Partner: DECHEMA
Group: EJWP2
Location: Frankfurt, Germany
It has been a powerful two years for participants in EJWP Group2. From projects sponsored by their organizations, to events, to personal coaching and development. These early-career professionals from Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Serbia have grown in their capacities to make needed impact in their sector and communities.
Group2 concluded their EJWP journey, from November 2020 – December 2022, in Frankfurt, in their final training week that was hosted by partner organization DECHEMA e.V. This week contained masterclasses on wastewater management and digitalization, reflections on what has been learned, and thoughts on ways forward for the future. Participants also concluded their project with DECHEMA and Central Solutions on industrial water management and dissemination.
Much has been accomplished by these young professionals through working together and linking their organizations on sector challenges. Below are some reflections from Group2 on their journey:
- “The big part of our group interaction takes place in the (EJWP) projects, which are real learning experiences in strategizing on solutions. It is a safe place in which we can experiment and grow through direct feedback. This can be different from office environments where you are expected to present in a certain way.” Manon Berge, Sociologist with ACTeon Environment in France.
- “EJWP is a great opportunity to enhance networks and to get a broad view with actionable knowledge of the water sector. Trainings in the course improve needed skills. As an EJWP-group working on the different projects, we can immediately apply the learned skills in the projects.” Benjamin Hermans, Process Engineer with De Watergroep in Belgium.
- “In EJWP, I’ve learned various aspects of project management, team leadership and conflict management,” and “I’ve connected my EJWP activities within my organization. It’s good to be active in certain networks for information gathering and sharing on these types of multistakeholder projects…and…I’ve taken away some solid impressions on professionalism in the sector through these interactions (with EJWP Ambassadors and sector officials in the programme). ” Andres Lucht Uribe, Research Project Manager with DECHEMA in Germany.
- “The communication part, internationally and digitally, has been a challenging but very useful element of EJWP. It has shown how things can be interpreted differently. Also, the way of communication can vary, which is really nice because you sometimes have to adapt to the others. This also works nationally – and working internationally, not in your mother-tongue, makes it even more challenging.” Merel Mostert, Senior Policy Advisor with Delfland in the Netherlands.
- “The learning opportunities provided by EJWP are significant, and different from the academic field. I had only a few months of work experience when I started at EJWP. I have seen my development every month during the EJWP journey, and over the two years of collaboration with colleagues in my team. Working with people from different backgrounds has allowed me to look at some issues from a different perspective and solve them in different ways than I am used to.” Borko Radivojevic, Hydraulic Engineer with Consult Biro and PhD University of Nis in Serbia.
Click here or on the image below to take a tour of the EJWP Group2 journey! More information on their accomplishments and future outlook will be published in January.
