Water, Sewage & Effluent November December 2018 | Page 17

The Water Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Roadmap, which is essentially a planning tool that guides the refocusing of research, reprioritisation of funds, synergising of existing initiatives, and ring-fencing Past beneficiary feedback results Some of the key elements addressed by the scholarship beneficiaries revealed the true value of the transfer of knowledge they had received What the programme aims to achieve of new resources to facilitate a more optimal water innovation system, was launched in 2015 and the participation through the Hitachi programme aids in meeting the roadmap objectives. As a short-term and high-impact experience, the programme has purposefully been focused on the public sector to build capacity and skill on the municipal level by exposing the engineers to technologies that have been successfully proven to achieve efficient and effective results. The experience also affords consideration of various aspects of climate change and the drive towards best practices on an international level. Through the interaction with various disciplines throughout the municipalities, the programme offers a solution to transfer essentials skills and knowledge of a bigger-picture view for the engineers to better understand collective problem- solving in meeting service objectives to the people of the country. More businesses and government departments should become involved in partnerships like these to promote valuable skill development at all levels. years, the scholars have been able to successfully envisage, and implement, new strategies in their areas of expertise. Over the past nine years, 30 engineers have effectively been trained in cutting-edge technology through the scholarship programme, and of these 30 engineers, all were under the age of 35. New ways of thinking have been transferred, and the links between planning and costs have been refined, since droughts and water shortages have been on the South African doorstep. The process of solving the problems has become a huge priority under the circumstances as municipalities juggle the balls of capacity in managing sludge, maintenance and ageing infrastructure, and water leaks, which create the unintended consequences of a massive loss of revenue. www.waterafrica.co.za Water Sewage & Effluent November/December 2018 15 innovations The 2017 beneficiaries each presented their proposals for implementing the ideas and technology that they had learnt about.