Monday 18 January 2016 saw the official launch of the Myanmar-Netherlands Water Challenge 2016. Under the theme SMART DELTA, the program is engaging university students from nine universities across Myanmar with the challenges of sustainable delta development. Student teams will be encouraged to apply their own, original thinking to develop ideas and solutions for the Ayeyarwady Delta, supported by professional experts from Royal HaskoningDHV, Van Oord, Deltares, Arcadis and the Netherlands Embassy in Yangon.
The Myanmar-Netherlands Water Challenge 2016 was officially launched during a celebratory event at Yangon Technological University. Marten Hillen, Director Business Development Water Asia Pacific of Royal HaskoningDHV says: “We are pleased to work with Myanmar’s highly motivated students to work on the country’s water challenges. This Water Challenge is a great opportunity to show students how exciting it is to work in the water sector. We look forward to growing our team of water professionals in Yangon.”
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At the launch event an opening note on Myanmar-Netherlands Water cooperation was given by U Ko Ko Oo, Deputy Director General of the Directorate of Water Resources and Improvement of River Systems (DWIR), Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport. Deputy Director General International Cooperation, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Reina Buijs delivered a key note speech on capacity building in relation to water management and international cooperation.
Immediately after the event, already more than 40 students submitted an application for the Delta Academy – the highlight of the water challenge taking place from 10 until 12 May 2016.