BLUEPRINT Master of Water Resources Engineering

OCTOBER 2018

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Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 3

Part 1: Programme profile and vision .................................................................................................. 4

Objectives and learning outcomes ................................................................................................... 4

Educational vision ............................................................................................................................ 4

Educational objectives related to personal development and attitude ............................................ 5

Focal points ..................................................................................................................................... 5

Target audience ............................................................................................................................... 6

Part 2: WRE in practice ........................................................................................................................ 7

Structure and learning tracks .......................................................................................................... 7

Teaching methods ........................................................................................................................... 8

Assessment policy ............................................................................................................................ 9

International orientation ............................................................................................................... 10

Annex 1: Learning outcomes ............................................................................................................. 11

Annex 2: Case studies used in the Integrated Projects ...................................................................... 12

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Introduction

This blueprint of the interuniversity (KU Leuven – VUB) Master programme of Water Resources

Engineering (WRE) was elaborated in the course of the academic year 2017-2018 through joint efforts

by the programme director (Prof. Jan Diels) and the members of the programme’s permanent

educational commission. Also the members of the permanent educational commission at the level of

the Faculty of BioscienceEengineering of KU Leuven (FBSE), in which programme directors of all

programmes organized by this faculty meet, and those of the FBSE’s council have had the opportunity

to contribute. The process was guided by a staff member for education of FBSE so that the present

document was timely finalized by 31-october-2018.

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Part 1: Programme profile and vision

Objectives and learning outcomes The Master of Water Resources Engineering (MA WRE) addresses water-related issues in both the

Global South and the Global North. The general programme objective is the formation of graduates

that effectively contribute to the development and management of water resources at local, regional

and global scale.

The programme provides high-quality multi-disciplinary training in the disciplines that underpin water

resources engineering, focusing on the use of state-of-the-art numerical simulation tools and on

integrated water management. The aim is to equip future professionals and scientists with the

scientific, technical and managerial knowledge, attitudes and skills they need to:

successfully plan, design, operate and manage water resources projects; and

advise and support authorities in decision-making and the development of policies and

regulations that enhance the safe exploitation and (re-)use of water, and the equitable

distribution and conservation of water resources.

The learning outcomes are listed at the end of this document (Annex 1). Moreover and in line with

KU Leuven’s view on the Disciplinary Future Self (DFS) of the student, WRE coaches its students in

further developing their personal skills and attitudes (see Educational Objectives, p. 5).

Educational vision The MA WRE is jointly organized by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and KU Leuven, several

faculties are involved in both universities. The lecturers of the master programme developed over the

years a shared vision encompassing the following elements:

The MA WRE aims at training professionals with a solid technical background in water

resources engineering who at the same time have a broad knowledge of related fields, and

are able to integrate and consider different aspects.

The programme is research-based and supported by water-related research in several

faculties of both VUB and KU Leuven.

Project-based learning activities (working on real-world case studies) are a major component

of the programme. This helps students to acquire the practical skills and attitudes needed in

their professional life.

Global water-related challenges and commitments are discussed throughout the programme.

This includes the Sustainable Development Goals (e.g. with water being closely linked to SDG6

clean water and sanitation, and related to SDG2 zero hunger, SDG13 climate action, SDG14

life below water). The programme also covers the water management needs as formulated in

the EU water legislation such as the Water Framework Directive and the Floods Directive.

Numerical simulation models are introduced both as an educational tool to get insights in

hydrological processes and as a practical tool for solving water-related problems.

This vision is translated in the following key objectives of the programme:

1. Training towards the use of numerical simulation tools for water management; 2. Training towards integrated water management.

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Educational objectives related to personal development and attitude The MA WRE wants to form engineers of integrity who are able to critically reflect on their own actions

and role in society.

Communication skills and team work are exercised throughout the programme. Due to the

international nature of the programme, students are obliged to train their intercultural

communication skills. In various course units students work together on group assignments and within

the Integrated Project, students need to cooperate across cultures and disciplines. These activities

train them in finding their own role in a team and in working interdisciplinary.

Also the practicing of responsible leadership is an educational objective which is trained in group

projects but also in encouraging students to actively participate in the programme committee of WRE

and to represent their fellow students there.

In addition, WRE graduates should be able to critically evaluate and reflect on their professional role

as engineers, taking into account social, environmental and economic impacts of their actions.

