UJ and JW form an alliance

The University of Johannesburg (UJ) and Johannesburg Water (JW) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that seeks to lay a foundation for the two entities to collaborate on Research and Development (R&D) projects in the areas of water and sanitation. It is anticipated that this initiative will assist the utility to benchmark its performance and thus ensure the enhancement of its efficiencies and competitiveness. The university will on the other hand be afforded an opportunity to further develop research-based approaches to long-term strategic planning linked to economic, social and other areas of development.

This partnership is expected to become a catalyst for extensive cooperation between UJ and the water utility in various disciplines of science, engineering and technology. This is in keeping with similar successful knowledge-intensive initiatives implemented around the word.

The collaboration will explore and develop new knowledge and technology specifically in water nanotechnologies, in water purification, in waste-water treatment, and innovation in water analysis. “The area of water nanotechnology is particularly important as it is a new generation of technology that holds great promise foe waste-water treatment, water quality assessment and other environment applications,” says Prof Bhekie Mamba at the Department of Chemical Technology at the UJ.

“We believe that the key to the successful development of new and novel technologies lies in forging science and technology partnerships and the collective will to increase skilled workforce competiveness in the future. Such partnerships are particularly critical if we want to improve business efficiencies, reduce the cost of service delivery and become more responsive to the needs of our customers,” says Mr Jones Mnisi, Acting Chief Operation Officer, JW.  

The alliance also see UJ providing workplace-learning opportunities to JW workers/students and outlines other meaningful interventions that address the shortage of scientists and engineers especially in this service industry. Since JW has accredited water laboratories with excellent state of the art equipment, this presents an opportunity for the training of the scientists towards obtaining higher degrees at the UJ.

“This partnership will thus provide a meaningful learning experience to prospective students at JW. It will contribute significantly to JW’s efforts to produce a skilled workforce that is required to support its mission of “providing all the residents if Johannesburg with access to quality and sanitation services. It is encouraging to see JW and UJ forge partnerships that contribute to the development of the industry they operate in as this will translate our technological advances into socio-economic gains for the residents of the city,” says Prof Derek van der Merwe, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Vice-Principal, UJ. 

Mr Jones Mnisi, Acting Chief Operation Officer, Johannesburg Water (JW). and  Prof Derek van der Merwe, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Vice-Principal, University of Johannersburg (UJ) at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Johannesburg Water on Friday, 16 January 2009.

 
Mr Herman Esterhuizen
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