Celebrating the success of PEAKSOLVE: Tackling global water and population challenges

The global population is expected to peak at around 10.5 billion within the next 50 years, with much of this growth taking place in Africa. By the end of the century, half of the world’s children will live on the continent. These demographic shifts will have profound consequences for access to freshwater, sanitation, and governance – issues that already affect billions worldwide. Meeting these challenges requires new thinking, new skills, and new collaborations.

Led by Professor Margaret Graham (School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh) and Professor Craig Sheridan (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa), PEAKSOLVE set out to equip the next generation of researchers with the networks, expertise, and collaborative mindset needed to develop solutions.

Over the past year, PEAKSOLVE delivered a range of activities designed to train and connect researchers across continents.

Online lecture series

An online lecture series, organised by Dr Sarah Donoghue (University of Edinburgh), ran over five months and featured twelve lectures delivered by academics and early-career researchers from the University of Edinburgh, the University of the Witwatersrand, Leiden University and Jagiellonian University. It attracted 192 participants from 59 institutions in 23 countries, and the lectures are now freely available through the IIES website, extending the reach of the project well beyond its initial cohort.

Two-day science and policy workshop

A two-day science and policy workshop was held at the University of the Witwatersrand, co-funded by the International Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IIES) with additional support from the Claude Leon Foundation and the Wits Research Office. Bringing together around 100 participants from 22 institutions across 20 countries, the workshop provided a supportive platform for MSc and PhD students to share their research in an international forum. Plenary sessions spanning literary and cultural studies, chemistry, law, and ecotoxicology further highlighted the power of cross-disciplinary dialogue in tackling complex global challenges.

Three-day graduate forum

The workshop was then followed by a three-day graduate forum at Wits’ Rural Facility, where 83 participants from 18 institutions across 10 countries came together to share ideas, debate solutions, and learn from one another. 

Early-career researchers were integral to every activity throughout the entire PEAKSOLVE project, ensuring those who will shape the response to future water and population pressures were directly involved and engaged. Collectively, these activities fostered open dialogue across disciplines and regions, showing how bringing researchers together, whether virtually or in person, can spark new perspectives and innovative approaches to shared global challenges.

The event also underscored the University of Edinburgh’s ongoing commitment to supporting and sustaining international collaboration. With more than 300 active partnerships worldwide, the University recognises that global challenges demand global solutions.

Working across borders is essential to tackling the global and societal challenges we face, and projects like PEAKSOLVE demonstrate the power of collaboration. International partnerships not only produce higher-quality research outputs but also unlock vital sources of support and funding through initiatives such as Una Europa.

Seed funding through Una Europa has been central to making projects like PEAKSOLVE possible. By providing the initial support to test ambitious ideas, it allows researchers to build momentum, strengthen international networks, and lay the foundations for larger-scale collaborations. Since joining Una Europa in 2019, the University has seen this alliance grow into one of its most important European partnerships, opening up opportunities to address global challenges through innovative and interdisciplinary research.

What made PEAKSOLVE distinctive was the diversity of voices it brought together. Researchers from across the world, working in different disciplines, shared their perspectives in the same room, an essential step in finding solutions that respond to real needs. From improving water quality in rural areas with limited infrastructure to shaping global governance, the project showed the value of collaboration built on inclusivity. Participants spoke of the lasting impact on their careers and how the networks formed will continue to generate outcomes well into the future. As colleagues reflected, PEAKSOLVE has been a unique and cutting-edge initiative, special not only for what it achieved, but for the foundation it has laid for what comes next.

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