Newcastle University graduates and colleagues Dr Michaela Goodson and Dr Claire Walsh led a discussion and side event at the first United Nations Water Conference since 1977 to mark World Water Day 2023.
Dental graduate Michaela, now Dean of Research at our Malaysia campus, and Claire – a Geography and Civil Engineering graduate who is now a Senior Lecturer in our School of Engineering – were invited to host an event at the United Nations Water Conference on World Water Day (22 March) to discuss systems approaches to achieving reliable and sufficient access to clean water for all.
Water is integral to food production, energy, health and wellbeing, economic activity, social stability, and human life. Yet nearly 80% of the world’s population lack basic access to water, due to pressures such as climate change, conflict, ecosystem damage, extreme weather, gender inequalities, land degradation, over-abstraction, pollution, poor governance, and uncontrolled urbanisation.
The conference was hosted at the United Nations Headquarters in New York between 22-24 March and brought together 10,000 world leaders, civil society, business leaders, young people, scientists, academics, the UN System and others from across sectors (including agriculture, energy, environment and water) around a common goal: to urgently tackle the water crisis and set the world back on track to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6 – On Clean Water and Sanitation.
Michaela and Claire’s event brought together a panel of experts from across Newcastle University’s global campuses and the industry to discuss the global landscape in water management governance and the knock-on effect on health and food security. Delegates who attended the session came from more than 30 countries, and together with the panellists, delegates highlighted in-common problems and opportunities for collaborative working.
(Pictured L-R: Dr Claire Walsh, Dr Michaela Goodson, Dr Prabhakar Shukla, Dr Cindy Lee, Yee Chu Kwa)
Sharing the work of Newcastle’s Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub
In their talk, Michaela and Claire also shared an overview of a systems approach to water security being championed by the UK Research and Innovation-funded Water Security and Sustainable Development Hub, which is based at Newcastle University.
The Water Security Hub, which is a 5-year research programme, brings together over 100 individuals from across the world. Their diversity of disciplines, geographies, and contexts enables the cross-pollination of ideas and impacts essential to tackling complex societal challenges.
Since launching, the Hub has established a group of collaborative laboratories (or ‘Collaboratories’) in Colombia, Ethiopia, India and Malaysia. These ‘Collaboratories’ provide a co-creative and inclusive process for solving complex water security issues with locally appropriate solutions.
Early career researchers from Newcastle University and beyond have benefitted from the Water Security Hub, including panellists at Michaela and Claire’s presentation Dr Cindy Lee (from Newcastle University’s Malaysia campus) and IIt’s Dr Prabhakar Shukla. Being a part of the Hub has allowed early career researchers to present their work to high level audiences and experience working in other countries and across different sectors. It is hoped that in the coming years, these researchers will continue working in an interdisciplinary fashion to further the opportunities for their own institutions and Newcastle.
About Michaela and Claire
Dr Michaela Goodson is Dean of Research at Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia, a role that she has held since 2015. Her career with Newcastle University began in the 1990s at our Dental School. After completing her Vocational Dental Practitioner training, Michaela returned to Newcastle to complete an accelerated MBBS programme and went on to join Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Trust.
Michaela moved to Malaysia in 2014 to teach Surgery to undergraduates at Newcastle University’s campus in Johor, and undertake research in medical education, climate change and health research, dementia care in low-income countries and water security.
Dr Claire Walsh is a Senior Lecturer in, and Deputy Head of, the Water Group in Newcastle University’s School of Engineering.
She joined Newcastle in the late 1990s as an undergraduate Geography student, before completing a Master’s in Museum Studies and later a PhD in Civil Engineering. She joined the School of Engineering in 2014 and is now a Senior Lecturer in our undergraduate Civil Engineering course and our Master’s programme in Hydrology and Water Management.