New specialisation ‘Urban Water Engineering and Management’ under the Master Programme in Municipal Water and Infrastructure
11 Aug 2009
The Urban Water Engineering and Management programme is jointly offered by the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education (UNESCO-IHE). The UWEM programme is a double degree programme.
Students who successfully complete this programme will be awarded two Master degrees: one from UNESCO-IHE and one from AIT. The degree students receive from UNESCO-IHE is the degree in Municipal Water and Infrastructure, with a specialisation in Urban Water Engineering and Management. AIT will award the degree of Master of Engineering in Urban Water Engineering and Management.
Context
The world is increasingly urbanised with 50% of the world’s population living in urban areas. By 2030 in Asia 54% will live in cities compared to 39% in 2005. This enormous growth of urban areas poses several challenges, such as delivery of essential water and sanitation services and the management of urban water cycle. This is also recognised by the Millennium Development Goals and Targets established at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000. These challenges are further complicated due to climate change. It is foreseen that coping with this problem requires a substantial increase of highly trained and qualified human resources.
Target group
The target group for this programme are professionals from urban water and wastewater authorities, urban development ministries/authorities, water and environment ministries, private companies, academia, NGOs and city and municipal authorities dealing with or interested in water and sanitation services and managing the urban water cycle.
Programme aims
The Urban Water Engineering and Management Programme will educate professionals that are capable of contributing to the sustainable provision of urban water and sanitation services within an integrated urban water cycle management approach.
The Urban Water Engineering and Management programme is one of the few programmes worldwide that addresses the need for MSc-level professionals capable of delivering both water and wastewater services within the context of the urban water cycle, covering both technical and management aspects. As such, it is attractive to professionals from both the government sector and the water industry, particularly from developing and transitional countries.