New Delft Water Walk
IHE Delft is an institute for water education, providing Master’s and PhD level training and degrees in many water-related disciplines. It also conducts tailored courses for professional water managers across the world. More than 25,000 students from 190 countries have been trained at IHE since its founding in 1957. The Institute actively works to contribute to the Global Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations.
IHE Delft (its full name is the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education) focuses on the education and practical experience in the field of water to professionals from all over the world, especially from the Global South. This education focuses on master’s and doctoral programs, as well as (online) courses and customized training. Areas of study cover a range of technical topics, such as flood management, water resources management, coastal management, water quality, water purification, etc. In addition, a lot of attention is also paid to the development of institutional and human capacity building. These aspects are critical in the implementation of water solutions. IHE Delft works under the umbrella of UNESCO.
IHE Delft was established after the flood disaster in the Netherlands in 1953. The Delta Plan that was drawn up in response to this disaster attracted a lot of international attention. The ambassador of what was then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) requested the Dutch government to share the knowledge that was developed during the development and implementation of the Delta Plan with other countries. This is how IHE Delft was established in 1957. One of the founders of IHE Delft was Prof. Jo Thijsse. As secretary of Hendrik Lorenz, he was involved in the design of the Zuiderzee Works and was the founder and first director of the then Delft Hydraulics Laboratory (now part of Deltares).
Since then, the IHE institute has grown considerably, with approximately 190 staff members and over 200 students. The program is currently organized around the following themes:
- Integrated, sustainable and inclusive land and water use
- Developing knowledge and innovation for sustainable societies
- Risks, adaptation and resilience along coasts and in cities
- Safe drinking water and water purification
- Sustainable drinking water sources are linked to ecosystems
- Water policy to contribute to equality, peace and sustainability.
IHE Delft contributes to, among other things, Sustainability Goal 6 of the Global Goals of the United Nations (Clean Water and Sanitation). During our walk you will see that many of the topics that IHE Delft focuses on are also important in Delft, such as climate change, water storage, groundwater problems. More information about IHE Delft can be found on their website.
