The United Nations University (UNU) has launched a new hub, Water in a Changing Environment (WICE), at Lund University in Sweden, marking the fourth UNU Hub globally and the second in Europe. This hub will work closely with the UNU Institute for Water, Environment, and Health (UNU-INWEH) to advance research and education focused on sustainable water solutions and environmental informatics, with a special emphasis on the Middle East and Global South regions. Earlier this year, Europe’s first UNU Hub on Engineering to Face Climate Change was launched at TU Hamburg aiming at utilizing engineering solutions to address environmental and climate-related challenges.
With 13 institutes in 12 countries, UNU serves as the academic arm of the United Nations, addressing a broad spectrum of global development challenges through collaborative research and education initiatives. This new hub at Lund University will enable dynamic partnerships with UNU-INWEH, headquartered in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, where TU Hamburg is also an active partner.
Prof. Nima Shokri, Executive Co-Director of the UNU Hub at TU Hamburg, attended the launch celebration at Lund. “UNU Hubs provide an outstanding platform for connecting innovative institutions and fostering transformative partnerships,” Shokri said. “It was a privilege to take part in the launch of the UNU Hub at Lund, which is dedicated to addressing the urgent environmental challenges associated with water in a changing environment.”
“Cooperation within the UNU Network is a great support for the research fields of TU Hamburg”, adds Prof. Irina Smirnova, Vice President of TU Hamburg and founding Co-Director of the UNU Hub. “Especially water as a topic has a great synergy to our research initiative "BlueMat: Water-driven materials". We are looking forward to cooperate with the new hub in Lund!”
