Empowering tomorrow – smart water solutions for resilient communities.
Submitting an abstract for the IWA-ASPIRE Conference 2025 offers professionals in the water industry an exceptional chance to present their research, innovations, and best practices to a global audience of peers, policymakers, and practitioners.
Presenting at ASPIRE not only provides exposure and credibility but also facilitates valuable networking opportunities, leading to potential collaborations, career advancements, and access to funding. Additionally, participation allows individuals to receive feedback from experts, refining their work for greater impact. By contributing to ASPIRE, individuals demonstrate their commitment to addressing global water challenges and fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration essential for achieving a water-secure future.
You have the opportunity to submit an abstract for either a poster or an oral presentation.
Please click here to download the Abstract Guidelines.
Please click here to download the Abstract Template
Programme Elements
Keynote speakers, technical and thought leadership presentations, workshops, utility forum, regulators forum, exhibition, networking events, Young Water Professional events, technical tours, site visits, working holidays.
Below are the five main themes. Please note these themes are tentative and are subject to possible changes by the Technical Committee.
Empowering Tomorrow
Automation, digital transformation and digital twin technology
Artificial intelligence and machine learning for WASH systems
Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), and remote management
Utility leadership models adapted to digitalization and AI
Workforce formation and adjustments to automation, AI and AR/VR
The “software component”: aspects of urban planning, financing, devolution and aggregation of services, particularly for sanitations.
Governance, Utility Management and the Enabling Environment
Utility Performance Management
New methods for Institution strengthening and creditworthiness appraisal of service providers
Data collection and management in support of evidence-based decision-making
Governance models focused on marginalized and under-served communities
Regulation as the engine to put laws into action
Economics and tariff setting
Current trends in financing and investment
Smart Water Solutions
Smart networks (source – customer – discharge)
Practical approaches to decarbonisation of the water industry
Solar-power desalination and other uses of renewable energy
Enhancing data management to overcome fragmentation, declining data quality and lack of compatibility.
Promotion of water reuse (potable re-use, re-use for agriculture and industry)as part of the circular economy and resource recovery
Customer engagement: smart ways to overcome remaining gaps
New technical standards for water supply equipment and materials inside people’s homes
Affordable inputs for efficient outcomes
Rehabilitation over replacement
Successful innovation in the management of aquatic ecosystems
Shifting from “non-sewered sanitation “ to “water efficient sanitation systems”
Alternative options in the management of municipal drinking water and wastewater sludges
Opportunities at the interface of the water/wastewater management – energy nexus
Risks and Resilience
Dealing with emerging chemicals and microbes
Strengthening water safety planning and sanitation safety planning
Preparing for/dealing with the impact of extreme weather events on WASH systems
Promoting climate adaptation including climate resilient WASH infrastructure
Preparedness for seismic and volcanic activity, and for wildfires
Remediation, pollution control, managing pathways for microbial contamination
Nature based solutions and environmental management
Wastewater surveillance
Developments in the management of outfalls
Sustainability & the SDGs – research priorities in water and sanitation post-2030
Resilience to impacts of water and sanitation management on receiving waterways
Communities
Exploiting the potential of community-based/citizen science
Indigenous peoples’ relationship with water and their access to WASH services
Stewardship & conservation, and the links between rural and urban communities
Water for farming & industry
Environmental outcome focused
Post disaster community participation
Diversity, equity & inclusion
Meeting WASH needs of migrant populations
Settings specific WASH services (urban, small island states, WASH in schools and health care facilities