Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

Water resources, indispensable basis for development, food supply and health, become ever scarcer and more polluted. The concept of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) offers solutions to the water crisis in linking water to other vital resources. It regards the whole water cycle in connection with human interventions as the basis for sustainable water management. Worldwide, there is a high and growing demand for experts adequately trained in the concepts of IWRM. Next to the technical and managerial knowledge related to water resources, these experts should also be familiar with the practices of project funding and international cooperation.

The objective of the program is to form such experts and to promote the concept of IWRM. Participants are provided with appropriate knowledge and skills to analyze current problems related to the usage and management of water and related resources.

Target groups of the program are recently graduated pro-fessionals with working experience in public or private institutions, authorities and enterprises of the water sector. The applicants should be active in or dealing with water or natural resources management and have an interest in learning and working in an intercultural and multidisciplinary environment.

The profile of the Master’s program is application-oriented. The aim is, besides providing the participants with an overview on the water sector in general, to educate experts in the field of Integrated Water Resources Management. This requires a diversification of their knowledge and leads to the capability of cross-linked thinking. The answer to complex environmental and water related problems requires economic and managerial competencies more than classical technical knowledge.

The consolidation of different disciplines has not only a methodological dimension but a cultural and a human one, because interdisciplinary team work requires knowledge sharing and effective communication.

Contents

Basic Modules: Water Science Principles of IWRM Water Economics Management Water Governance Water System Management International Cooperation Team Project Elective Modules: Technology Water Demand Management Tools

At TH Köln (University of Applied Sciences)

Current global trends such as population and economic growth as well as climate change exert increasing pressure on water resources worldwide, which are the basis for food production, urban and industrial water supplies and hydropower. Experts are needed who understand that multiple problems of water resources management can only be addressed through a holistic approach considering both technical and socioeconomic problems of resources use. These experts should also have knowledge of the practices of project funding and international cooperation.

Tuition

Semester contribution fees, additional fees for field trips, conference participation and course materials. For more information on the semester contribution fees: https://www.th-koeln.de/en/academics/fees_5908.php

Funding

Applicants may receive one of the limited numbers of scholarships. Available are full time scholarships from the DAAD EPOS Program for applicants from DAC-list countries.