The DANSK VAND conference took place on November 13-14 in Aarhus. Thor Danielsen, Wadim Baslow, Niels Askjær and Nadia Lund from the YWPDK board participated together with six members whose participation was sponsored by DANVA and YWPDK: Rikke Matthiesen, Charlotte Plum, Nadia Nord, Martina Hellestveit, Inés Breda and Estée Swartz. Furthermore, the regional representative in Aarhus, Emil Thomsen, also participated. The number of conference participants, hereunder students, was record high and the conference therefore constituted the perfect platform for us to increase awareness about YWPDK. It was furthermore a great opportunity for YWPDKs to get to know each other even better.

YWPDK had a session on Tuesday during lunch where we presented our network to students and young water professionals. Niels Askjær (VCS), Thor Danielsen (HOFOR), Emil Thomsen (COWI) and Nadia Lund (DTU Environment) also presented their fields of work as inspiration for the students in the audience. We also discussed the membership concept with potential new members. As in every other network, nothing comes for free. It is easy to “become a member” on the website, sit back, receive the newsletter and follow the network on social media. However, if you really wish to gain something from the network, you also, as a minimum, have to attend events and be genuinely interested in getting to know the other young water professionals. The network’s events range from casual events like Fyraftensøl to technical tours that give a unique insight into other members’ fields of work. Furthermore, the network also poses an easy entrance point for members to explore and discuss shared interests with other members through the working groups, challenge their creativity and organizational skills when engaging in the creation of events, and much more. In fact, only the imagination and engagement of our members set the limit for which events can be carried out within the network! If you have ideas, you are always welcome to contact the board, the regional representatives or simply post an idea on either our LinkedIn or Facebook page.

After the official program on Tuesday, we hosted a Fyraftensøl together with DANVA for both young water professionals and more experienced people from the water sector. After a long day of presentations, people were definitely thirsty!

The board members also took the opportunity to meet up with Emil to discuss how we can expand our member base and activities in Aarhus. If you are interested in helping Emil with organizing events, please contact him on eatn@cowi.dk. Emil is currently planning the Julehygge in Aarhus, which will take place in December. Grab a fellow student or colleague and join for a fun evening!