Water Tech Hubs from China, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea and the United States underpin strength of cooperation with declaration at the European Water Technology Week. Photo: Hoge Noorden/Jaap Schaaf.
LEEUWARDEN, THE NETHERLANDS, OCT 9, 2018 -- After several days of exchanging knowledge at the European Water Technology Week (which took place from September 24 to 27 in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands), six of the water tech hubs that operate worldwide have decided to enter into a closer form of cooperation.
Hubs from China, Israel, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Korea and the United States of America signed a joint declaration in the WTC in Leeuwarden, signaling the intention to take their cooperation to a new level in the form of "The Water Tech Hub Alliance".
Representatives of these hubs had gathered at the invitation of Hein Molenkamp, Managing Director of Water Alliance, at the first European Water Tech Week organized by the Dutch water hub in Leeuwarden. They agreed to commit to the global acceleration of innovative water treatment technologies as an open platform.
The six hubs want to work in closer collaboration, and have announced that they will be concentrating on the following points:
1) Define needs – identifying local water challenges and calling for solutions
2) Find innovation – scouting and review of innovative technologies according to common criteria
3) Show opportunity – sharing business possibilities and bringing stakeholders together for collaboration
4) Verify proposals- identifying technical and business experts to assist with the advancement of member programs
5) Develop Talent – supporting the exchange of human resources for innovation and sharing educational programs
6) Showcase Success – promoting the best innovative new technologies of water hubs on a global stage
The six representatives of the Water Tech Hubs who signed the declaration are:
- Dean Amhaus, The Water Council, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
- Han Loong Fong, PUB, Singapore's National Water Agency
- Yossi Yaacoby, Mekorot-Watech, Israel
- Jinyoung Jung, Yeungnam University, Korea Water Cluster, Daegu, S.Korea
- Hein Molenkamp, Water Alliance, WaterCampus, Netherlands
- Shaoxian Zhang, Jiangsu Institute of Environmental Industry, Jiangsu Cluster, China
Business Development Manager Alex Berhitu of the Dutch Water Alliance was involved in the preparatory process: "It takes vision and endless patience to develop a hub. International cooperation is absolutely essential. Getting things off the ground is an intensive and often laborious process", according to Berhitu. "A process like this calls for regular occasions where you put down anchor points and finalise matters. This is why it's such an important step that we've now taken by agreeing on and committing to common activities in the declaration. Obviously, the driving idea behind all this is our core business, and that's about speeding up the process of allowing locally developed innovations the opportunity to reach an international audience as quickly as possible."
