Members of the WCMS (Water Control and Management System) project team, led by Dr Austin Coffey, had the honour of meeting with the Chinese Minister for Water Resources last Friday at a water and wastewater event hosted by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in Dublin.
Minister Chen Lei, along with a delegation including a number of senior Directors from the Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China, visited Ireland last week on foot of an invite from Minister Alan Kelly and was received by Minister of State, Paudie Coffey, with a reception at the Custom House.
The event sought to bring together companies and researchers with the delegation to highlight progress and technological innovations in the Irish water and wastewater sector, and to further understanding and share knowledge between the Chinese Ministry and its Irish counterpart of the challenges facing water providers in each region.
Speaking about the event Minister Coffey said, “It was an honour to host the Chinese Minister for Water at the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, and I was delighted to see his interest in developing opportunities that exist within the Irish water and wastewater sector and the future potential of these ties. I have no doubt that both countries can continue to learn from one another as we build towards modern water systems in both countries.”
According to Dr Austin Coffey, lecturer in the Department of Engineering and founding member of the Convergent Technologies Research Group, “Friday’s meeting was a unique opportunity to showcase our technology to high-level decision makers and to develop an understanding of the water supply landscape in China. WCMS is a technology with eminent export potential and therefore the Chinese market is of significant interest to us.”
Dr Coffey continues “As we forge ahead with the task of commercialising WCMS, networking events of this calibre are a vital first step in opening dialogues with major market players and partners. It brings us closer to our goal of delivering sustainable jobs and lasting prosperity to the Southeast. We are delighted to have been selected to participate.”
The event was facilitated by Enterprise Ireland and attended by a number of leading industrial and academic partners, including those from Trinity College Dublin, Cork Institute of Technology and South East Technological University.