TU Delft extends strong collaboration with Brazil

“The international seminar and institutional meetings with USP’s Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism aimed to continue the long-lasting research and education collaboration between USP and TU Delft and to initiate a new five-year cycle of mobility and research exchange under the framework of joint research programmes: (1) Fluvial Metropolis, The Aquatic Project: São Paulo Metropolitan Water-Waste-Mobility Nexus; (2) Socio-Ecological Design and Material Ecologies; (3) Amazon Environmental Justice, Forms of Life, and the Politics of Scale. The joint research programmes are transdisciplinary and cross-faculty initiatives between USP and TU Delft research units in close collaboration with the public sector. A technical meeting was held between the City of São Paulo, USP-FAU, and researchers from TU Delft on the ‘Aquatic Project’ - a recent technical cooperation agreement between the City of São Paulo (SPTrans) and FAU-USP for the design, planning, and governance of the waterway public transport system in addition to environmental education, environmental preservation measures, reforestation, and recovery of metropolitan hydrologic system.” The meeting represented the start of the exchange between institutions and researchers on the topic and future collaboration.

Novel approaches to resource recovery in wastewater treatment: UNICAMP leading the way

With partners at UNICAMP, we hosted a hybrid United Nations Satellite Workshop during the World Water Conference – Water we Waiting for. The event examined challenges and opportunities for the implementation of circular wastewater treatment in Brazil and included presentations by Vasco Rodrigues, the Dutch Deputy Consul General in São Paulo Brazil, Prof. Mark van Loosdrecht, Prof. Marcelo Nolasco (USP) and Prof. Luana Mattos de Oliveira Cruz (UNICAMP), as well as industry players (Aguas do Algarve, RHKDHV, Koppert).

“The workshop was really important to identify and guide new collaborations between TU Delft and Unicamp in order to improve the circular wastewater treatment. We could discuss about Brazilian challenges and which studies are relevant to implement new technologies that have been used in The Netherlands, considering social, cultural and economic aspects,” adds Prof. Luana Mattos de Oliveira Cruz.

Continuation of extensive collaboration UNICAMP

We were also welcomed by the Acting Rector of UNICAMP, Prof. Maria Luiza Moretti, Prof. Osvaldir Taranto, Executive Director of DERI – International Relations Executive Board, and Prof. Gustavo Paim Valenca, to discuss further our collaboration. UNICAMP and TU Delft have had a strong partnership for more than twenty years that includes a dual degree Ph.D. programme since 2012, and TU Delft has a permanent office at UNICAMP. Fifteen Ph.D. students have received their degrees in the years of the programme.  The collaboration also includes joint courses in different areas and joint organization of events. Joint research areas range from bioenergy to water and sewage treatment and civil engineering. You can also see more on UNICAMP’s website.  

Prof. Gustvao Paim Valenca highlights, “TU Delft has been UNICAMP’s largest international collaborator over the past years, especially for the dual degree PhD programme. Since its establishment in 2013, this programme accounts for the largest number of UNICAMP’s dual degree PhD graduates, and we are looking forward to welcoming more students to the progrmme in the coming years.”   

Meeting with Smart City Business America, Brasília

Smart City Business America (SCBA) is network of 400 companies and governments around the creation of a smart cities ecosystem in Latin and North-America. SCBA is present in 9 countries and promotes the advancement of discussions related to Smart Cities in the region, with the ambition being the leader of the initiative to create an ecosystem and a market for Smart Cities.

Prof.dr.ir. Marcel Hertogh and Dr. Yirang Lim had a meeting with Dr. Jorges Barros, the CEO Brazil of SCBA. Yirang handed over her PhD thesis ‘Impacts of Smart City Development: Experience of South Korea.’ The subject of the meeting was possibilities for collaboration between Resilient Delta Initiative (RDi) and SCBA. During the meeting we discussed the four possibilities for collaboration which we have formulated in advance, together with prof.dr.ir. Arjan van Timmeren, and possible ways to move forward. An important starting point can be an MoU, which we already prepared. Jorge invited RDi to give a key note lecture at the big international congress in São Paulo, May 23-25, this year. After the meeting, he proudly gave us a tour of the city centre.