Johannesburg - Johannesburg Water and University of Johannesburg have signed a Memorandum of Understanding that seeks to lay a foundation for the entities to collaborate on water and sanitation research and development projects.
The collaboration signed on Friday will explore and develop new knowledge and technology specifically in water nanotechnologies, water purification, waste water treatment and innovation in water analysis.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Johannesburg Water Acting Chief Executive Officer Jones Mnisi said the nanotechnology was particularly important as it was a new generation of technology that holds great promise for waste water treatment, water quality assessment and other environment applications.
"We believe that the key to the successful development of new and novel technologies lies in forging science and technology partnerships and the collective will to increase a skilled workforce to enhance competitiveness in the future," Mr Mnisi said.
He added that such partnerships were critical if the city wanted to improve business efficiencies, reduce the cost of service delivery and become more responsive to the needs of it customers.
The collaboration, he said, will also see the university providing workplace learning opportunities to the city workers and students and also outlines other meaningful interventions that address the shortage of scientists and engineers.
Since the Johannesburg Water has accredited water laboratories with excellent state of the art equipment, this presents an opportunity for the training of the scientists towards obtaining higher degrees at the University of Johannesburg, Mr Mnisi said.
Mr Mnisi further noted that as a leading water utility in South Africa, Johannesburg Water will continue its commitment to build the next generation of cutting edge research infrastructure by partnering with stakeholders in the water industry.
"It was not difficult to choose a partner, the university is well known for it excellent record in water research, we are convinced that this memorandum of understanding will go a long way towards ensuring and entrenching our leadership within the water industry," he said.
Johannesburg University Vice Chancellor Professor Derek van der Merwe said the university seeks to be established as a leading higher education provider.
He said the university has set out strategic goals including being an internationally recognised research institution.
"We want to pursue our goal to be engaged in Johannesburg and sustain a relationship with our stakeholders including community and businesses," Professor van der Merwe said.
He said the university also wants to focus on the Gauteng City Region as the university has the co-functions and expertise which provide safe and secure water.
"The university wants to assist the city to reach that goal, there are mutual benefits, the groundwork has been laid and this agreement is built on solid foundation.
"Both of us are growing structures and committed, I would like to see the results by the end of the year," Professor van der Merwe said.
