Water and Environment

A strong cross-national research foundation

Danish universities and research institutes have an internationally recognised position and Denmark is considered a leading country within the field of water and environment. Due to strong environmental legislation and enforcement, Danish public and private sector organisations have comprehensive expertise in implementing well-functioning water management policies in practice.

China is a region with vast and unique water challenges, and government and industry are committed to heavy investments in research and technology. Research is highly prioritised in China and the number of excellent research environments is increasing as well as the number and quality of research publications and candidates with a strong water and environmental profile.

Research opportunities within water and environment

The water and environment research area within the framework of SDC deals with freshwater science and it engages scientists with various backgrounds from environmental engineers and chemists and biologists to agronomists and specialists in environmental economy and planning.

The approach is cross disciplinary and based on catchment thinking. This means that the chemical, biological and physical processes and environmental aspects of studying groundwater, land, and lakes are placed in the catchment perspective. For example, how leaching of soil phosphorous from intensive agricultural production leaching can be limited and avoid pollution of freshwater ecosystems. The catchment thinking includes research on many scales from laboratory to field systems and description of new knowledge in computer models.

SDC PhD students are at the core of the research collaboration. They all work with both a Danish and a Chinese supervisor, do research in both countries and contribute to teaching the Master’s programmes at SDC in Beijing. This close connection provides the PhD students with a unique opportunity to establish personal and professional relationships and bring Danish and Chinese research environments closer together.

The collaboration provides scientists with an immense opportunity to be part of the fast developing science on water related issues in China and to undertake exceptional research on a large scale due to the climate of China spanning from subarctic to tropical and the topography ranging from gigantic mountains to lowlands and deserts.