Spotlight

‘Looking for knowledge that would make the biggest difference’

Maarten van Aalst is the new professor for ‘Spatial resilience for Disasters Risk Reduction’ at the Prinses Margriet Research Chair (ITC Faculty). ‘I want to look back and see that my work has made a real difference, that it reduced mortality and human suffering.’
Science

‘Hurricane Florence is a “live test” of my hypothesis’

Hurricane Florence is wreaking havoc in North and South Carolina, causing major flooding as we speak. For UT researcher Koen de Koning this represents a unique opportunity to ‘live test’ his hypothesis on how flood risk impacts the housing market and poverty in these U.S. states, where he’s conducted his research.
Science

Using water to create resilient cities

European project CATCH, with the UT as one of its partners, wants to prepare cities for climate change and resulting extreme weather events - by putting water in the center of urban design. It’s starting with seven pilot cities, where new climate adaptation measures are being tested. Enschede is one of them.
Science

Cape Town is running out of water

Cape Town is experiencing a severe water shortage. Despite strict water rations, the city is preparing for ‘Day Zero’, the day when the authorities turn off water for most of the city’s households. How did it come to this? We asked Arjen Hoekstra, Professor in Water Management at the University of Twente.
News

ITC kicks off its academic year

The traditional ceremony 'Opening Academic Programme' of the ITC Faculty was held yesterday in the Muziekcentrum in Enschede. This annual event might have been last of its kind.
Spotlight

'Even Trump cannot stop the climate policy'

Few scientists possess the gift of making an immediate and lasting impact. Yet, that is what atmospheric physicist Guus Velders has done. In October 2016, the UT alumnus saved the Kigali climate treaty with his quick calculations. And this did not go unnoticed; the journal Nature immediately listed him among the ten most influential scientists of that year.
PhD

Analysing groundwater in Botswana

Water is essential to all life on Earth, but some areas have fewer water supplies than others. ‘We need to know what resources there are, in order to use them efficiently,’ says Moiteela Lekula, who is researching groundwater storage in his home country of Botswana.