By Noor Jehan Gulamussen
I stayed two and half months in Delft from the 12th of April until the 30th of June 2015. This was my second time in Delft, with the weather being much better than the first time (November-December 2014).
After admission to the project the first task is to prepare the PhD project proposal. The proposal comprises the detailed definition of all steps of the project following a doctoral education program of TU Delft that include the attendance of Graduate School courses and elaboration of the research proposal. During this period I attended four Graduate School courses and I earned 8 ECTS.
The research framework is designed starting from defining the title, formulating the objectives and the research questions and, finally, elaborating the methodology and the planning. Together with my supervisors I defined the title of my PhD project as Evaluation of the technical potential of water reclamation for industrial use in developing countries – the case of Maputo. In my work I am planning to author four to five publications that will respond to the four sub-research questions.I am aiming at having one publication on the first, second and fourth years and two publications on the third year.
During my stay in the Netherlands I also helped in the process of acquiring laboratory material for the Department of Civil Engineering of UEM. Networking was also part of the activities and I contacted several colleagues working in the same field for information exchange and planning for potential collaborations. In this context I visited Waterschapsbedrijf Limburg (WBL) and I discussed with them the possibility of incorporating some of their knowledge on wastewater treatment (e.g. portable wastewater treatment systems) in my work.
Me enjoying my time in The Netherlands.
Besides the work at the university, I really enjoyed visiting Keukenhof, a flower garden with so many beautiful and good aroma flowers and have some fun with colleagues and friends. Riding a bike is like a tradition in the Netherlands and I enjoyed taking some time to have a long ride through the beautiful canal in Delft on sunny and beautiful days and relax.
Flowers in Keukenhof.
