The winners, Yorick Broekema from the Netherlands and a team led by Leng Ling from Hong Kong, were presented with the prestigious Singapore-Netherlands Sustainability Award by His Excellency Jacques Werner, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Singapore. The event was held at the National University of Singapore’s University Town, was attended by some 80 representatives from industry, academia and government of both countries.
Ambassador Werner lauded the winners for their original papers addressing this year’s theme on climate change adaptation: “Creativity and resourcefulness are keywords to deal successfully with climate change adaption. Singapore and the Netherlands are dependent on the innovative and creative input of young talent. The Embassy supports the Singapore-Netherlands Water Challenge as it encourages students from all over the world to find innovative solutions for current water problems.”
In his proposal on the use of blue energy in a delta environment, Yorick Broekema explored the potential of generating blue energy by using excess flood water. He evaluated the applicability and value of his ideas for Singapore and the Netherlands, considering the specific circumstances in both countries. Yorick is currently enrolled in the NUS-TU Delft Double Master Degree Programme in Water Resources Management and Hydraulic Engineering.
Leng Ling and his team are doing their Masters in Environmental Engineering at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. They looked at the growing freshwater shortages and the disadvantages associated with the current use of seawater for toilet flushing in Hong Kong. They proposed a compact and environmentally friendly greywater treatment and reuse system based on a parallel operation of two processes to deal with flow variations.
