Tanyaradzwa Mawoyo
Tanyaradzwa Mawoyo comes from Zimbabwe. She works at the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development since 2011. At the moment she is on study leave. She heard about IHE Delft from her supervisor, who is an alumni. He advised her to study at the Institute. She found that IHE Delft is one of the world renowned water Institutes. She is studying at the Institute with a Rotary Foundation scholarship.
On her motivation to study in the water sector: ‘’I developed my interest in water when I did my Bachelor Degree; during my third year, I did my research project in a dry region of Zimbabwe. This strengthened my interest in water resource management because the area faces water scarcity issues due to the economic status of the country (along with poor infrastructure) and the fact that the area naturally receives low rainfall. There are also areas where there are water leakages particularly in urban areas and this has exacerbated water shortage problems in my country.
I believe that we have to equip irrigation engineers in water management skills, so that we will be able to efficiently manage water resources; especially, in this era of climate change and variability. We have to save the scarce resource of water.
Benefits of studying at IHE Delft: ‘’I believe that I will be able to assist my country in managing water resources. Taking into account that agriculture is using over 70% of the fresh water that is available globally. If we can use water efficiently in agriculture, the water can be allocated to other water users and sectors. I would like to apply my knowledge in my home country first and in southern Africa.
About the teaching style at IHE Delft: ‘’I cannot say that it is difficult, but there is so much work to do in little time. You have to keep up. The professors are very knowledgeable and they know their fields.’’
On how she experienced her first week: ‘’The first week was a shock, it was my first time in Europe. People do things differently here and I had never seen so many bicycles in my life. The day I arrived here it was very warm and I thought to myself that maybe the weather is not so bad after all; thereafter it got colder and rained a lot and that made my first week here a bit difficult. At IHE Delft you meet people from all over the world, I like that a lot. You learn about different cultures, countries and water challenges.’’
My first impression of Delft: ‘’I like Delft, because it is compact and not so busy. I love the environment and the people. The Netherlands is so well organised in water and drainage, you see that in the canals and the infrastructure.’’
For people who are thinking of studying at IHE Delft: “If you are in a water related profession or study, I advise you to come to IHE Delft. I am here for just over a month, but my mind is so opened up. I learned a lot in the past month. I believe that after a year, I will be real master in water management.’’
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.
