Press
Current press releases - DWA
Current press releases
Finding and promoting talents
Best students come from Vienna
Hennef. The best students of water management come from Austria. The team of the Technical University of Vienna took first place at the second World University Challenge hosted by the German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA) in Munich. Teams from the Dokuz Eylul University Izmir (Turkey) and the University of Kassel were able to secure silver and bronze.
The competition for young academics aims to promote upcoming engineers in the field of water engineering and, at the same time, to draw the attention of companies to qualified and motivated newcomers. “For many companies, competitions are a tool for personnel selection”, explained Rüdiger Heidebrecht, Head of the Department Training and International Cooperation at the DWA and initiator of the competition. They show whether talented young people are capable of mastering management requirements, the DWA’s training expert went on to explain.
Strategies for the sustainable use of the resource water
The students from Vienna asserted themselves against a total of 14 teams from Germany and abroad. They showed their skills in four disciplines:
1. Integrated water resource management (IWRM) I. With the aid of the simulation game Aqua Republica from the company DHI, the correlation between water use, social and economic development and ecological sustainability had to be simulated and processed.
2. Integrated water resource management (IWRM) II. A landscape had to be developed using the DWA environmental maps. Infrastructure measures from the water, waste and energy industries had to be combined.
3. Measuring, controlling, regulating. The control and measuring in drains and sewage treatment plants had to be shown on the basis of a model from the company Festo.
4. Virtual reality. With the aid of VR glasses, errors in a virtual treatment plant had to be detected and named.
The World University Challenge was held during the industrial fair IFAT from 14 to 18 Mai 2018 in Munich.
Allstars and Pumpis lead the field
Best sewage professionals come from Stuttgart
Hennef. The best sewage treatment plant and sewer professionals come from Stuttgart. The “Allstars” team from Stuttgart’s urban drainage company SES managed to take first place in the category sewage treatment plants at the fourth World Water Skills hosted by the German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA). The “Pumpis”, also from SES, were the best in the sewer competition. Teams from Los Angeles and Bonn as well as Cologne and Nuremberg were able to win silver and bronze in the respective categories.
The World Water Skills aim to encourage professional motivation, set quality standards and, at the same time, promote continuous further training. “The profession of sewage engineering technician is versatile and challenging”, says Rüdiger Heidebrecht, Head of the Training and International Cooperation Department at the DWA and the initiator of the competition. The activities involve great responsibility for the environment and also for valuable high-tech facilities. Only those who are up-to-date, says the DWA’s training expert, will be able to meet the requirements.
Best performance: fast, accurate and safe
The sewage professionals from Stuttgart asserted themselves against a total of 15 teams, including squads from Egypt, Jordan and the United States. They competed in the four categories Occupational health and safety, Repair and maintenance, Measuring, controlling, regulating and operational monitoring and Process control or opt for two disciplines. The sewer professionals had to demonstrate a perfect shaft entry while ensuring the necessary safety. They also had an agitator to service and repair. The sewage treatment plant professionals had to show that they are able to operate measuring, control and regulating devices quickly and correctly and to monitor process operations. For this, they had to depict the flowchart of a sewage treatment plan with magnetic cards on a whiteboard and detect and eliminate an operational disruption. In addition, each team was able to secure an extra point at a 3-D station. For this, a tour of a sewage treatment plant was simulated with the aid of virtual reality glasses. Speed, accuracy and compliance with the applicable safety regulations were assessed.
The World Water Skills were held during the industrial fair IFAT from 14 to 18 May 2018 in Munich.
Team “Epizentrum” in top form
Joint team from Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg in pole position
Hennef. The best apprentices in the wastewater sector are from Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg. The team “Epizentrum”, made up of Stuttgart’s waste management company and Ludwigsburg’s sewage treatment plant, achieved first place in the fourth German Championship in Wastewater Engineering hosted by the German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA) in Munich. The teams “Stuttgart Youngsters” from Stuttgart’s urban drainage company and “Wasser & Volt” from Nuremberg’s urban drainage and environmental analytics company were able to obtain silver and bronze. The winning team entered the competition for the first time.
