New Global Sanitation Graduate School hubs in Africa, Asia and South America to strengthen regional education

The Global Sanitation Graduation School (GSGS), a rigorous sanitation curriculum platform founded by IHE Delft and the Gates Foundation, has established five regional hubs to increase its impact. With almost half the world’s population lacking access to the safely managed sanitation, the school’s alumni are sorely needed.
The GSGS, with 50+ universities and institutions around the world, has enrolled more than 1,400 MSc students since its launch in 2017. It also supports sanitation education through online and on-campus courses and customized training. GSGS alumni contribute to improved sanitation around the world through careers including positions such as environmental health analysts, sanitation specialists, engineers, researchers, governmental officials, lecturers and more.
New sanitation champions
In a letter shared ahead of the launch of the regional hubs, Bill Gates noted the impact of the work:
“IHE Delft’s dedication to building new champions in sanitation is truly commendable,” Gates wrote. “The Global Sanitation Graduate School is setting a new standard in postgraduate education on sanitation. I wish you success in expanding to regional hubs.”
“IHE Delft’s dedication to building new champions in sanitation is truly commendable.”
By working with the new regional hubs, the GSGS aims to update its curriculum to include the latest on-the-ground developments and learnings on citywide inclusive sanitation, and to expand and diversify its membership.
The five hubs are based in:
- Burkina Faso - International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE)
- Uganda – National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC)
- India – Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology University (CEPT)
- Thailand – Asian Institute of Technology (AIT)
- Uruguay – Technological University of Uruguay (UTEC)
Each hub will cover its wider region and fine-tune the curriculum to suit regional conditions. They will also work to expand the reach of the programme, both to include more countries and institutions, and to include a larger variety of partners, such as companies, non-governmental organizations, sanitation actors and governmental agencies.
Strengthen impact
“The establishment of the five regional hubs will update our educational programmes and services at the regional level. The hubs will update the curriculum with the latest learnings in citywide inclusive sanitation, and in doing so, fitting it into the local context,” said Damir Brdjanovic, GSGS global lead and IHE Delft Professor. “This will further strengthen impact of the GSGS in local and regional contexts.”
IHE Delft remains the headquarters of GSGS. It coordinates global GSGS operations and facilitates and supports regional hubs and South-to-South knowledge sharing.
Damir Brdanovic
Professor of Citywide Inclusive Sanitation
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