Water, Sewage & Effluent November December 2018 | Page 16

The 2017 and 2018 beneficiaries with representatives from Hitachi and DST at the 2018 send-off event held in Pretoria.
Hitachi and DST scholarship
programme 2018
Marking a decade of the programme, the tenth group of selected South African
municipal engineers embarked on their journey of learnership to Japan.
By Benjamin Brits
R
ole players and guests were
welcomed by Dr Henry Roman,
Department of Science and
Technology (DST) acting chief
director: Sector Innovation and
Green Economy. A brief overview was
given as to the partnership between
Hitachi and the DST. Dr Olufemi
Fasemore, Hitachi senior technology
specialist, spoke on the significance
of the partnership, specifically as
South Africa is still an emerging
country, and as such, technology
and innovation can be added to the
development of infrastructure from
14
world leaders in water efficiency —
such as Japan.
The
scholarship
programme,
partnered between the Japanese
multinational
company
Hitachi
and the DST, is an esteemed one.
Hundreds of applications are
received each year, but only the best
five or six applicants from around the
country are chosen annually.
At the Villa Sterne Boutique Hotel
and Health Spa in Pretoria at the end
of September 2018, role players to the
programme came together, not only
to congratulate the selected group
Water Sewage & Effluent November/December 2018
of engineers as they prepared for
their departure, but to allow industry
leaders to express some of their
thoughts and ideas around planning
and implementation in the water space.
Each year’s event also requires
the previous year’s scholars to
give feedback on their training and
experiences from their time in Japan,
followed by a presentation of their ideas
that can be implemented practically in
their respective municipalities.
Over the years, through the guidance
of the programme that has also been
developed and moulded over the
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