Shaping the Future of Water: Innovation and Collaboration at the Wetskills Challenge in Cape Town

What happens when you bring together young water professionals from across the globe, challenge them with a real-life case, and give them the freedom to think big? You get fresh ideas, boundless energy, and surprising solutions.

At the recent Wetskills Challenge during the IWA Conference in Cape Town, World Water Academy had the honor of participating as a case owner. But what made us even prouder was the incredible team that dove into our challenge with creativity, passion, and true team spirit.

The Wetskills Water Challenge is an intensive two-week program where students and young professionals collaborate in diverse, multidisciplinary teams to tackle urgent water issues. These aren’t theoretical exercises — they’re real-world problems calling for innovative thinking and practical solutions.

A special shoutout to Karabo Mpola Modiba, Sebabatso Fantisi, Tshireletso Madumo (Pr.Nat.Sci.), and Steven van der Linden for their excellent work on our case. Their concept for an Innovation Exchange Hub stood out by smartly combining technical innovation with hands-on, experience-based learning. A great example of how collaboration fuels impactful change.

Your creativity, teamwork, and commitment to a sustainable water future truly inspired us.

And of course, a big thank-you to Bram Ooms (World Water Academy) and Joshua de Jong (AquaMinerals) for your dedicated guidance along the way.

The future of water needs bold thinkers and practical doers — and that’s exactly what we saw here.