The International Water Association (IWA) is pleased to announce progress of a new initiative with the Global Sanitation Graduate School (GSGS) to engage sanitation students around the world. The joint effort aims to integrate sanitation students into IWA’s global network, accelerating the dissemination of cutting-edge sanitation knowledge and fostering a robust global WASH community.

Thanks to the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, up to 1000 GSGS students and graduates now have the opportunity to obtain a complimentary two-year individual student membership with IWA.

Applications for these sponsored memberships began in September 2023, and IWA is delighted to share that it has already welcomed 289 new members, spanning 26 countries. They are already participating in IWA activities, with 18 of these individuals attending the hugely successful inaugural IWA Non-Sewered Sanitation Conference held in Johannesburg, South Africa on 15-18 October 2023.

This initiative will significantly expand IWA’s network of dedicated individuals working on global sanitation issues. As IWA members, students gain access to activities such as the insights of the Inclusive Urban Sanitation programme and the opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals, including membership of the Specialist Group on Non-Sewered Sanitation, which organised the Johannesburg conference.

This opportunity extends to past, current, and future students of the GSGS, which is led by IHE Delft. Whether studying at the IHE Delft campus in the Netherlands or enrolled in a GSGS programme through another university, including those who have completed their studies online, alumni and current students alike can take up the opportunity by applying for IWA membership.

This opportunity will remain open until the end of 2024, subject to the limit of 1000 subsidised memberships. This means those yet to study, including those doing so online, still have time to take advantage!

More information

• All membership applications are subject to validation by GSGS regarding student status
• Join here internationalwaterassociation.my.site.com/s/individual-join using code GSGSIWA2023
• For application and membership queries, please contact members@iwahq.org
• For further information on GSGS, please visit: sanitationeducation.org
• For further information about the IWA YWPs community, please contact ywp@iwahq.org.