The overall thrust of the Department of Urban Water and Sanitation is urbanization as one of the dominant global processes. Although urbanisation offers enormous opportunities for socio-economic development, it also presents major challenges for the equitable and sustainable development of drinking water and sanitation infrastructure and services. Within this context the Department of Urban Water and Sanitation helps to build the necessary human resources and higher education and research capacities through postgraduate education, training, research and other capacity building activities in the fields of water supply and sanitation.