Sustainable Water Production and Treatment
Target audience
PhD students active in the field of water research
Organizing and scientific committee
prof. Marjolein Vanoppen (UGent, DEP Green Chemistry and Technology)
Kimberly Solon
Francis Meerburg
Jan Arends
Abstract
Advanced course to familiarize the students with current real-world full-scale practices in sustainable water production and treatment, and show the students how basic concepts are applied in practice in line with regulation. Keywords are industrial water treatment, drinking water, process water and innovative technologies and applications for water production and treatment.
Objectives
In this bi-annual course on industrial water production and treatment, a different speaker or speakers are invited for each class. These speakers are all connected to the water industry, being active either academically or in industry itself. Topics are all related to water on industrial scale and range from drinking water distribution to the Blue Deal and the effect of climate change on our water. On top of these lectures, a plant visit will be organized where the PhD students will be able to see some of this in practice and also be able to network and get to know each other.
This objective grew from concerns we noticed with our industrial partners and connections, who noticed that graduates from our faculty have very little understanding about how the ‘real world’ works when it comes to water in industry. So the objectives of this course are:
• Familiarizing students with real life examples of sustainable water technology
• Identifying how theoretical knowledge is translated into practice
• Introduction to industrial language and practices
• Access to valuable lessons learned beyond the theory
• Networking with relevant representatives of the water industry
Dates and venue
Tuesday afternoons 13:30 - 15:30 in the first semester of AY 2026-2027
CAPTURE (Frieda Saeysstraat 1 9052 Gent)
Programme
| Date | Theme | Speaker | Title | Affiliation | |
| 1 | 29/09/2026 | Resource recovery and valorisation | Joshua De Jong | Inorganic resource recovery | AquaMinerals |
| Bert Bundervoet | Energy and organic resource recovery | Colsen | |||
| 2 | 6/10/2026 | Water in crises | Patrik Peeters | Water system robustness in Flanders | Waterbouwkundig laboratorium |
| Peter Van Thienen | Collapsology | KWR | |||
| 3 | 13/10/2026 | Direct water reuse (1) | Frederik Van Der Haegen | Direct potable reuse | Aquaduin |
| Cameron Dierendonck | Industrial water reuse | Azulatis | |||
| 4 | 20/10/2026 | River management | Arnaud Pinxteren | International management of the Scheldt river | International Scheldt Commission |
| Gerard Stroomberg | International management of the Rhine river | Riwa Rijn | |||
| 5 | 10/11/2026 | Current OMP challenges | Leen Bastiaens | From challenge to solution: KIS contributions to innovative remediation of compounds like PFAS | KIS |
| Tess Goessens | Health risks of micropollutants in drinking water | UGent | |||
| 6 | 8/12/2026 | Industrial implementation | Evides (TBD) | Site visit at Sloe + lecture | Evides |
| 7 | 15/12/2026 | Direct water reuse (2) | Sofie Van Ermen | Industrial water reuse - CherisH2O project | VITO |
| Benjamin Buysschaert | Industrial water reuse | Ekopak |
Registration
- Follow this link for the registration and waiting list. We check if you are eligible to participate.
- Cancellation of your registration can only be performed by sending an email to doctoralschools@ugent.be.
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The no show policy applies.
Registration fee
Free of charge for Doctoral School members.
Number of participants
Maximum 50
Language
English
Training method
The course will consist of relevant experts giving 1h talks for a total of 13 to 14 sessions (two per afternoon) + an excursion
of ± 4h in total.
Evaluation method
80% attendance + active participation (in the form of questions/discussions with the speaker)
After successful participation, the Doctoral School Office will add this course to your curriculum of the Doctoral Training Programme in Oasis. Please note that this can take up to one to two months after completion of the course.