INOWASIA internship student from CTU at Souphanouvong University (SU, Luang Prabang, Lao PDR) for water quality analysis training

My name is Vo Thi Diem My. I am a master's student in Environment and Natural Resources Management at Can Tho University (CTU) in Vietnam. I am delighted to have been chosen as be one of the internship students by the #INOWASIA project. this, For I will doing an internship at Souphanouvong University (SU) in Luang Prabang Province, Lao PDR from June 20th to September 5th, 2023. During my internship, I will be trained in water quality analysis and will conduct research related to domestic wastewater quality under the supervision of Mr. Anousith Vannasaphon who is a staff of Agriculture and Forest Resources Faculty. 

Luang Prabang is a popular tourist destination, as it has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One benefit of this is that the life of quality for citizens has been improved. On the other hand, one drawback is that the volume of domestic wastewater has increased in recent years, threatening the Mekong River with pollutants. Domestic wastewater from citizens’ activities is discharged into open canal systems and ponds, and is then transported by runoff to the Mekong River. Based on this problem, the research will analysis the water quality of the domestic wastewater in Luang Prabang City, Luang Prabang Province, Lao PDR. I will conduct the research with Ms. Kim who is my colleague under the supervision of Mr. Anousith Vannasaphon and Dr. Nguyen Vo Chau Ngan.

Fig 1. A part of open canal system	Fig 2. The one of the ponds in city

The research will:

• Analyze wastewater quality at the inlet and outlet of the domestic wastewater treatment in Mano village, Luang Prabang City, Luang Prabang Province, Lao PDR;
• Analyze Mekong River’s water quality at the point of discharge for the citizens’ domestic wastewater;
• Propose solutions to improve the efficiency of the domestic wastewater treatment, to manage domestic wastewater.

For the assessment of water pollution, the following water quality parameters will be analyzed: (i) pH; (ii) Temperature; (iii) Turbidity; (iv) Electrical Conductivity (EC); (v) Dissolved oxygen (DO); (vi) Chemical oxygen demand (COD); (vii) Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD).

Fig 3. Measuring on site and sample collecting	Fig 4. COD analysis

Fig 5. BOD analysis

Furthermore, I had the opportunity to take part in training on the Internet of Things (IoT), which was organized on July 3rd and 4th at Souphanovong University under the INOWASIA project. In the training, I learned about components of the IoT and the methods to adapting for environment monitoring. The applications of IoT in environmental monitoring are broad - environmental protection, extreme weather monitoring, water safety, endangered species protection, farming, and more. In these applications, sensors detect and measure every type of environmental change. I do hope that I can apply it for my researchs in the future.

Fig 6. Internet of Things

Finally, I am deeply grateful to the #INOWASIA project for giving the young generation the opportunity of internship. I expect to gain much knowledge and experience from the experts during my internship, which I will then be able to apply to my job in the future.

Web link:

https://inowasia.com/the-first-inowasia-internship-students-in-post-from-mid-april/

INOWASIA is an Erasmus + Capacity Building Higher Education project that promotes a joint action of 11 organisations across 5 countries (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, France and Spain) to train a new generation of water professionals in Southeast Asia. More info