Southern African Young Water Professionals

		Southern African Young Water Professionals

Joining the SA YWP

There is no membership fee for the YWP Programme but membership of one or both of our parent organisations is encouraged (WISA or IWA).

To be a member of the SA YWP, people can be either WISA or IWA members - they don't have to join both.

The WISA membership information is on their membership page and you can also download the application form here. Since WISA members have to be proposed by a current member, feel free to download and complete the form, then if you do not personally know a WISA member, email the completed form to one of the contact people below to act as your proposer. Student membership of WISA is free (only a once-off R50 joining fee applies), while most other grades of annual membership are R475 (plus R50 joining fee for new members) for 2011.

The IWA membership info is online at IWA's membership page. You can join IWA instantly online at the individual / student form webpage and the fees are all listed by the IWA, but note that IWA has a two-tier fee structure. Members from Low Income Countries pay a discounted rate (see the PDF list- most African countries including Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi and Botswana qualify for 40% discounted rates, so the individual membership fees are only US$51, approx. ZAR360 at the time of writing, and for students US$31, or approx. ZAR220).

Mentoring Programme
The Mentoring Programme is designed to help Young Water Professionals through their career, to enhance the relation between Young Water Professionals and Established Water Professionals and to create a long-lasting communication links between two generations of water professionals. The Mentoring Programme is run by the IWA and full details about it can be found at this web page. The IWA defines mentoring as "a relationship between two people that aims to aid the lesser experienced person in the achievement of his goals. It is a mutually beneficial relationship in that it provides the protégé with opportunity for career development through a focus on several core competencies while at the same time allowing the mentor to reassess and enhance his skills through that same focus. The inherent goal of a mentoring relationship is to develop, hone, and challenge the skills and knowledge of both parties". Since it is an IWA initiative, note that the Mentoring Programme is open only to those YWPs who are IWA members.

Forthcoming Events

Technical Tour: Integrated Water Resource Management of Midmar Dam: On 6th October 2011 the KZN Chapter will take a tour (including walk on dam wall, proposed housing development site and wetland), with speakers from DWA (including DWA Learning Academy), DAEARD, Scientists and Engineering & Environmental Consultants. Click here for the flyer. NB: Space is limited, so please RSVP to Preshanthie Naicker by 25 September 2011: ywp.kzn@gmail.com.
East African YWP Regional Conference: the first regioanl EAYWP Conference takes place in Kampala, Uganda, on 11 - 13 December 2011. Click here for the registration form, visit http://www.nwsc.co.ug/index12.php or http://mail.nwsc.co.ug/eaywp/, or email Betty Aliba for more information: Betty.Aliba@nwsc.co.ug.
Research Seminars at University of Johannesburg: All YWPs are offered free entry to two seminars by Professor Bruce Jefferson, of Cranfield University in the UK, in September. "Water research related to Drinking water and Wastewater treatment at Cranfield University" will take place on 23rd September, at 12:30 p.m. (Venue 7309). The second seminar "Writing papers for publication" takes place on 28th September at 12:00 (venue 2212) . No RSVP is necessary. If you need information regarding directions to the venue, please email Deputy Head of Department, Ms Lueta de Kock: ldekock@uj.ac.za.

News & Opportunities

The National Planning Commission has opened a call for young professionals to join in its Jam. For full information, click here. Check out the NCP website www.ncponline.gov.za and follow the links, or go straight to this page to register.
Monash University SA is offering an MPhil programme in Integrated Water Management. For full information, click here. The deadline is 30th September.
Numerous bursaries are available for those seeking study opportunities, from: South African Weather Service (National Certificate in Weather Observation; BSc Meteorology; Honours in Meteorology; Honours Bridging programme), De Beers (Mining Engineering Metallurgy (Extractive only); Electrical Engineering (Heavy current only); Mechanical Engineering; Chemical Engineering; Geology; Commerce - Accounting major only (Affirmative action applicants only)), Spoornet (No specifics) Vodacom (BEng; BSc Computer Science; BSc Engineering; BComm; N.D. Computer Engineering; N.D. Electrical Engineering (LC); N.D. Information Technology; N.D. Financial Info Systems; N.D. Accounting) and South African Institute of Race Relations (No specifics).
The Swiss government is offering ten postgraduate bursaries for South African students under the age of 35. Preference will be given to doctoral and post doctoral application but does not exclude masters applications. These bursaries are granted for studies and research at Swiss Universities and Federal Institutes of Technology (you will find a list of Swiss Universities and Federal Institutes of Technology on www.swissuni.ch). Before applying, candidates should establish if their planned study program or research project can be carried out at the university concerned. Therefore, they will have to contact the Professor or the Administrator responsible for the postgraduate course or research. It is essential that a copy of this contact be part of the application file to ensure acceptance of the application. It is recommend that the applicants carefully read the attached "Application guidelines" as well as the application requirements specified on the website of the State Secretariat for Education and Research: http://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home/reps/afri/vzaf/ref_visinf/viszaf/takch.html. Each application form and all the annexed documents required should be sent in triplicate in the same order as stated in the "Application guidelines". If the candidate has passed her/his exams, but not yet received the diploma, an original document officially stamped by the University of graduation, stating that the candidate has been successful and informing of the date when the diploma will be received, must be enclosed. The complete application files should be submitted to the Embassy not later than October 31, 2011. All documents which are not written in English, German, French or Italian must be accompanied by certified translations into one of these languages. Finally, the decision on bursary grants will be communicated around May 2012. Should you need any further information, please contact Ms Jacquelene Friedenthal at the Embassy of Switzerland in South Africa; Tel: +27 012 452 0672, Fax +27 012 346 6605 and Email jacquelene.friedenthal@eda.admin.ch You can also visit the website: www.eda.admin.ch/pretoria.