Jasper Schakel

YEP period 2020 - 2022, batch 20

Young Expert at Witteveen + Bos - Ghana

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First position after YEP

MBA programme at IMD Switzerland

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YEP Role

Across Africa, development corridors – networks of roads, railways, pipelines and ports that facilitate the movement of commodities between landlocked production areas, processing zones and global markets – are being built at an unprecedented pace. One effect that is not taken into account when planning, building or maintaining these corridors by the parties involved, are the water problems that can arise around these corridors. To ensure the prosperity and welfare of these areas, besides infrastructure corridors and economic corridors, also water corridors should be created.

 

The African Water Corridor Initiative (AWC) is an international multidisciplinary project focusing on the many different development corridors in Africa. Due to these corridors, significant economic development occurs. The downside is that water-related issues can occur. The AWC acts as an incubator for research, studies and projects to provide solutions with local partners for these issues.

 

As a project manager, I am involved in the day to day coordination of the project. My tasks range from project management, quality control, fundraising, communication with partners and check-up of technical design and solutions. I am actively involved in projects ranging from drinking water, irrigation design until waste management.

 

Skills

• Project management
• WASH
• Entrepreneurial
• Programming in languages like Python
• Experience in Mechatronics (like building pilot plants and sensors)

Background

Nationality: Dutch
Education: 

• Education: BSc. Mechanical Engineering, minor Electrical Engineering
• MSc. Civil Engineering, specialisation sanitation engineering 

Experience before YEP

Before YEP, I was already working for Witteveen+Bos, where I worked on different projects. Projects about drinking water treatment plant designs, feasibility studies but also about biogas production. Before Witteveen+Bos, I had for a short period a start-up where I tried out new technologies for sustainable desalination. During my student days, I also lived for a while in Kathmandu, where with a team, we tried to study the water quality of the valley while using Citizen Science.