15 July 2024
East Gippsland Water is strengthening its relationship with France’s prestigious engineering school ENSIL by hosting a French intern through ENSIL’s internship program.
The internship is open to French students specialising in water and the environment to gain an invaluable appreciation of Australia’s water and wastewater treatment processes and engineering practices, while carrying out research projects.
Executive Manager People, Safety and Culture, Pam Porter, said: “We are very grateful to be hosting Cyriac from Brittany who commenced his three-month placement with us in May. He is working on a number of projects relating to recycled water at our Bairnsdale Water Recycling Plant.
“This initiative goes beyond a comparison of water, environmental and engineering practices to assist interns with their professional development back home. By providing students with a taste of the Australian lifestyle we hope that a number will be attracted back here to live and work.
“Since the inception of the program in 2010, we have hosted five students from France and one former ENSIL student re-joined the organisation on a graduate program.”
One of the projects Cyriac is working on is ultraviolet transmittance in recycled water at the Bairnsdale Water Recycling Plant to remove the need for current chlorine treatment. Samples are taken and analysed for elements that reduce turbidity (cloudiness), iron and manganese.
He said: “Since starting at East Gippsland Water I have been made to feel very welcome by the staff. Everyone is really kind to me and my team helps me to understand the water quality and treatment processes, which I am finding really interesting.
“I am also really enjoying being in Bairnsdale and East Gippsland. There are so many things to discover. Nothing is the same as in France and the landscapes are very beautiful. I hope that I’ll learn more about the water and wastewater industry, Australia and the Australian people.”
Ends
The images show Cyriac sampling the final lagoon prior to the Morass wetland.
