. Wetsus is an institution in Leeuwarden where research institutes and companies working in the sustainable water technology come together to work on innovative solutions for the industry. Wetsus is a part of the WaterCampus Leeuwarden, which is a hub for the Dutch water technology sector.
Water Alliance Innovation Simulation Award
On the 24th and 26th, the Water Alliance Innovation Simulation Award will be given out. Ten pioneering Dutch companies in the water tech industry have been nominated by the Dutch networking organisation, Water Alliance. This year marks the fifth edition of the annual competition. Other venues include De Harmonie theatre and the WestCord WTC Hotel Leeuwarden, which will host a networking and exhibit area, from the 25ththrough the 27th.
Four Water Tech Tours will be available for attendees focused on industry technology being utilised in the region, and companies in the field can network with like-minded international initiatives during the WaterMatch portion of the programme.
United Nations
In 2014, Wetsus announced that Leeuwarden would be participating in the United Nations Global Compact Cities Programme due to its water management expertise. Leeuwarden hosted a similar event, the WaterTechFest, in the spring of 2016, highlighting innovative water management-related businesses.
A competition was held in Oman by the Middle East Desalination Research Centre (MEDRC) for water researchers to win an all-expenses paid trip to the Netherlands to attend the event.
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