The Water and Environmental Engineering (WAT) research group at Aalto University has been actively developing doctoral education for several years. The WAT research group is also involved in two new , the focusing on the area of the Digital Waters flagship and the focusing on sustainability transformation management.
Doctoral education pilots offer a unique opportunity to strengthen the pool of water engineering professionals and to develop doctoral education in the field, considering the needs of Finnish society and its various actors. The research in the pilots will develop large-scale, digitally-enabled solutions to advance sustainable water resource management.
The significant donation from the Maa- ja vesitekniikan tuki ry (MVTT) will enable Aalto University's water engineering pilots to be implemented in the planned scale. Aalto University's doctoral programmes are four-year programmes, and the donation will ensure that doctoral research related to the pilot can be carried out within this timeframe.
The objective of the pilots is to develop more flexible doctoral education processes, to increase the number of doctoral graduates while ensuring the security of supply, and to strengthen the employment of doctoral graduates in various sectors of society.
Minna Maasilta, Managing Director, Maa- ja vesitekniikan tuki ry.We want to support projects that drive the water sector forward and increase the impact of water technology.
A total of 16 doctoral researchers will start in the WAT research group's doctoral education pilots, 14 in the DIWA pilot and two in the SusTra pilot. The pilots also provide an excellent opportunity for collaboration, with a total of 100 doctoral researchers from 11 universities as well as six research institutes and other partners involved in the two pilots.
Academy Research Fellow Eliisa Lotsari, who is leading the DIWA pilot at Aalto University, says the pilot's research topics cover a wide range of water-related themes. "In the DIWA pilot, we will study the impacts of climate change, detection technologies, future river and catchment area modelling, the development of digital twins and water resource management practices," says Lotsari.
The SusTra pilot will complement these themes with research on the connections between sustainability transformation and water. These two pilots will bring together not only several topical research themes, but also a wide range of researchers with different backgrounds and perspectives on water. "Such a multidisciplinary approach is the most effective way to promote sustainable use of water", underlines Marko Keskinen, Associate Professor in charge of the SusTra pilot in the WAT research group.
MVTT is a long-standing supporter and partner of Aalto University. The purpose of the association is to support research and initiatives that transform water and environmental technologies and are widely applicable both in Finland and internationally.
MVTT has supported the development of doctoral education in water engineering at Aalto University for a long time. The project, funded by a previous donation from the MVTT, created an approach of a group of doctoral students progressing in close collaboration, where peer support and teamwork are essential for steering.
The Majakka approach is now being widely adopted across Aalto schools and in the implementation of new doctoral education pilots. "MVTT's donation will strengthen our doctoral education and help a whole new generation of researchers to develop into solvers of technical and societal issues in the water industry," says Eliisa Lotsari.
In addition to these donations, MVTT has made a significant contribution to the Aalto University's founding campaign and the government's matching funding campaign. MVTT has also contributed to the establishment of a professorship of practice in the field of urban wastewater treatment. In January 2024, MVTT donated to a lectureship to strengthen water engineering education and its impact and has also supported several research and education projects. Furthermore, MVTT supports the development of water-related activities at Aalto University Junior, Aalto's multidisciplinary learning unit.
"We want to get the water flowing, so to speak, by supporting projects that drive the water industry forward and increase the impact of water engineering," says Minna Maasilta, Managing Director of Maa- ja vesitekniikan tuki ry. "It's great that the lessons learned from these projects can spread beyond water engineering, across different disciplines. This donation to support the four-year doctoral education pilots will hopefully enable not only high-quality doctoral theses in the field of water engineering but also the further development of a better doctoral education programme for future scientists."
"Our warmest thanks to MVTT for this valuable donation," says Kari Tammi, Dean of the Aalto University School of Engineering. "The field of water and environmental engineering is an important part of our school's research and education, and the work done by the WAT research group directly supports the implementation of Aalto's strategy. This donation will contribute both to this work and to strengthening the knowledge base of our society."
Text: Simo Kohonen, Aalto University
Water and Environmental Engineering research at Aalto University aims to find solutions to decrease resource scarcity and to support sustainability. Our research is divided into two strategic areas: global water issues and sustainable circular economy, which are further divided into four research entities.
