International Desalination Association Announces Host Agency For 2016-2017 Fellowship Program

The International Desalination Association announced recently that PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, will be the host for the 2016-17 IDA Fellowship Program.

Inaugurated in 2008, the IDA Fellowship is one of the industry’s most prestigious awards, featuring both a monetary prize of up to 10,000 USD and an attachment with a high profile host agency to work on a specific project. Its purpose is to promote greater interaction and sharing of knowledge, technologies and processes in the desalination and water reuse industry, thus benefitting not only the Fellow and host agency, but also the industry at large.

“Since its inception, the Fellowship Program has paired IDA, the world’s leading organization focused on desalination and water reuse, and the world’s leading water agencies with a shared goal of promoting education and fostering information exchange among industry professionals. The 2016-17 Fellowship is the first to offer a dedicated attachment on either water reuse or desalination, in keeping with IDA’s additional focus on reuse as part of our mission,” said Patricia A. Burke, Secretary General of the International Desalination Association.

Depending on the Fellow’s expertise and his/her proposal, PUB – Singapore’s National Water Agency – will arrange for the Fellow to work on either a research-based attachment in the field of desalination and/or water reuse, or an operation/maintenance-based attachment at PUB’s NEWater Factory, a water reuse plant.  The attachment with PUB will run for four to six weeks.

PUB is responsible for the collection, production, distribution and reclamation of water in Singapore, which has built a robust, diversified and sustainable water supply from four water sources known as the Four National Taps – local catchment water, imported water, reclaimed water (known as NEWater) and desalinated water.  

This will be the second time that PUB has been the host agency for the IDA Fellowship Program. Each host agency is a high-profile public utility or research organization known for its leadership in desalination and/or water reuse. In addition to PUB, IDA has partnered with the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) in Saudi Arabia; Water Corporation and Murdoch University in Western Australia; the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in the USA; the Ministry of Electricity & Water in Kuwait; and the Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW), located in Oman.

Applications for the 2016-17 Fellowship Program are now being accepted, with a submission deadline of October 13, 2016. To be eligible for the Fellowship Award, individual applicants must be IDA members, and must possess 8-10 years of working experience in the field of desalination and/or water reuse. IDA and PUB will jointly select the Fellow to receive the award for the Fellowship Program and will jointly present the award to the Fellow.

For further details about the IDA Fellowship Program and application guidelines, please visit www.idadesal.org or emaileducation@idadesal.org.

For more information, visit https://www.pub.gov.sg/

About PUB
PUB is a statutory board under the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. It is the water agency that manages Singapore's water supply, water catchment and used water in an integrated way. PUB has ensured a diversified and sustainable supply of water for Singapore with the Four National Taps (local catchment water, imported water, NEWater, desalinated water). To provide water for all, PUB calls on all to play our part to conserve water, keep our water catchments and waterways clean and build a relationship with water so we can enjoy our water resources.  If we all play our part, we can have enough water for all our needs - for industry, for living, for life.

About IDA
The International Desalination Association is the point of connection for the global desalination and water reuse community. A non-profit association, IDA serves more than 2,600 core members in 60 countries and reaches an additional 4,000 affiliate members. Its membership comprises scientists, end-users, engineers, consultants and researchers from governments, corporations and academia. IDA is associated with the United Nations as part of a growing international network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). For more information, visit www.idadesal.org.