Students are sensitized for these topics in the lectures of the course units Integrated Water

Management and Social, Political, Institutional, Economic and Environmental Aspects of Water

Resources in which a broad range of aspects and possible impacts related to water resources

engineering are covered. Guest lectures, from both the global North and South present relevant case

studies to the students and discuss real-world problems and solutions. In practice, the holistic

evaluation of a water-related societal challenge taking into account different stakeholders and

impacts is trained during the Integrated Project.

Thinking and acting sustainably is the core motto of the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering and also

trained during the course unit Integrated Water Management where students have to analyse

different aspects of a human induced environmental problem related to water resources.

Focal points Strong training in engineering skills, with focus on systems analysis, problem solving, use of

water system models and integrative skills.

The lecturers have an active research portfolio, the course units they teach in the master

programme are closely related to their field of expertise, and they use data, examples and

case studies of their research in the lectures and practical sessions.

Development of persuasive reporting and communication skills.

High-quality training in scientific research techniques; Talented graduates often pursue an

academic/research career.

Developing innovative solutions for water management during MSc research that can be

conducted in close collaboration with the professional water sector (governmental and

private).

Strong collaboration with partner universities abroad to organize the Integrated Project and

jointly supervise master thesis research. Currently, the core partners are Université Nice

Sophia Antipolis (France), Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology

(Tanzania), Sokoine University of Agriculture (Tanzania), University of Cuenca (Ecuador), and

Arba Minch University (Ethiopia). About half of the students effectively travel abroad for the

Integrated Project and/or their master thesis.

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MA WRE is an international MSc programme with a long tradition. It has been established in

1995 by merging two long-standing MSc programmes. In total the programmes combined

have over 1000 graduates since 1981.

Recognised by the Flemish Interuniversity Council as an International Course Programme and

benefitting from 12 scholarships per academic year for students from the south.

Target audience The MA WRE is an international master programme, targeting a diverse mix of students from both the

global North and the global South. Special attention is given to student diversity and their careful

selection and orientation.

Entering students must hold a Bachelor's degree in agricultural, civil, environmental engineering or

similar. Study results should reflect the equivalent of a 70% pass rating in Flanders (comparable to

upper second class). Applicants should have a proven proficiency in English comparable to B2/C1 of

the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR). Minimum admission

requirements and a list of accepted English proficiency tests can be consulted on our website

(www.iupware.be).

Students with a relevant master’s degree from an EEA university can be exempted from 60 ECTS and

follow a one-year abridged programme, provided their previous education contains sufficient training

in water resources-related disciplines. Applications are evaluated on an individual basis.

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Part 2: WRE in practice

Structure and learning tracks The MA WRE is a two phase programme of 120 ECTS which typically takes two years to finalize (Fig.

1). In the first phase, students learn the scientific basis of water resources engineering. Through the

associated practicals and exercise sessions and through the informatics and data collection course

units they acquire problem-solving and data collection as well as analytical skills that are essential for

water resources engineering. In the first phase, all courses are compulsory to ensure that all students

acquire the same disciplinary basis and skills independent of their previous education.

In the second phase only the two common advanced courses are compulsory. In addition, students

chooses 3 specialized advanced courses, an integrated project (temperate or tropical) and a master

thesis subject. The elective Specialized Knowledge and Skills in WRE and Modelling courses all build

on the course units of the first year. Students may also choose one course unit, relevant to WRE, from

another master programme (with approval by the Programme Committee).

Fig. 1: Structure of the MSc of Water Resources Engineering

By choosing their individual programme in the 2nd phase, students may particularly focus on

groundwater, or on aquatic ecology, or on irrigation water management, etc. In this way they chose

one or two learning tracks. A student may, e.g., opt for a strong learning track on groundwater aspects

by combining the compulsory course Groundwater Hydrology in the first year with the elective

Groundwater Modelling in the second year, a master thesis subject related to groundwater, and focus

on groundwater aspects in the group work of the Integrated project. Several other similar disciplinary

learning tracks are possible. Whatever the disciplinary focus, integration with other disciplines and

the consideration of conflicting demands of different stakeholders that are typical of water-related

challenges remains important throughout the master programme, and in fact constitutes a

compulsory learning track: The Integrated Water Management course unit of the 1st phase, focusing

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on problem and stakeholder analysis, is followed by an Integrated Project on a temperate or

(sub)tropical case study in the 2nd phase, focusing on integration of group work results obtained

through data analysis and scenario analysis with different computational models. These two course

units are supported by the compulsory course unit on Social, Political, Economic and Environmental

Aspects of Water Resources.

