Dutch-Vietnamese joint-venture VINWATER starts new knowledge centre on water management in Hanoi, Vietnam
Delft University of Technology and the Water Resources University (WRU) in Hanoi launched the joint venture VINWATER, the Vietnam Netherlands Centre for Water and Environment.
On 16 December, TU Delft President Dirk Jan van den Berg (right on top photo) and Professor Nguyen Quang Kim (left), rector of WRU signed the memorandum of association. The signing ceremony took place during a visit to Vietnam by Dutch minister Ms. Melanie Schultz van Haegen (watching from behind) of Infrastructure and the Environment.
As a science and technology centre VinWater will carry out commissions for third parties, such as the Vietnamese government, in the field of water management.
Joint Dutch-Vietnamese wave overtopping tests on a sea dike in Do Son, Hai Phong in the Red river delta.
Living in the delta
Delft University of Technology and the Water Resources University (WRU) have already been collaborating in the field of water management and hydraulic engineering for almost 15 years. The challenges that Vietnam faces are comparable to those of the Netherlands.
Vietnam has thousands of kilometres of coastline and a large part of the population, agriculture and industry is concentrated in the complex deltas of the Mekong and the Red River. As a result of changing circumstances such as sea-level rise, longer rainy seasons and frequent tropical storms, the country is in need of vision, expertise and new solutions to enable it to meet future water challenges.
Vietnam is interested in the way in which the Netherlands makes living in the delta possible. Together with Dutch engineering firms, Delft University of Technology advises the government on better infrastructures and works with various universities on building expertise.
Application-oriented research
Professor of Coastal Engineering Marcel Stive (right on photo) of the Delft University of Delft said: "Establishing this centre is the logical next step in our long partnership." In VINWATER, WRU and TU Delft aim to make their expertise available to third parties.
The centre will bring in Vietnamese researchers from WRU, who will be supervised and advised from Delft. Many of the researchers received their MSc or PhD degrees from TU Delft. Vinwater will provide them with interesting scientific jobs. In addition, the university staff will offer the opportunity to gain practical experience and introduce it into the domain of education in the form of case studies.
Seventh joint research institute
VINWATER is the seventh joint research institute that Delft university of technology has developed with partners abroad. The President of the Executive Board of TU Delft, Dirk Jan van den Berg, reacted very enthusiastic: "Vietnam is developing rapidly. It has a major need for expertise, and it is greatly expanding its budget for cooperation with foreign partners in the areas of education and research. It is a very interesting country for our university, with its strong expertise in the area of water management."
This news item is based on the news release on the website of Delft University of Technology.
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More information
Delft university of technology
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geo Sciences
Delft, the Netherlands
+31 15 27 89 802
www.citg.tudelft.nl/en
Water Resources University
Hanoi, Vietnam
+84 4 385 222 01
http://en.wru.edu.vn