On June 1st and 2nd, the first International Water Conference for Young Scholars (YouthWater) was successfully held online. This conference was hosted by the Committee of Water Treatment and Reuse, the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, and was co-organized by the School of Environment, Tsinghua University; the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences; the College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University; and the School of Ecology and Environment, Beijing Technology and Business University. The theme of this conference was "Water Science for a Sustainable and Harmonious Future". More than 4500 young scholars and experts from China, the United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Singapore, Belgium, Cyprus and other countries attended this conference through zoom and multiple live broadcast platforms. The participants exchanged views on cutting-edge scientific issues and advanced technological research and development in the field of water science and technology.

The opening ceremony of the conference was presided over by Dr. Nan Huang, Secretary General of the Youth Working Group, the Committee of Water Treatment and Reuse. On behalf of the conference organizing committee, Dr. Nan Huang expressed her welcome and thanks to the students and experts who were participating in the conference. She said that a safe and stable water system is an important foundation for economic and social development. The field of water science and technology is facing many emerging issues, and more and wider research and exploration are needed. The International Water Conference for Young Scholars will provide a platform for young scholars in this field to exchange research ideas and display research results, which can effectively strengthen the communication and cooperation between young scholars worldwide.

The academic report sessions were co-chaired by Yu-Qing Xu, PhD student at Tsinghua University, Siyu Wang, PhD student at Nanyang Technological University, Zhou-Yan Li, PhD student at Tongji University, and Feipeng Wang, PhD student at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Wonderful academic reports were delivered by ten young scholars, including Vatsal Shah, PhD student at Imperial College London; Vasiliki Beretsou, PhD student at the University of Cyprus; Sangki Choi, PhD student at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology; Xuetong Yang, PhD student at Ghent University; Luqman Hakim Mohd Azmi, PhD student at Imperial College London; Peter Leonard, PhD student at the National University of Ireland, Galway; Yang Li, PhD student at Tongji University; Jessica MacDonald, PhD student at Stanford University; Feipeng Wang, PhD student at the Chinese Academy of Sciences; and Siyu Wang, PhD student at Nanyang Technological University. The content covered water quality analysis and characterization, efficient treatment of emerging contaminants, wastewater recycling and energy utilization, design and fabrication of advanced water treatment membrane modules, and comprehensive optimization and real-time control of water treatment reactors.

Young scholars from the University of Florida, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Renmin University of China, Tongji University, Sun Yat-sen University, Tianjin University, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing University of Science and Technology, and Shandong Jianzhu University participated in the discussion sessions. Through equal and relaxed exchanges and discussions, the participating students learned about the frontiers of the field, broadened their scientific research ideas, and improved their innovation capabilities.

On behalf of the organizing committee of YouthWater, Yu-Qing Xu, PhD student at Tsinghua University, delivered the closing remarks. With the support of the Committee of Water Treatment and Reuse, the Chinese Society of Environmental Sciences, this conference was independently organized and participated by graduate students, attracting young scholars from many countries. “Wish every young scholar a bright future discovering the sciences and improving the technologies of water”, she said.

The International Water Conference for Young Scholars (YouthWater) is planned to be held once a year. The conference aims to provide a platform for graduate students to present their unique work and innovative research ideas, and discuss with worldwide peer young scholars devoting their research interests to any aspect of water science and engineering.