Students of the one-year abridged programme (Fig. 2) have two compulsory course units, and chose

elective course units from the 2-year programme for a total of 25 ECTS. They also participate in the

Integrated Project work and prepare a master thesis.

Fig. 2: Structure of the Abridged Programme of the MSc of Water Resources Engineering

Teaching methods Throughout the programme, the intended learning outcomes and educational objectives are pursued

through active learning activities are used such as workshops, PC-class sessions, individual and group

assignments, field visits, and discussions of real-world cases. These aim to sharpen the problem-

solving and critical-thinking skills of the students. E-learning and blended learning methods are also

used.

During the first year, the most prevalent teaching methods are lectures, practical sessions for training

of techniques and workshops (the latter having greater emphasis on the student’s own initiative and

a wider project approach than the former). Approximately half of the sessions are given in the form

of practicals or workshops which allows for specific or individual guidance of the trainees. This is

needed given the large diversity in students’ background, initial knowledge and teaching tradition. The

practicals and workshops also help to develop skills that will be more extensively required during the

second year, such as planning and execution of assignments, data management and teamwork. For

the practical sessions, reports have to be worked out individually or in small groups, which for some

courses also have to be presented and discussed in class. For the course units Measurement

Techniques and Aquatic Ecology, practical training sessions are organized in the field. The students

have to report on these experiments in small working groups. For the workshop on Integrated Water

Management the students perform a stakeholder analysis and a problem-tree analysis of a case study

in the South and in the North. To this end, guest lecturers are invited to present relevant cases to the

students. The problems formulated and analysed in this course unit are typical examples for global

water problems.

During the second year, the lecturing is drastically reduced, and emphasis is shifted to workshops,

group work and presentations by the students, and to supervised self-study. For the workshops,

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students typically receive assignments on the use of a numerical simulator that was presented in class.

This helps them to get insights in the processes and algorithms and gain experience in data

preparation, processing, analysis, evaluation and in model calibration. An individual or a group report

has to be written and generally, the results are presented and discussed in class.

In the Integrated Project of the second year, the students analyse in groups a river basin regarding

problems, policies and management. Integration of the different aspects of water resources

management and teamwork are key components of this course. It is organised jointly with partner

institutions. Each year, students can chose between two or three integrated projects that are

organized in parallel. More details on the Integrated Project are given in Annex 2.

Finally, the master thesis initiates the students in research. Students of the 2-year programme are

informed about possible thesis topics by means of a list of topics that is made available during the 2nd

semester of phase 1. They are then invited to discuss the topics of their interest with the promoters.

A follow-up is organized in the framework of the thesis component Setting Up a Research Project in

the first semester of phase 2, in which the students have to give a presentation about their research

plan. During the 2nd semester of phase 2, the thesis component Research Methods for Data Collection

and Processing provides further guidance for the students. The actual guidance of the thesis research

is the responsibility of the individual promoters and supervisors.

Assessment policy

Feedback

The lecturers of the MA WRE give on a regular basis feedback to students on their knowledge and

abilities to enhance learning:

- At the end of each examination session (January, July and September each year) students receive their grades from the examination commission through an online tool. Students are given the opportunity to discuss their grade with the lectures;

- For the more challenging courses, the Programme Committee requests professors to schedule mid-semester mock examinations. This is currently the case for Advanced Mathematics. Thus, students become aware of the type of examination and receive an incentive to actively assimilate the material during the semester;

- Interim presentations for the Integrated Project and the master thesis are scheduled throughout the semester. Fellow students and lecturers provide comments and feedback at such occasions;

- For the workshops intermediate (simulation) results are discussed with the lecturers during successive sessions.

