Ammersee, November 18th 2022

Getting a prize is always nice. To become a „Digital Hero“ from the Bavarian Administration School (BVS) is an honor. Over the last 25 years DWA and BVS worked close together in education of wastewater technicians. BVS took many ideas from DWA Digital Thinking into their teaching methods.

New technology always interested me. During my live I always got in contact with digital Tools & Twins. Thanks to Dr. Andreas Lenz, BVS. You are doing a great job.

I just bought my second VR Glass. Not only gaming is fun, also professional possibilities enjoys me.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht

Stuttgart, October 2022

The 2nd time the skill #55 „Water Technology“ Challenge was done for 4 days in Stuttgart, Germany. A great event to show that we need more good qualified young staff.

Three woman and four man showed their skills. The woman from Singpore won gold, silver for India and bronze for Japan.

A medal of excellence for Korea.

The next Worldskills will be in France, Lyon 2024. I am looking for this event. From October 1st 2022 I am working now part time for Worldskills Germany. It is important to support young talents and to create a world standards for Water Technicians.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht

Hennef, July 2022

Time for retirement? I am leaving now DWA after 30 good years.

One door is closing, new doors opens.

The new company will start now. Lecturing at Universities, engagement with Worldskills Germany and further activities will start soon. It is my goal to work with young professionals. It will keep me fit and they like a bit of experience and networking. It is joyful to give something back to the next generation.

Munich June 2022

After working 30 years for DWA it is now time to leave. I was on more than 20 IFATs in Germany and abroad and always active and member of the advisory board. This heard and nice presents I received from the nice IFAT MMG Team. I always enjoyed it working together with you – motivated, professional and sympathetic – a great IFAT Team! Go on and develop a big trade show towards an trade event with heard-as big as the one you gave me. Many 🙏 – it was a great show this year.

Munich June 2022 – the best DWA staff at work 😉

After Corona again on the trade show IFAT and than together with 1300 people in the Löwenbraukeller. We all enjoyed to work for such a great trade show. We had fun and enthusiasm as you can see. The DWA IFAT Team is also good on the dance floor. For me it was my last IFAT as a DWA employee.

The work will start in July 2022

After 30 years working for DWA – the German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste my own one man company will be in operation starting in July 2022. Six work item will be my range of work – International Networking, Training of Trainers, Development of Training Materials, Curriculum Development, Creating Skills Competions and New Media like VR-Glasses.

I do not want to work the full day. I do not want to make much money. I like to have fun. I want to support young professionals. I like to give my experiences to others. I want to motivate young talents – in work, in challenges, in live.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht 22.2.2022

September 2021

The new DWA “Digital Learning Workshop“ has opened now. The first students from SRH Heideberg spend two days to start their Master Thesis.

DWA has developed many new digital learning tools. I initiated this and I like to “play” with new tools like Hololens and VR Glasses.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht

Bonn, Februar 2021

After 45 years driving cars now my time with electric cars starts. No petrol anymore. To burning of carbon anymore. I leased a new Peugeot e208 for the next 4 years. 300 km Batterie power will be my benchmark now.

It‘s time for a shift. Everybody has to move for a better carbon footprint.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht, 20.2.2021

Today I tried out the MS Hololense 2. DWA got a new project to find out how to use this new device for learning in the German Water Sector.

It is fun for me to play around with this new toy. I like such projects. Usability is the question – how to use such new devise in learning in the German Water Sector.

Making videos, connect your teacher or boss to help me by remote support when I stuck with a problem. That are some application fields we will investigate during the next weeks.

We do that together with the SBG (training center) in Dresden.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht, Nov. 2020

September 2020

We conducted a Webinar with 50 participants to inform about the latest developments in the field of training and education in Germans Water Sector.

I moderated the session and Helene Opitz, Prof. Niemann, Prof. Nacken and Dr. Lenz gave lectures about the new items. DWA digital changes, how University are teaching with new devices in Corona time, how avatar learning will change our future and how the new government laws strengthen the vocational career path.

The video is shown on YouTube in German Language.

DWA Training has changed a lot during the last 6 month. A new Webstudio and new equipment and learning formats are developed and introduced.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht

https://youtu.be/U7lsOsKgBQc

Hi,

young students from Cologne made a new 360 degree video from their WWTP. Great job. They enjoyed the task. They could handle the new technology very well. We (DWA) provided the idea and the equipment. The young people need to get in tough with new technology.

