Call for Expression of Interest: Young Engineers "Changemakers" Programme

The Water Technologies Demonstration Programme (WADER) invites Expressions of Interest (EOI) from suitable candidates in response to the annual WADER Young Engineers “Changemakers” Programme (YECP) Open Call which focuses on selecting young South African Engineers to be part of a 1-year training programme that will enable them to gain the necessary skills to drive municipalities of the future. 

The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), in collaboration with the Water Research Commission (WRC), has established WADER to pull together the applied research and development and pre-commercialisation stages of the water innovation continuum. Acting as an innovation intermediary, the Programme’s mission is to facilitate high-level, collaborative technology demonstrators from the public and private sectors to maximise the potential of the water innovation value chain and contribute towards achieving technology deployment aspirations of the National Water Research, Development and Innovation Roadmap. 

The objective of the WADER YECP call is to provide opportunities for young South African engineers to partake in testing potential innovative water and sanitation solutions in real world sites and gain the necessary skills required to drive municipalities of the future which are sustainable, liveable and builds socio-technical infrastructure and services. 

All shortlisted applicants will go through an interview process with a panel of water and sanitation experts. 20 young engineers will be selected through this competitive process and will have to partake in the various stages of the programme. 

All selected candidates will be expected to attend the following soon after the programme commences: 

• A Boot Camp 
• A Masterclass (As part of the Masterclass, candidates will be expected to work on an individual task which will address challenges in their respective local municipalities. 8 top candidates will be chosen following evaluation of the individual task to partake in a one-week international exposure programme) 
• Local Site visits 
• International Study Tour (for 8 candidates) 
• Review and Feedback session 

A total of between 10 to 15 working days will be required for each candidate to partake in various stages of this programme (interview, boot camp, masterclass, local site visits, international exchange for the selected 8 candidates, and the review and feedback session). Approvals for time off from work from respective line managers or leave days taken by candidate will be required for full participation in programme. Line managers or a representative from the respective municipality is encouraged to attend the feedback and review session which will take place when candidates return from the international exchange. Selected candidates will be expected to commit to the whole duration of the programme (1 year). 

All costs related to the different stages of the programme will be covered by the WADER programme. 

Requirements 

• Candidates must be South African citizens or permanent residents, aged between 20 and 35 years and in possession of a four-year engineering qualification from either a university of technology or an academic university. 
• The applicant should have at least 2 years working experience in a municipal environment. 

All applications should be submitted on the attached EOI. The completed application/EOI should be submitted in PDF format. Preference will be given to candidates from municipalities based in the following provinces: 

• Northern Cape 
• North-West 
• Mpumalanga 

NB: All applications submitted without the EOI template will be disqualified

EOI Submission EOI’s in PDF format must be emailed here. Late applications will not be considered. 

PLEASE NOTE THAT COMMUNICATION WILL ONLY BE WITH SHORTLISTED CANDIDATES. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A RESPONSE BY END OF JANUARY 2025, PLEASE CONSIDER YOUR APPLICATION UNSUCCESSFUL.