In 2026, the ABCD-Centre enters the second five-year phase as a strengthened consortium of five academic institutions in three countries on two continents: RWTH Aachen University in Germany; the Asian Institute of Technology Bangkok (AIT) in Thailand; the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) in India; UNU Resource Nexus (United Nations University Institute for the Integrated Management of Material Fluxes and of Resources) and Dresden University of Technology (TUD), the latter two based in Dresden, Germany. The Centre develops and disseminates research-based and application-oriented climate adaptation measures in the water sector in a collaborative bidirectional North-South approach through education, research and knowledge transfer, contributing to SDG 6 (“Clean Water and Sanitation for All”), SDG 13 (“Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”) and the wider 2030 Agenda.
Education and capacity building remain central to the Centre’s vision through the International Joint Masters in “Water Security and Global Change”, established in 2024, and by strengthening the digital teaching infrastructure and continuing with the successful transfer workshops in Phase II. Knowledge transfer activities are guided by the Centre’s Transfer and Monitoring Concept to ensure quality assurance, adaptive learning and effective scaling of knowledge transfer interventions across regions and sectors.The Centre is expanding its reach to achieve wider impact on the UN system and its Member States, with a specific focus on ASEAN countries. Collaboration across sites continues to produce high-impact scientific outputs.
The ABCD Associates Network of universities, research institutes, NGOs and private sector organizations aims to strengthen research and long-term financial sustainability. The network of alumni and trainers amplifies the Centre’s reach, facilitates local adaptation projects, links science with implementation and policy for impact and fosters dialogue between science and society. The Centre’s operations are guided by carbon-smart operating principles, emphasizing virtual collaboration, regional hubs, and low-emission travel.
