Every year in 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 of Technical Services, JRBA), Marga Oosterveld and Céline de Visser (Blue Deal Partnership Managers) – contribute significantly to the project’s outstanding nature.
Every year in March, Prof. Dr Eva Maria Hinterhuber and Prof. Jan van der Molen from the Faculty of Society and Economy 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 of Technical Services, JRBA), Marga Oosterveld and Céline de Visser (Blue Deal Partnership Managers) – contribute significantly to the project’s outstanding character.
Until 2025, the number of students taking part in the Winter School stood at around 25, but due to increased interest, this figure rose to 34 in 2026. The majority are students from Rhein-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, 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 assessed as part of the Teaching Award for Political Science, organised jointly by the German Association for Political Science (DVPW) and 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-a-teaching-project-by-eva-maria-hinterhuber-and-jan-van-der-molen.