Some more videos will follow.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht

Hennef, June 2020

The new Profile of the German Water Sector is published last week (English translation will come soon). Every 5 years the German Associations update data and publish them. This is to explain the progress and to publish basic data about our Water Sector.

This time this graph is new and I like the way to explain in a very good way the climate change. From 1881 till 2018 this shows the average temperature in Germany. As more red it‘s get as more warmer it‘s in Germany.

The European Community issued a new proposal in May 2020 about the reuse of wastewater. There will be a need even in Germany to think about this topic.

DWA published a Topic Book last year about this topic in English Language. It seems we need a German translation soon.

We need to change our way of life – everybody, every day a bit – for the world of our children.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht

2.7.2020

https://youtu.be/Nv8ps9iLP2o

In Corona time we are learning more and more every day. Yesterday I joint a webinar in India with more than 600 participants. It was a new experience to be at home and discussing around the world.

Webinars is now my main topic. Joining some and creating some – hopefully this will decrease in the next months.

After Corona we should keep some of our new skills for a better world, less traveling and less speed.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht

During Corona I got the time to finish an idea I always had in mind. 25 years ago I was strongly involved in the creation of four posters for DWA. We wanted to have visual material to explain the water and waste sector – the IFAT topics – and our field of work.

Now I produced five German and five Englisch videos. In about 30 minutes in each language I do explain the German way and all topics on the posters.

These posters are still valid – few new things are missing – sponge city topics are covered already – heat exchange from sewers are missing.

For teaching non-technical staff who are working in this sector, this material could be helpful for you.

You can buy the posters in the Webshop of http://www.dwa.de

It is worth to do it – it is a great material for public awareness and teaching. All videos are on my YouTube channel.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht 5-2020

https://youtu.be/1t_OlJnOmqk

The Corona crisis keeps us home and busy. I have to change a lot in our training department – changing everything to online events. I learn a lot these days about Webinars, Online Meetings and Chat Programms. Zoom, GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar and Skype are my daily tools.

I learned to play cards (Skat) on the computer – crazy world.

I started to set up a privat film studio with a greenscreen, lights and camera. That is also an interesting new field for my. As older I get as more I enjoy learning.

I can now realize some ideas I always wanted to do. See the new video from a poster I created more than 25 years ago. The other three posters will come soon. DWA sells these posters (www.dwa.de). Enjoy to see the posters.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht, 30.4.2020

Hennef, 14.2.2020

DWA started to define the new tasks for the new working group „Women in the German Waster Sector“. As you can see I was the only man in this meeting – a new situation for me – not for the women – they have it every day in a man dominated traditional water sector.

DWA wants to promote more women to the sector – to strengthen the women who are in the sector – equal pay – more networking and new platforms – more visibility – more mentoring on all levels and – more engagement in the existing working groups – more discussion about Work & Life Balance for women and man.

I liked that day – it was a very active group who are ready to make a change – not to today, not everything at once – but with a clear strategy and motivation.

I know from other countries that women engagement and equal rights in the water sector is not only in Germany a need to make changes – it is also a global challenge.

We started – I will support the new working group – the time is due.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht

Delegation from Nigeria

Hennef, 5.11.2019

Today we had a really nice group from Nigeria in Hennef. The training topic was river management but we also discussed other topics. They showed big interest in the DWA work and explained their problems.

They will cone back next year to IFAT 2021.

One person studied at WAREM in Stuttgart. He is also a member of DWA. This shows how important it is to train young professionals in Germany.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht

Bonn, September 2019

“The weather was very good and it took us 2 hours to take all videos” Rüdiger Heidebrecht said when he showed the first 360 Degree Videos to the participants of the DWA Dialog Conference in Berlin. These are the first 360 Degree Video from a German Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in YouTube.

We took the videos with a Garmin VIRB 360 camera. This camera is better than the Nikon 360 action camera (software is not functioning well). The cutting was done by my new staff. It took one day to upload these videos. Uploading took some time in YouTube.

We are using the Oculus Go (Facebook) to show these videos to participants. We got good feedbacks. Now we are testing it with young people in education.

The videos are on my YouTube channel “Ruediger Heidebrecht” Playlist 360 Degree Videos. The 7:58 video shows the whole WWTP once with German and once with English explanations. The 3:26 video shows the educational part where “Meisterin” and trainee are doing some work.

Thanks to the Lippeverband (Dr. Cornelius) that we got the rights to test this.

Rüdiger Heidebrecht
26.10.2019