AY 2019 Rearing Program for Basin Water Environmental Leaders (BWEL) Certificate Award Ceremony was held at a meeting room of the River Basin Research Center on campus on March 25, 2020. The ceremony was conducted with fewer attendees to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus disease infections.

Three doctoral degree students (two from China, one from Japan), sixteen master's degree students (eleven from Japan, three from Bangladesh, one from China and one from Indonesia) received their certificates of completion.

Gifu University Rearing Program for Basin Water Environmental Leaders aims to produce environmental leaders who can properly assess and evaluate issues related to the water environment from multiple perspectives. Such environmental leaders are expected to address problems of water quality, water resource and ecosystems that Asia and African nations are facing today. They will plan and implement strategic solutions to these issues and prevent potential risks to the environment.

For five year period from AY2009 to AY2013, the program was conducted under "Strategic Environmental Leader Development Base Project" financed by the Science and Technology Strategy Promotion Fund of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). Even after the period was over, Gifu University continues to implement the program on its own.

A total of 214 students have completed since the start of the program, and many of them have already been playing an active role as environmental leaders in many parts of Asia.