Prabina Shrestha
Prabina Shrestha comes from Nepal and she is following our MSc programme in Urban Water and sanitation, with a specialization in Sanitary Engineering. Prabina has a Rotary International scholarship.
Why Prabina has chosen to study this programme at IHE Delft
“I have been working as a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Engineer in Nepal for 5 years. During my career, the projects I have worked on have mostly been about the technical design of decentralized waste-water treatment system.
My work has inspired me to contribute more to this sector. I had heard about this specialization from the institute’s alumni and I got to know IHE is one of the world’s leading academia in water and sanitation studies.
About water problems in Nepal
At present, 80% of people in Nepal have access to water but it’s not safe according to the government statistics. The major cities have the national water supply system while the rural areas have community-level drinking water schemes. However, this system has not been able to meet the increasing water demand. The water scarcity in urban areas has increased over the years and the access to safe drinking water is still a challenge. People still walk miles or queue up for hours for a gallon of drinking water.
Nepal has been declared open defecation free country in 2019. It means every household in Nepal has basic sanitation facilities. The 30% of the households in the country has coverage on sewer network and the rest have pits/septic tanks. The country has only one conventional treatment plant and few decentralized treatment plants operating at present. However, most of the wastewater from sewer and sludge from the septic tanks are discharged in the water bodies without any treatment severely polluting the rivers. This has posed risk in public health and that has significantly increased the cases of diarrhoeal diseases in the country.
Prabina about studying in Delft/the Netherlands
IHE Delft is a small globe in itself. The diverse group of students from all around the world provides immense cultural exchange. I have developed an understanding of technical solutions to address sanitation issues through the program. While the academic demand here is intense, it does deliver a very steep learning curve.
What Prabina would like to do once she is back home?
I wish to continue my previous work on wastewater treatment systems with the skills developed at IHE Delft. I aspire to contribute in providing access to safe water and improved sanitation to all the people in my country.
Interested?
IHE Delft offers two new Master of Science programmes: the MSc in Water and Sustainable Development and the Research MSc in Water and Sustainable Development. Furthermore, IHE Delft is involved in joint MSc Programmes offered with partner institutes.
