Bridging the water

The goal of a digital living lab within the framework of the OKP-project Bridging the Water is to bring students, professors and researchers from South Africa and the Netherlands together in a virtual environment. Due to the disruption of the contact ‘Living lab’ activities as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of living labs, innovation and water-related topics is introduced through interactive webinars. The digital living lab series is aimed at bringing both local South African and International students interested in the water and wastewater sector in a single digital platform for knowledge sharing.

In Cape Town

Bridging the Virtual Water – Cape Town

A digital Living Lab series in Cape Town titled: ‘Realizing Living Lab’s: Co-create to research and innovate’ is coming up in September 2020.

This digital living lab is a collaboration between the University of Cape Town, the TU Delft, Hogeschool Rotterdam, CEW and the World Water Academy.  This digital living lab series will showcase successful living lab examples from South Africa and The Netherlands (like the Waterhub and Waterstraat) will be topics of the digital discussion. In this way, theory and practice are brought together.  The digital living lab series ‘Realizing Living Lab’s’ is formed by three co-ordinated online webinars. We are looking forward to hosting this digital living lab series starting in September 2020.

In Durban  

The Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology at the Durban University of Technology is currently hosting a ‘Digital Living Lab Series’ as an extension of the contact living labs.  The first digital living lab theme is Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse. The online delivery of this theme began on 23 July 2020 and is scheduled once a week until 13 August 2020. The topics to be covered in this theme include Basics of Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse; Technologies and Management for Water Reclamation and Reuse; Health and Environmental Concerns in Water Reuse; and Social and Economic Dimensions of Wastewater Reclamation and Reuse. A total of 96 students (local and international) have registered thus far to take part in this knowledge exchange programme which encourages students to engage in the theme through discussions.