| | 8 NOVEMBER 2026HIGHERReviewIN MY VIEWFROM RESEARCH TO REAL WORLD IMPACT: BUILDING A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE FOR RIVERSIndia. Thailand. Singapore. Three countries, three stages of an academic journey and one evolving research question: What happens when the sand beneath our feet becomes a resource worth fighting over? "Sand is one of the world's most important natural resources," Dr Sonu Kumar explains. "It is used to build our homes, roads and cities, but much of it comes from rivers. The challenge is that sand mining often takes place underwater, making it difficult to monitor how much is being removed and the impact this has on the environment."Dr Kumar's academic journey has taken him from India to Thailand and, eventually, Singapore. He completed his undergraduate degree in India, where his research first introduced him to rivers, sediment and water-related challenges. He then pursued a Master of Engineering at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, focusing on the use of satellite rainfall data for river-flow modelling in data-scarce Himalayan regions.After graduating, he worked as an environmental engineer in Thailand, gaining practical experience through water and wastewater treatment projects. Yet the experience also prompted a deeper question about where he wanted to take his career. "Working as an engineer was valuable because it gave me practical experience, but it also made me realise that I wanted to go deeper into research," he says. He became particularly interested in how emerging technologies could be used to understand environmental problems on a much larger scale, ultimately motivating him to pursue a PhD.When the opportunity arose to undertake river and environmental research at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NIE NTU, Singapore), he felt it was the right next step. "I moved to Singapore in 2022, and that decision eventually took my research in directions I had never expected when I started."A key reason Dr Kumar chose NIE was the opportunity to work with Associate Professor Edward Park, an academic authority in the same field. Associate Professor Park's research on rivers, remote sensing and environmental change closely aligned with his interests. Ultimately, however, it was the interdisciplinary nature of the research that made NIE stand out.Dr Kumar's PhD journey was also supported by the NIE PhD Scholarship, which allowed him to focus on his research while presenting his work and developing international collaborations. With the scholarship, he was able to immerse himself fully in the university's research environment."My PhD was not limited to one field," Dr Kumar explains. "I had the opportunity to combine river science By Dr Sonu Kumar, PhD, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Dr Sonu Kumar,PhD
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