2014 Women’s Water Initiative Fellowships

The Women’s Water Initiative (formerly called the Women’s Water Fund) helps women from developing countries advance their career opportunities in the field of water resources development and management.

The Women’s Water Initiative was created at the initiative of DHI. It was originally funded by the “King Hassan II Great World Water Prize” presented to DHI’s Professor Torkil Jønch Clausen at the Fourth World Water Forum in Mexico in 2006. This year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark (Danida) is co-sponsoring the Initiative.

Women in or on their way into middle management positions are encouraged to apply. The Initiative seeks to provide programme participants with insight and inspiration that can help them advance into more senior management roles. The Initiative’s career programme builds upon Danish expertise in:

• water and environmental management as well as its international applications
• organisational management in the water sector

The Initiative supports a short capacity building programme in Denmark. The programme includes a combination of formal training and “hands-on” interaction with managers in public authorities and in the water industry. The Initiative will cover all travel, accommodation and living costs. It is the intention that the Initiative will maintain longer duration contact with the participants.

The capacity building programme includes:

• short courses in career development and management in the water sector as well as in water governance, water resources, and environmental technologies
• meetings with and visits to Danish organisations in the field of water
• a four-day internship with an organisation in one of the above fields
• a subsequent mentoring component

A senior Danish manager will serve as a mentor for each candidate. This mentoring will continue for at least one year after the visit to Denmark. Candidates must fully commit themselves to participating in this component of the programme. A Diploma will be issued by the Governing Board of the Initiative at the end of the visit to Denmark.

The present programme/study visit in September 2014 is for women from developing countries in Africa and Asia where Danida is engaged in the water sector. See the list of eligible countries below.

Applicants must meet the following criteria: 

• professional background in a water-related discipline
• at least a Master’s degree in a water-related discipline
• minimum 5-7 years of work experience
• fluent in English
• currently employed in managerial or leadership positions in the government, a private company or an NGO (academic careers are not supported by the Initiative)

Applications must include: 

• background of candidate, including full biographical data/curriculum vitae
• motivation for applying
• letter(s) of recommendation

List of eligible countries

Africa:
Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Asia:
Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam 

Application deadline
applications must be submitted no later than 23 June 2014.

For more information and application please visit the 2014 Women’s Water Initiative Fellowships page.