HZ student Mathurin is taking on worldwide challenges when it comes to Water Management

Frenchman Mathurin has fond childhood memories of his sailing trips with his father and grandfather. He still loves to sail, surf and windsurf. You could say being on the water has always been his passion. But that passion goes further than his love for watersports. He is aware of the fact that sea levels are rising, floods are getting more common and at the same time droughts are a worldwide problem. All of those problems have everything to do with climate change. That’s why Mathurin thinks it is very important that we learn how to ‘manage’ the water in a sustainable way. Knowing this, it comes as no surprise that Mathurin is taking on global water challenges at HZ, where he learns all about addressing and handling these water related issues.

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Studying at the right place

It was obvious for Mathurin that he wanted to study Water Management in the Netherlands:“The Dutch are so highly regarded in this subject that my decision to study here was easy. This country is famous for its water management. At first I wasn't aware that the region of Zeeland actually plays a large part in it. Now I know: There is no better place than Zeeland and especially HZ to study Water Management.” Mathurin also appreciates HZ’s way of teaching: “In addition to that, HZ is amazing when it comes to personal attention. I have never felt like I was just a number here. Lecturers really want the best for you by sharing advice and their network. Sometimes it’s just small talk about daily life as well. These talks are valuable to me in many different ways.”

Dutch Wavemakers

HZ encourages entrepreneurship and initiative of their students. Mathurin is doing just that by participating in The Dutch Wavemakers. This is a group consisting of students, athletes and young professionals that are creating awareness about sustainability in general and water-related challenges due to climate change. “We visit schools and participate in small events to explain about climate change and the importance of acting against it. We see that awareness is growing amongst the youth.” Currently, he is working for The Summer Olympic Games in Paris which will take place in 2024. Paris has the ambition to organise the games in the most circular way. Mathurin: “Paris is a relatively small city for a large event like the Olympics. Our challenge is to make the whole event as green and sustainable as possible. We contribute for instance by launching #WaveToParis. We encourage people to use the hashtag online, in order to open up the conversation about the connection between the Olympic sports and worldwide water- and energy challenges. This all fits in seamlessly with my study at HZ.''

Agriculture in Africa

Mathurin is an ambitious student, because he also participates in the HZ Honours Programme which allows him to work on a project related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). The HZ Honours Programme gives second and third year students who want an extra challenge a chance to do so. Mathurin: “Me and a fellow student are doing this together. We wanted to do something linked with water, obviously, and we’re both interested in agriculture. We looked into different cases with that subject. Once we understood the challenges Africa is facing, such as droughts, we decided to adapt our research to that. We are currently researching sustainable farming techniques and are planning to visit Malawi. This type of agriculture focuses on being future-proof in ecological, economic and social terms. We want to educate the community about sustainable agriculture because raising awareness is the first step towards a future-proof way of working. We would also like to visit farms and even try to implement some sustainable farming while we are there. It’s amazing that HZ and the Honours Programme is giving us this opportunity to already contribute to a more sustainable world.”