About The Event

For the first time: Wetskills-Bangladesh!!

For the first time ever, Wetskills Water Challenge is going to Bangladesh! Through cooperation with the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and the Urbanizing Deltas of the world programme – CORE project, Wetskills will be in Dhaka and Sirajganj at the beginning of July 2019. The Community Resilience through rapid prototyping of flood proofing technologies in urban areas (CORE) project partners BUET, IHE Delft and HKV Consultants and some SMEs will collaborate with Wetskills to bring fresh perspectives to their pilot project in Sirajganj. Join us for a flood resilience challenge during monsoon season in Bangladesh!

The Wetskills Foundation invites Bachelor, Master, PhD students and recent graduates to apply for the Wetskills Water Challenge Bangladesh. This edition of Wetskills will take the participants not only to the capital, Dhaka, but also to the rural city of Sirajganj where the CORE pilot project is developed. This event will be organized in close cooperation with BUET and the Dutch partners in the CORE poject. The finals will be organized during a dedicated event in Dhaka on the 12th of July.

We are looking for you!

To all who are interested in huge water challenges in Bangladesh, the megacity of Dhaka and the rural sites in and around Sirajganj: this is your chance! Apply now for this great opportunity to experience Bangladesh and its water! We are looking for local and international students and Young Professionals, who are passionate about water and excited to work in mixed teams for transdisciplinary water solutions.

Apply for Wetskills-Bangladesh

(period: 30 June – 12 July 2019).

Application Deadline

The first deadline is 15 April 2019. (Afterwards every two weeks a selection will be done till the programme is full)

Costs

Participation costs for international participants without accommodation in Dhaka are 150 euros or equivalent in Bangladeshi Taka (excl. 21% VAT). The fee includes accommodation in Dhaka and Sirajganj, programme costs, supervision, some social activities, field trips, working locations, presentations by experts and the awarding event. It does not include local transport, some meals, other daily costs. Participants are responsible for their own travel expenses (like plane tickets and some local travel), meals during working days and other personal costs.

For local participants, who do not need accommodation, this event is for free. This includes  the above arrangements, except for the accommodation in Dhaka.

During past editions participants often successfully arranged financial compensation for their Wetskills participation from their university or employer. We therefore strongly encourage applicants to inquire about funding opportunities to compensate the costs (university mobility funds, travel allowance etc.).

What do you get?

A unique learning experience where you will tackle real-world water challenges!

• You will increase your skills in: international cooperation; problem solving, cross-cultural and interdisciplinary teamwork, networking and presenting (pitch & poster);
• You will get the opportunity to connect with other international water students/young professionals;
• You will visit the Capital of Bangladesh: Dhaka and the rural area of Sirajganj, their water-related sites and meet water professionals;
• You will learn and experience more about the Bangladeshi and Dutch water sectors, the main stakeholders and organizations, contemporary issues and current business opportunities;
• You will receive a certificate of participation upon completion of the program.

More information

For more information about this event, contact Ioana Dobrescu (ioana.dobrescu@wetskills.com) or Johan Oost (johan.oost@wetskills.com).

Event Cases

The Wetskills organization is looking for Case Owners; companies, knowledge institutes and organisations that formulate their case and support one of the Wetskills programmes worldwide: Leaflet Call for Cases Wetskills-Bangladesh 2019.

Visit the archive of Wetskills for an impression of the event results (also the case descriptions in Chinese).

For more information contact Johan Oost (johan.oost@wetskills.com).

Previous Wetskills events in Asia

Event Partners

About the CORE project (overall project for this Wetskills event)

The effectiveness of flood-risk management in The Netherlands depends on effective stakeholder coordination through governance arrangements developed over many years of coping with floods. In this research project, we will repeat this process on a shortened time scale, and aim to develop coordinating capabilities in flood-risk management for the urban poor in a developing country. We will initiate and support community-based innovation, development, production, and implementation of small-scale technical innovations that alleviate immediate flood-related nuisance (‘wet feet’) in a town in Bangladesh, with the aim to increase coordinating capacity for flood risk management and focus this emerging governance capacity on developing ever longer term, severer risks, increasing scale and more sustainable solution for flood risk management. Our research in this Learning Space addresses a major knowledge gap on how community based flood mitigation and adaptation measures both technological and institutional develop into ‘measures of scale’. This will enhance flood resiliency through demonstration and subsequent development of knowledge co-creation in collaboration with local partners and ultimately integration in flood management policies.