Every March, Prof. Dr Eva Maria Hinterhuber and Prof. Jan van der Molen from the Faculty of Society and Economics lead the winter school entitled ‘Inclusive Water Management in Southern Africa to Improve Gender Equality and Reduce Poverty and Vulnerability’.
The Winter School is an informal collaboration between Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences and the Blue Deal Eswatini Partnership, a long-standing collaboration between the water sector in Eswatini and the Dutch water authorities. The contribution and presence of delegates from Eswatini and the Netherlands – Sindy Mthimkhulu (Executive Secretary, INMACOM), Takhona Dlamini (Manager Technical Services, JRBA), Marga Oosterveld and Céline de Visser (Blue Deal Partnership Managers) – play a key role in the project’s outstanding character.
Until 2025, the number of students participating in the Winter School was around 25, but due to increased interest, this figure rose to 34 in 2026. The majority are students from Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences (on the ‘Sustainable Development Management’ Master’s programme), but students from universities and colleges in Berlin, Bonn, Darmstadt, Dortmund, Freiburg, Kleve, Leipzig, Passau and Stuttgart also take part, thanks to the Association of Postgraduate Programmes with special relevance to developing countries (AGEP).
The increased interest in the Winter School is likely due to two factors. Firstly, the Winter School is evaluated annually by the participating students and rated as “very good” (1.3 and above). Furthermore, in 2025, the Winter School was evaluated as part of the Teaching Award for Political Science, organised by the German Association for Political Science (DVPW) in collaboration with the Schader Foundation, and recognised as an example of “outstanding teaching in German political science”. Further information on this recognition can be found at https://www.dvpw.de/blog/winter-school-inclusive-water-management-in-southern-africa-for-improving-gender-equality-and-reducing-poverty-vulnerability-ein-lehrprojekt-von-eva-maria-hinterhuber-und-jan-van-der-molen.