Assessment of learning outcomes

All learning outcomes (see annex 1) are assessed in several course units. The evaluation format is

adjusted to the learning outcomes. The following formats are used:

- Written and/or oral examination. The examination consists of several questions covering major parts of the course material. This format allows the lecturer to check whether students possess technical and scientific knowledge (LO 1), and whether they understand and can analyse institutional, socio-economic, and policy issues related to water resources (LO 4). This is the typical evaluation format for courses in the first year;

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- Individual report. This format allows the lecturer to check whether students understand and are able to use simulation tools (LO 2) and analyse problems related to storm water and flood control (LO 5). Individual reports are the typical format for workshops in phase 2, but are also used in phase 1 to assess the ability of students to analyse hydrological and spatial data and employ measurement techniques (LO 3);

- Group report. This format allows the lecturer to check whether students can function in an interdisciplinary team (LO 10), and can interact with other science domains and integrate information to come up with sustainable solutions (LO 6). This is the typical format for the Integrated Project (2nd year).

- Present personal research, thoughts, ideas (LO 9). This format is used in one course unit in phase 1 (Social, Political, Institutional, Economic and Environmental Aspects of Water Resources). It gets more weight in phase 2 to assess the Master thesis research: a written dissertation (about 50 pages) and the defense of the Master thesis research in front of a jury. Particularly, the critical attitude (LO 7) and the ability to set up research activities (LO 8) are assessed through the master thesis.

Prevention, detection and penalization of plagiarism

Plagiarism in assignments, thesis and exams is absolutely unacceptable. Students learn the principles

of scientific integrity and how to correctly cite the work of others from the first semester of their

programme onwards. Lecturers routinely screen student reports with the Turnitin tool if plagiarism is

suspected. All master theses are screened with Turnitin by the plagiarism commission by the Faculty

of Bioscience Engineering, and if plagiarism is detected, the exam commission is informed. After

hearing the student the examination commission decides on a sanction proportional to the severity

of plagiarism.

International orientation The MA WRE is targeted to students from all over the world, and each year we have a very diverse

group of students from different continents. The programme deals with water issues typical of both

the Global North and the Global South, and case studies and example data sets are taken from

research projects in different continents. Guest lecturers from all over the world enrich the

international orientation of the programme. Students are encouraged to use opportunities for

international mobility during the Masters:

- The Integrated Project (Sub)Tropical/Temperate Climate Case Study involves a 2-week stay abroad where students work in small teams together with students from partner universities

- Students may chose a master thesis subject which involves field work abroad for 1 to 2 months. It is also possible that students themselves propose a thesis subject on a research question in their home country

After graduation, the programme keeps contact with its international alumni network through its

website, LinkedIn and Facebook groups, and through a yearly alumni event rotating between different

continents.

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Annex 1: Learning outcomes A graduate (can) …

LO 1. Possesses technical and scientific knowledge and integration skills to advise and support

authorities in decision making and the development of policies and regulations to manage

water resources, meet the water needs and safeguard the availability for current and future

generations.

LO 2. Possesses specialized knowledge in modelling tools and practical skills in running simulations

for planning, designing, operating and managing specific water resources systems.

LO 3. Analyse and interpret hydrological data and spatial data for managing water resources and

employ measurement techniques to monitor water resources

LO 4. Understand and analyse institutional, socio-economic and policy issues related to water

resources development and management.

LO 5. Understand and analyse problems related to storm water and flood control, irrigation and

drainage, groundwater, water treatment, water quality protection of ecosystems and other

natural resources.

LO 6. Interact with other relevant science domains and integrate them to come up with sustainable

solutions supporting the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

principles through an appropriate science-policy interface.

LO 7. Demonstrates critical consideration of and reflection on known and new theories, models or

interpretations within the specialty.

LO 8. Plan and execute target oriented data collection or model simulations independently, and

critically evaluate the results.

LO 9. Present personal research, thoughts, ideas, and opinions of proposals within professional

activities in a suitable way, both written and orally, to peers and to a general public.

LO 10.Function in an interdisciplinary team.

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Annex 2: Case studies used in the Integrated Projects

During Integrated Project course, the students get experience in using hydrological models to find

Integrated Solutions for water challenges in river basins. During the Integrated Project course, the

following tasks are to be executed as a group work within a time window of (around) three weeks:

(1) Case study description including DPSIR analysis and stakeholder analysis

(2) Data collection and field monitoring

(3) Identification of potential solutions

(4) Predicting effectiveness of potential solutions using models

(5) Integrated assessment of solutions and scenario’s

(6) Formulation of recommendations to decision makers based on model results

(7) Reporting of team efforts and group summaries

(8) Group presentation (powerpoint or video)

The Integrated Project is offered each year for one temperate and one tropical case study as listed

below.