water professionals
Create – Share – Lead
EJWP leverages the talent and dedication of junior water professionals over a total programme time of 8 weeks. Participants typically spend one day per week on the programme throughout the course. During the time between the quarterly training weeks hosted by their different organisations, participants work on a project for 8 days.
EJWP’s specialists provide training on competences including:
- Personal & communication development
- Co-creation strategies and evaluation
- Project and self management
- Leadership and pro-active strategies
- Future century skills for sustainability
Participants build their networks and working relationships with each other, while co-creating solutions in projects with their teammate colleagues from around Europe. And every three months, all participants come together for a training week facilitated by one of our participating organisations.
EJWP’s integrated programme:
Through an integrated 2-year, part-time programme, EJWP enables development of key skills: network building, communication & diversity, technical advancements and more – to empower water-sector careers and their social contributions. EJWP development activities take place along with participants’ continued work in their existing work positions.
EJWP’s 3 pillars:
- Knowledge creation and transfer:
Masterclasses on European policies, water technology and innovations, and primary water challenges – including local water projects of participating organisations. - European network opportunities through EJWP community building:
Integration in Water Europe, EJWP Ambassadors, and event participation - Personal and professional skills development in international teams:
Emphasis on cultural awareness and diversity in project exercises
For whom?
For European-based water organizations:
- Water-related entity such as a utility, a government organization (national, local, regional), a research/educational institute or an NGO
- Interested in empowering employees – and in development of complementary skills of young professionals
- Encourages employees to benefit from skill development in communication, diversity teamwork, project co-creation and networking
- Supports collaboration across various stakeholder groups
- Open to professional facilitated training for employees
- Aware and innovative – and ready to join our community
For you as a junior professional:
- Keen to meet young European water professionals to share ideas on sustainable solutions
- Ready to share and apply your knowledge with colleagues in the European water sector
- Able to benefit from career learning to help you reach personal and professional goals
- Open for a one-day per week programme over 24 months with interactive, fun projects
- Experienced with 2-10 years of professional experience
- Already working for a European Water Based Organizations that supports your participation
- Are open-minded, flexible and passionate
- Eager to learn and develop
Why?
Because you support organizations and junior professionals
- Inclusive water communication skills to translate knowledge into initiatives
- Opening up silos of information to integrate diverse European participation
- Understanding and elevating water policy in the European Commission agenda
- Approaches to water in topics including digitalisation, climate adaptation, pandemic response, AI and cybersecurity
- Joining knowledge of today’s senior workforce with today’s junior perspectives
- Building networks through working with water-sector peers from around Europe
- Empowerment of junior professionals through leadership exercises
- A part-time programme over 24 months that allows flexibility to balance professional and personal lives
Because you as a junior professional:
- Are keen to meet young European water professionals to share ideas on sustainable solutions.
- Would like to share and apply your knowledge in forums with colleagues in the European water sector.
- Can benefit from lifelong career learning to help you reach personal and professional goals.
- Are ready to start with a one-day per week programme over 24 months with interactive and fun projects.
Because you as a water organization:
- Support empowering employees while attracting and retaining talent-expertise.
- Encourage employees to benefit from skill development in communication, diversity teamwork, project co-creation and networking.
- Enable young professionals (<40 years old) to collaborate seamlessly across various stakeholder groups.
- Have Human Resources allocations for employee development, and welcome professional facilitated training.
- Investing in empowering employees – and in development of complementary skills of young professionals.
Surf the waves of new opportunities!
Get in touch with us today to boost your career – and your employees – in reaching potential to tackle Europe’s water challenges.
‘In EJWP, I feel like we’re building a cross-European network which will be valuable towards the creation of one European water sector. It fosters my job’s objectives, laying the foundations for more collaboration in research and development, also for the exchange of best practices in sustainable implementation,’ Loïc Charpentier, participant in EJWP Group 1.
Join us now in the European Junior Water Programme (EJWP) for a two-year, part-time programme building networks and co-creation skills for success!
F.A.Q.
EJWP is open to organizations that are working in the water sector, or directly with issues related to water resources.
Examples of organizations include;
- water-focused companies and associations (in technology, infrastructure or cooperation),
- research and education institutions,
- governmental institutions (central, regional and local),
- utilities,
- agricultural organizations with a prominent water component,
- industrial water users
- and NGOs.
Joining EJWP without working with a water-sector organization is unfortunately not possible, because our program is designed to simultaneously benefit young professionals and their organizations. Self-employed participants or participants supported by a host organization within the European water-sector can be considered in the design of the group.
We support leadership and cooperation skills of young people currently working in the water business, to support the overall strength of the European Water sector. Therefore we do invite everyone to follow us on social media, and to keep posted on our future events that may lead to future cooperation.
Our ideal group is around 8 participants. Note that the programme requires each participating organization to host one training week in their country. In the 2 years of programme, there are 8 training weeks that can be hosted by 8 different participant organizations/countries. Also, to help ensure diversity of our participants, an organization or a country can have maximum of 2 participants per EJWP group. We can start multiple groups per year. A group will start with a minimum of 6 participants and a maximum of 12 participants.
Yes. The EJWP is open to PhD candidates and other junior professionals from academy background, up to about 40 years of age. Participants who are working on their PhD should be able to dedicate the required amount of time to EJWP activities, cover the participation fees, be able to organize and host one EJWP training week in their country.
Projects are designed by the participating organizations together with the EJWP. The topics of the projects can be from technical to social, from research to practical implementation, or market scan. Selections depend on the local requests of the organization and which projects are of added value for participating organizations. For an overview of projects check the library.
Participants are required to spend approximately 8 work days on assignments between the training weeks, amounting to about 1 day per week. This includes group project work, individual tasks within the project, and attending online masterclasses provided by EJWP. For participants who are organizing their hosting week, we normally require some extra time for logistical and content support (booking working rooms, field visits, hotels, and meals).
Establishing the order of the training weeks hosted by participating organization is a collaborative process between EJWP staff and hosting organizations. This takes place at the start of the programme as a result of intakes with all participating organizations and their young professional. EJWP takes into consideration the preferences of the participating organizations in terms of period, content provided, and logistical arrangements.
We allow for an amount of flexibility during the 2 years, should changes in the order or content of the training weeks be required.
Yes. The EJWP strives to include all regions of Europe (not only EU), and aims to have a diverse representation in each of our training groups. During the selection process, extra efforts go towards including countries with traditionally low representation in European projects or in a specific group of EJWP.
We also occasionally accept participation from outside/ the boarders of the Europe to support collaboration, network and development beyond Europe.
We design each course group to fit the aims and needs of participating young professionals and organizations. A portion of the total cost of the programme for a participant and their organization depends on the activities and related logistics which are agreed upon at enrollment. There is an amount of €7.500 (excluding taxes) per year for the tuition of each participant. To be added are costs of transportation for participants to meet in the different countries, and expenses related to an organization that hosts a training week one time during the programme, including hotels for participants, meeting venue, meal catering etc. Please contact EJWP for a cost estimate.