SuPER-W network meeting and workshop in Gent

From July 04th to 19th, the seventh network training event of SuPER-W took place in Gent, Belgium. The main agenda of the training included evaluating the research progress of the ESRs research and improving their complementary skills.  Prof. Gijs Du Laing, the coordinator of SuPER-W project from Gent university, hosted this successful two-week event.  

At the first day of the event, the outreach group focusing on MOOC gave an update of their work regarding a chapter of reusing irrigation water. After a networking lunch break, SuPER-W fellows joined their colleagues in the Belgian charter of International Water Association (B-IWA) on the 5th B-IWA Nocturne event in Mons. Several activities were held, including a workshop on “How to be a good mentor?”. Following that in the event, Colleagues from iMEC presented their latest technologies under the title of "Internet of water" and the latest on the topic of agricultural waste management and reuse was summarized by a colleague from Institut Français de la vigne et du vin. Prior to a relaxing network reception, B-IWA colleagues went over latest research in the field of water in Belgium in a number of 3-minute flash presentations.  

The next day was filled by ESRs presentation. The SuPER-W fellows gave an overview of their results and outputs obtained during the past three years. The structure of their PhD thesis and the training progress were presented also. Thanks to the external expert Prof. Piet Lens for his full participation and feedback. Each ESR received constructive and valuable comments that are considered very helpful and essential for the last phase of their PhD.  

The following two weeks were allocated for TRANSFERSKILLS, an international summer school focusing on transferable skills training for researchers. The complementary courses covered were “Writing for non-peers and press (popular writing)”, “Conflict handling”, “How to survive an interview with a journalist”, “Cross-cultural intelligence in professional environments”, “Meeting skills”, “Teamwork and motivation”, “Presentation skills”, “Communication and negotiation skills”, “Job-seeking”, “CV writing and interviewing skills”, “Project management”. During the weekend, the ESRs went kayaking as a team building activity. 

It was a fruitful and wonderful time for ESRs and all the participants. The next SuPER-W event will be its closing event, which will take place in Venice, Italy, together with the 3rd IWA Resource Recovery Conference in September 2019.