After all the disruptions to student exchange and travel caused by the pandemic, we are excited to announce that our academic programme is back on track! Two MS Research students, Nimmi Regmi and Bikash Kafle, will be studying at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology for six months and a PhD candidate, Swaechchha Dahal, for 18 months. The students had their welcome lunch on 15 August with their supervisors and other Nepali students. 

Hydro-Himalaya, a NORHED-II project, focuses on strengthening research-based education in hydropower engineering at Kathmandu University by producing better-qualified professionals in the Himalayan region. The project fosters transfer of academic and research competence in hydropower engineering from Kathmandu University to universities in Nepal and the Himalayan region, thereby bridging academia and industry for sustainable solutions and practices.

The project (2021–2026) is led by five partners: the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Kathmandu University, Wuhan University, University of South-Eastern Norway (USN), and ICIMOD-HUC. It offers 32 degrees (20 MS by Research, 10 PhD, and 2 postdoctorate) during the project period. For the academic year 2021, we have enrolled 7 MS by Research and 4 PhD candidates as the first batch students for the Hydro-Himalaya Project.

All applicants enrolled under this application framework will have an opportunity to be involved in an exchange programme with at least one partner university during the academic programme period. Accordingly, the three students enrolled under the domain ‘Quality and reliability of power and effective transmission’ under Work Package-4 flew to Norway in August 2022 as part of an exchange programme with USN after completing six months at Kathmandu University.