Rayan Hamza Mohamed Elhaj
Rayan Elhaj came from Khartoum, Sudan to follow our Master’s programme in Hydrology and Water Resources in the department of Water Science and Engineering, supported by an OKP fellowship. During her final year project and the field visits with Sudan Youth Parliament for Water, I visited a number of villages around Sudan, and there I saw how residents are suffering with the lack of sufficient and clean water which made her devote herself to the water sector
During her final year project at the University of Khartoum, Rayan met two staff members from IHE Delft at the University’s Water Research Centre. Also before coming to IHE Delft, she worked at the UNESCO Chair in Water Resources, which has joint programmes and workshops with IHE Delft. After her graduation, Rayan started to visit IHE Delft’s website regularly to get to know more about the courses. She found that IHE Delft is one of the few organizations that could give her comprehensive knowledge about the water sector through its wide range of specializations.
About why she chose to study in the field of water, Rayan said: ‘’The water sector in Sudan needs more attention from specialists, as it is a developing country. There are not many people focusing on this field, so I really want to help to stop the water crisis in my country. During my studies at university in Khartoum, I was a part of an organization called Sudan Youth Parliament for Water, which is a branch of the World Youth Parliament for Water. During my final year project and the field visits with Sudan Youth Parliament for Water, I visited a number of villages around Sudan, and there I saw how residents are suffering with the lack of sufficient and clean water. They have to walk long distances to fetch water from wells or small water harvesting projects or buy water from tankers. That was the year when I decided to devote my effort and time to the water sector. My country needs people to keep working in this field, innovatively, to make a difference.’’
About studying at IHE Delft she mentioned: ‘’Staff, MSc participants, and PhD fellows are very welcoming and friendly, and that is what I expected to find here. The social relationships are very strong, but the lifestyle is very different from where my home country. I thought I would encounter difficulties, but it was completely the opposite. The teaching style is unique - there is more interaction between students and teachers, as well as the diverse technologies and advanced educational facilities.”
Why should new students/water professionals choose this programme:
IHE Delft provides a comprehensive, updated, and informative curriculum and courses. There are many people from different cultures with different perspectives, which gives an overall view of the water sector around the world. I’m not only learning from my professors but also from other fellow Master students.
Rayan’s main goal is to apply the knowledge she has learned at IHE Delft to Sudan and its surrounding region in order to contribute to stopping the water crisis in her region.
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.
