Training and capacity building of young water professionals—role of an innovative and transformative program for sustainable water futures

Abstract Water management has become quite a complex task because of population pressure, climate change, and urbanization. Future young water professionals (YWPs) need to be capable of working with real‐world situations, and they need to be trained suitably so that they can effectively communicate with decision‐makers and enable innovative ideas to be adopted in policy development and actions on the ground. To get the ideas converted into actions, we need YWPs who are well‐trained not only in water science and engineering but also in social, economic, governance, policy, and other related aspects. Overall, well‐designed transdisciplinary training can help YWPs to bring new thinking and leadership in their workplace, including water governance, stakeholder involvement, critical thinking, problem analysis, and effective communication in various situations. Furthermore, such training can help YWPs develop their vision and capacity for more effective planning, design, implementation, and management of water projects and initiatives. As part of their training, YWPs need to develop their competencies, namely, problem‐solving, transdisciplinary and systemic thinking, and effective communication, through working on real‐world projects of selected clients. The next issue of World Water Policy Journal will be a Special Issue focusing on the work of YWPs involved in two initiatives in South Asia. Activities through the Australia–India Water Centre Program for capacity building for Indian YWPs in Sustainable Water Futures will be one of the initiatives presented.