Study Visit to University of Western Ontario

This proposal is to support a study visit to The University of Western Ontario to engage in discussions with Prof. Ernest Yanful.

The study visit will focus on two areas of research. The first of these is to develop Dr Crapper's existing work on simulation of bioremediation to encompass composting, a phenomenon that is related to bioremediation, but different, in that it encompasses more significant changes in particle and pore size and shape than does a soil undergoing remediation. The collaboration will take advantage of Prof Yanful's extensive and unique experience working at the interface of geotechnical engineering, fluid mechanics and environmental engineering to further understanding of simulating composting, and will also exploit his international background to focus the research on the potential application of composting as a low cost waste management strategy in the developing world.

The outcome of this part of the visit will be an agreed strategy for future research, extending Dr Crapper's previous work on simulation of bioremediation to composting, accounting for change in material properties due to degradation and focusing on applications in the developing world. The agreed strategy will include the conclusions of pilot model runs tests, identified research questions to be addressed, with priorities, a view of resources required to make progress and plans for funding and recruitment of researchers.

The second part of the visit will focus on Dr Crapper's research on the effective provision of engineering education to empower local communities in the developing world to implement solutions to water and sanitation issues. It is postulated that a traditional approach to engineering education is not always effective, with there being a requirement, in addition to teaching the technologies, for more practical and business oriented skills to allow local people to deal more effectively with their problems in an economically sustainable way.

During this part of the visit, Dr Crapper will be joined by PhD student Alison Furber, who is researching this area. Collaboration with Prof Yanful will take place to establish the likely contribution of developed world universities in making more effective educational contributions to solving water and sanitation problems. The outcome of this part of the visit will be a clear identification of the likely role of developed world universities such as The University of Western Ontario (UWO) and The University of Edinburgh (UoE) in the provision of engineering education on water and sanitation to the developing world, an assessment of the current state of distance learning provision in these and other developed world universities and how this might be optimized for the application in question, and a review of current subject teaching available in UWO and UoE, with a view as to how suitable parts of it might be for incorporation into a education research pilot programme.

Prof Yanful provides a unique opportunity to focus these two research activities within a single study visit, given his outstanding track record, research interests and background in international development issues.

This proposal is to support a study visit to The University of Western Ontario to engage in discussions with Prof. Ernest Yanful.

There were two aims to this visit:
1) To develop research links with Prof Ernest Yanful's research group regarding
the simulation of composting and its potential role in international
development.
2) To develop links with Prof Ernest Yanful regarding research into engineering
education relevant to water and sanitation to the developing world.
In respect of the first aim, extensive discussions took place between Prof Yanful and Dr Crapper, and some pilot model tests were carried out to examine the feasibility of the approach. The desired outcome was to create an agreed strategy for future research, extending Dr Crapper's previous work on simulation of bioremediation to composting, accounting for change in material properties due to degradation and focusing on applications in the developing world.
The strategy agreed is as follows: modifications will be made to Dr Crapper’s existing computer code to account for the composting, as opposed to the bioremediation processes. Further test runs will be carried out against data already obtained from field tests at the University of Western Ontario (UWO) and KNUST, Ghana. Focus will be given to the heat generated to from the composting process and to possible heat recovery operations, examining the potential of recovered heat to be applied to water treatment or refrigeration. Focus will also be given to the economic drivers that might make such a scheme workable, for example resale of composted material to augment agrictultural soils.
It was agreed that a fundable proposal for further work was possible but that
considerable preparation remained to be done before this could be submitted, and that it would also need to involve local contacts in Ghana.
The second part of the visit, in which PhD student Alison Furber also participated,
focused on research on the effective provision of engineering education to empower local communities in the developing world to implement solutions to water and sanitation issues. The desired outcome here was a clear identification of the likely role of developed world universities such as The University of Western Ontario (UWO) and The University of Edinburgh (UoE) in the provision of engineering education on water and sanitation to the developing world.
Extensive discussions took place both with Prof Yanful and another UWO staff Dr
Clare Robinson. Opportunity was taken to examine the construction of the curriculum at UWO, particularly in respect of their degree in Civil Engineering with International Development. However, further discussions concluded that the best way forward was, in the first instance, not to focus on academic accreditation by developed world universities, since this unfortunately results in considerable bureaucracy that gets in the way of action. Instead, it was decided that the best way to progress was to focus more on local universities in the developing world, examining how development objectives are worked into the curriculum there and how this may form the basis of further useful progress. It was determined that a useful area of exploration was the conduct of final year or similar projects by local students in the rural water and sanitation area. Inspiration was drawn from a recent example of work by Prof Yanful in delivering a short course on waste management in Ghana with the assistance of local academics and industrialists, and with a clear focus on the economic benefit to participants in terms of access to jobs. This course was examined as a model for future developments in the water and sanitation field.
In addition to this Ms Furber took the opportunity to further her research by accessing a range of published work not readily accessible in the UK.
The full future direction of Ms Furber’s work will be reported elsewhere, but it is
emphasized that the discussions during this visit have made a significant contribution to the direction of the work.