IHE Delft Institute for Water Education
Water poses a serious challenge to every part of the world. Too many people remain without access to water and sanitation. This makes their lives difficult: their health suffers, and prosperity remains out of reach. Increasingly frequent and severe droughts and floods - a result of climate change - add to the challenge. At the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, we work to change this. Our vision: a world free of poverty and injustice in which people manage their water and environmental resources sustainably and equitably.
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News
Data vital to decision making, Hydroinformatics Professor Ioana Popescu says at her inauguration
Hydroinformatics presents a fascinating intersection of hydrology, computer science, and data analytics, offering boundless opportunities to address pressing water-related challenges facing our world today. It helps decision makers to understand these challenges, as ultimately they are the ones to make the decisions, Ioana Popescu said at her inauguration as Professor of Hydroinformatics.
News
Alumni blog: Navigating possibilities of the water sector in post-war Sudan
Despite war raging in their home country, Razan Elnour, Dalal Siddig, Gofran Ahmed and other recent Sudanese IHE Delft MSc alumni are busy charting a sustainable path forward for their country’s water sector. They are ready to lead a change to improve the water sector, once conditions are stable enough. In December 2023, they hosted the New Sudan Water Conference at IHE Delft and online, bringing together experts, scholars, and stakeholders to discuss rebuilding and resilience in post-conflict environments. They share ideas in this blog.
Alumni Interview
Alumni interview: Financial independence key for water & sanitation progress
For development to be truly sustainable, water and sanitation providers, even in poor countries, must work toward financial independence. That’s a key message delivered by African Water and Sanitation Association President Silver Mugisha, an IHE Delft alumnus who also is the Managing Director of Uganda’s National Water and Sewerage Corporation, in a filmed interview.
News
MSc alumna’s research aims to help flood-proof cities
With rapid urbanization, the global population that lives in urban areas is projected to increase to two-thirds by 2050. Cities, with their dense built environment and paved-over surfaces, are often ill equipped to handle the masses of water brought by increasingly frequent severe floods. There are several efforts to find solutions to this challenge, which will become more severe with climate change. An IHE Delft MSc student combines two approaches in her research and practice, finding that applying them both concurrently significantly increases their impact – and, most importantly, bridges the gap between good ideas and implementation.
Education at IHE Delft
Knowledge and capacity for the water sector
People need capacity to manage data, to innovate, to govern well and to manage funds effectively. IHE Delft has solid experience in delivering tailored and demand-driven capacity development interventions. A lack of proper infrastructure or a lack of capable water professionals are not the only challenges to effective water management. The main culprit is often a lack of strong institutions and good governance, which, combined with too little interaction among institutions accountable for water management, leads to a weak water sector.
Research for global water sustainability
IHE Delft pursues cutting-edge research that fulfills global water-related needs and targets pragmatic, evidence-based solutions, thereby contributing to a more sustainable world. The Institute comprises about 140 academic staff members, over 100 PhD researchers and some 150 master students. Through partnerships, the Institute strives to connect universities and knowledge institutes in all areas of the world.