The championship of the apprentices, which was held under the name Water Skills Germany for the first time, aims to encourage professional motivation, set quality standards and, at the same time, promote environmental professions. “The training as a sewage engineering technician is versatile and challenging”, says Rüdiger Heidebrecht, Head of the Training and International Cooperation Department at the DWA and the initiator of the competition. The activities involve great responsibility for the environment and also for valuable high-tech facilities, the DWA’s training expert explained. What’s more, he added, the opportunities on the job market are good.
Ticket to Russia almost in the bag
Thanks to their excellent performance at the Water Skills Germany, the apprentices of the three winning teams have won their ticket to the selection process of the World Skills International, to be held next year in Russia. Those who perform best in the preselection travel to Kazan for the global skills competition in the discipline Water Technology. Water Technology was first approved as a demonstration competition last year in the host city Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates).
The apprentices from Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg asserted themselves against a total of 13 teams. They had to prove their skills in the four categories Occupational health and safety, Repair and maintenance, Measuring, controlling, regulating and operational monitoring and Process control. The participants had to demonstrate a perfect shaft entry and rescue an injured colleague whilst ensuring the necessary safety. The propeller of a wastewater agitator had to be replaced. The apprentices also had to demonstrate that they are able to operate measuring, control and regulating devices quickly and correctly and to monitor process operations. For this, they had to depict the flow diagram of a sewage treatment plant with magnetic cards on a whiteboard and detect and eliminate an operational disruption. In addition, each team was able secure an extra point at a 3-D station. For this, a tour of a sewage treatment plant had to be simulated with the aid of virtual reality glasses. Speed, accuracy and compliance with the applicable safety regulations were assessed.
The World Skills Germany were held during the industrial fair IFAT from 14 to 18 Mai 2018 in Munich.
Success as a team
DWA: promoting talent, securing quality
Hennef. 28 teams from Germany, Egypt, Jordan and the USA took part in the Water Skills hosted by the German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA) in Munich in mid May 2018 (14 to 17 May 2018). 14 student teams participated in the parallel World University Challenge also organised by the DWA.
“I am thrilled to see how committed the participants were”, enthused Rüdiger Heidebrecht, Head of the Training and International Cooperation Department at the DWA and the initiator of the competitions. He is convinced: university and professional competitions are an excellent tool for promoting young talents and drawing the attention of companies to motivated employees and junior staff. What counts is the team spirit, says Heidebrecht.
Sewage professionals demonstrate their skills
The World Water Skills for the operating staff and the Water Skills Germany for the apprentices in sewage treatment plants were held – like the University Challenge - in several disciplines: the sewage professionals had to show that they mastered perfect shaft entrance skills, and that, despite speed when rescuing an injured colleague, they still observed the necessary safety precautions. Based on the example of a sewage plant agitator, maintenance and repair work was to be demonstrated. In addition, the competitors had to show that they are able to operate measuring, control and regulating devices quickly and correctly and to monitor process operations. For this, the flow diagram of a sewage treatment plant was to be depicted with magnetic cards on a whiteboard, and an operational disruption had to be detected and eliminated.
Student teams fit and ahead
The junior academics had to master tasks for the sustainable use of the resource water. The connection between water use, social and economic development as well as ecological sustainability had to be simulated, and structural development measures in the areas of water, waste and energy had to be sensibly combined. The participants also had to show that they master the controlling and measuring tasks in drains and sewage treatment plants and can identify and name errors in a virtual sewage treatment plant.
There was also praise from DWA’s President Otto Schaaf for the dedication of the teams: “We need well-trained specialists so that our sewage systems function perfectly. Those who take the challenge under the eyes of their colleagues not only show courage, but also that quality at work is important to them.” The DWA’s commitment to training and further education, and in particular the competitions, is an important component in securing high-level performance, Schaaf continued.
The competitions were held during the industrial fair IFAT. The visitors were able to see for themselves what knowledge and skills are expected of sewage engineering technicians and junior water management engineers.
Impressions of the professional competition of the sewage experts can be found on the Facebook page of the competitions (https://www.facebook.com/berufswettbewerbe).