WaterStudents and scientists gather in Singapore to discuss water problem
International university students and water experts have converged at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to foster an intellectual and research community on a scarce natural resource — water
NTU places water research in the forefront // Source: ntu.edu.sg
International university students and water experts have converged at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to foster an intellectual and research community on a scarce natural resource — water. NTU hosted twenty-four international students from ten countries as they attended the inaugural GlobalTech Summer Camp to learn about Singapore’s water story. Last week, the university also hosted the 4th GlobalTech Workshop, gathering leading water experts to discuss the problem. In addition, NTU’s Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) hosted the Young Water Talents Symposium at Marina Bay Sands last week, in which 110 participants discussed topics ranging from innovations in drinking water technology and water resources management.
A Nanyang Technological University release reports that keeping the world’s resources sustainable is a major focus of NTU 2015, NTU’s 5-year strategic plan to become a global university by 2015. The plan lists the five interdisciplinary areas – the university calls them “Peaks of Excellence” – which will be at the center of this effort: Sustainable Earth, New Media, Future Healthcare, New Silk Road, and Innovation Asia. NTU today has S$849 million dedicated to Sustainability Research.
From setting up a booth in the shape of Noah’s Ark at the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW) to Global Alliance of Technological Universities’ (GlobalTech) 2-pronged approach of a Summer Camp and a Workshop to tackle the water question, this effort, the university says, is indicative of NTU’s commitment to sustain the simple molecule known as H2O.
On 1 July, NEWRI hosted the Young Water Talents Symposium at Marina Bay Sands. The event attracted 120 participants to discuss innovations in drinking water technology and water resources management.
In addition, NTU also hosted the inaugural GlobalTech Summer Camp, with twenty-four graduate and undergraduate students from ten countries gathering at NTU. The students came from countries such as China, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Luxembourg, Slovenia, South Africa, Uganda, and Singapore. During the camp, the students attended lectures by NTU professors and worked on hands on projects and exchanged ideas on possible solutions to water problems. They also visited the Marina Barrage, the Hyflux Desalination Plant, and the Changi NEWater factory to learn about the Singapore water story.
The camp was followed by the fourth session of the 2-day GlobalTech workshop, which facilitated the exchange of ideas on ways to mitigate the impact of what water experts consider to be an unsustainable way of life.
GlobalTech was founded in 2009 with seven universities spanning three continents as a close-knit network of universities with strong foundations in science and technology. Member universities include the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in the United States, ETH Zurich and Imperial College in Europe, and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay), Shanghai Jiao Tong, and NTU in Asia.
The release notes that in recent months, NTU has announced a few scientific breakthroughs in its pursuit of the goal of keeping the planet’s resources renewable. These include a Parasitometer, which detects contaminants in treated water in just one hour instead of the current two days, and an anti-bacterial coating that could spell the end for superbug infections which have become resistant to antibiotics.
In May 2012 NTU partnered with Sri Lanka’s University of Peradeniya (UOP) to spearhead the effort to clean up Sri Lanka’s Lake Kandy, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
This month, NTU has unveiled what it says is the world’s first three-in-one water monitoring system, which is built and commercialized by NTU’s spin-off company, Membrane Instruments and Technology (MINT). The new system is able to monitor water quality in the water treatment process and identify whether there are any bacteria or contaminants; detect any broken membrane filters in the treatment plant; and pinpoint which filter is broken – accurate to 1 in 100,000 filters. The device can help water treatment plants potentially save up to $200,000 each year.
