WaterSENSE consortium visit to Australia

After a long wait, representatives of the European partners from the WaterSENSE consortium visited Australia. It was a fantastic opportunity for the consortium members to meet face to face rather than via digital platforms. Even better was the opportunity to sit down with many of our demonstration partners and receive feedback on the progress we have made in research and service development. These meetings also offered the opportunity to meet other interested parties from the water and agriculture sector. Presentations of WaterSense research and data products were combined with live demonstrations of the HydroNet platform through which the service will be made available. We were encouraged by the enthusiasm of many of the people we met; and we received some very constructive and positive feedback on the products and the research.

For the European representatives, it was also a great opportunity to experience the scale and complexity of the Australian landscape. In addition, several of our demonstration partners organised field visits that showcased the innovations they are working on and gave insight how WaterSENSE products can fit into the management and decision making. Overall, the WaterSENSE consortium believes we are on track, but also look forward to continuing the discussions with the demonstration partners and other interested parties to further develop the products.

Apart from the work visits, there was also time for the European partners to experience some of the quintessential Australian pass times: going to the beach and footy, having dinner in a country pub, seeing Emus on the farm.