‘MAKE IT CLEAR WHAT WE STAND FOR’

Pieter de Jong graduated from WUR [Wageningen University & Research, ed.] as an environmental engineer with a specialization in holistic water management in 2003. He has lived and worked in the Netherlands, Italy, France, Belgium and Mexico and speaks six languages. De Jong has been the European representative for Wetsus and WaterCampus Leeuwarden since 2011. He wears many hats for WaterCampus Leeuwarden and is in Brussels a lot.

WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR ROLE AS LIAISON OFFICER?

I am active on local, regional, national and European levels simultaneously. The trick is aligning everything as closely as possible. The region and Europe are natural starting points for my work. Incidentally, the Dutch Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (AWTI) recently emphasized the importance of this interplay. WaterCampus is very progressive in this. We are often seen as a European role model for regional innovation ecosystems. We are currently talking with Brussels and national and regional governments to further develop WaterCampus Leeuwarden as a European Deep Tech Valley for water technology.

WATERCAMPUS HAS ACHIEVED A LOT IN THE PAST TWELVE YEARS. CAN YOU NAME A FEW HIGHLIGHTS?

I am particularly proud of the growth we experienced as WaterCampus overall, but I can also cite a few specific examples. One is the large international water conference EIP, which we brought to Leeuwarden in 2016. It was not easy at the time, but we got it done by convincing the European Commission that the event befitted a city and province that had been investing in water technology for twenty years. In doing so, we brought 800 opinion leaders from the international water sector to Leeuwarden for several days.

I am also proud that we have Wetsus as a top institute for scientific research and the CEW for applied research and that we have managed to involve vocational education with the Centrum voor Innovatief Vakmanschap [CIV, ed.]. That example, where we aim to train excellent students in vocational education, has spread throughout Europe, where a budget of 400 million euros is now being invested with the help of the European ERASMUS programme.

CAN YOU CITE AN EXAMPLE OF A PROJECT YOU ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON?

The main track we are working on is the European partnership, Water4All. This co-funding initiative within the Horizon Europe project accounts for 126 million euros for 2021–2027. The initiative has 79 partners from more than 30 countries working together on innovation. We have engaged the entire WaterCampus and the region in the partnership. This will allow us to scale up regional best practices to the European level.

Another project currently getting off the ground is the creation of the KIC Water, Marine and Maritime by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). This will involve investments of around 400 million euros over seven years. The emphasis is likely on entrepreneurship and start-ups, which means the initiative will significantly boost Water Alliance and its members.

WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN YOUR WORK?

Breaking organizational silos and constantly looking for new connections. WaterCampus does a lot in the field of circular economy that we would like to share with other sectors. This could involve cooperation with the food processing industry in Murcia, linking decentralized treatment to Eastern Europe or introducing Caleyda to European horticultural organizations. I can give an example regarding European regulations that ties in with the previous pages. If there are no objections, under the proposal for the new urban wastewater treatment directive—a proposal by the EU commission—the polluter will contribute to the costs of treatment. The additional cost to remove drug residues and personal care products from our sewage would, in that case, fall partly on the pharmaceutical and personal care industries. That would be a real breakthrough.

Another challenge that lies with us is keeping a clear profile so that it remains clear what we stand for. This is also a great task for the Water Alliance. Since January, a national industry association with expert groups has been collaborating with the more business development and marketing-oriented branch that was already working from WaterCampus Leeuwarden.

Finally, to better align the regional, national and European agendas and initiatives, we must coordinate even more with our colleagues in The Hague, the region and possibly even the Special Envoy for Water at the UN. This is how we collectively move closer to our common goals.