First IWSN Student Prize winners announced

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Grace Elliott

The winners of the 2014 IWSN Student Prize (UWE) have been announced as Grace Elliott and Oscar McLaughlin.

Every year, the University of the West of England, the University of Arizona and Monash South Africa will each award prizes to the students who produce the best final year dissertation or project on a water-based subject. The judging panel will consist of members of the IWSN External Advisory Board.

Both Grace and Oscar took part in the UWE-Africa Programme in 2012-13 and their dissertations reflect the work and research they did during their time in Uganda.

Oscar McLaughlin in Uganda
Oscar McLaughlin

Bristol Water’s Patric Bulmer commended Grace’s investigation into the water quality and treatment habits within households in Kanungu, Western Uganda, saying: “This study of water and health in an African community setting gives much insight into how people use water and the risks posed by human behaviours around water disinfection.”

Oscar’s dissertation, ‘Water Security and Rainwater Harvesting: A Case Study of Rural Uganda’ was, according to Eiman Karar of the Water Research Commission of South Africa, “An innovative study, based on a strong methodology, of rain water harvesting and water user groups focusing on the rural poor and the most vulnerable.”

Grace and Oscar will each receive £250. The prize is funded by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation.