Integrated Water Resources Management MENA (Master's program) – Program Content
The objective is to form experts adequately trained in the concepts of IWRM. Next to technical and managerial knowledge related to water resources, they should also be familiar with project funding, international cooperation and intercultural communication. Furthermore, projects between Europe and Arab countries need experts who are aquainted with culture, language and politics of both sides.
The ideal student for this master's program holds at minimum a bachelor’s degree and has some working experience at an institute or a company in the water sector. He/she should be fluent in English and have good communicative skills. In addition, participants should be highly motivated to contribute to solving the water crisis and to the development in the Arab region in general. Furthermore, the participants should aspire to make a career in the international water sector.
Participants may come from a variety of backgrounds: engineering, natural sciences, agricultural sciences, economics, and social sciences.
Module Handbook
- Module Handbook Master Programs (IWRM, NRM, REM) Here you will find all module contents of the Master's Programs
Semester Schedule
Program Structure
The studies cover a period of four semesters. The first and second semesters take place at TH Köln in Germany, and the third semester at GJU in Amman, Jordan.
The fourth semester focuses on preparing, writing and defending the master’s thesis that should focus on the MENA region. Internships and research stay predominantly in countries from the MENA region, if possible together with a local institution or company, guarantee the practical orientation of the master’s research. Tutors pay particular attention that the knowledge acquired in the first three semesters is applied in the individual master’s projects.
The IWRM-MENA master’s program starts in Cologne in the winter term of each academic year. It consists of modules, which are usually block-structured. The program is equivalent to 120 ECTS, (one ECTS equals around 30 hours of workload) according to the European system.
Participants receive a degree Master of Science »Integrated Water Resources Management«, issued by TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences.
The first, second and third semesters consist of core and elective modules, and the fourth semester is dedicated to the master thesis:
- Core modules (compulsory modules) cover 40 ECTS
- Elective modules (compulsory optional modules from the catalogue “Method & Tools” and the thematic catalogues “IWRM”, “REM”, “NRM”) cover 50 ECTS
- Master thesis and colloquium cover 30 ECTS
Explanations of the contents and terms mentioned in the overview
Core Modules
One part of the program consists in basic core modules, such as “Management of Natural Resources Systems”, “Natural Resources Economics and Governance”, ”International Cooperation and Development” and “Project and Business Management” with the aim of providing an overview of water management, economics, project management, and the regional and institutional contexts.
Acknowledging the fact that participants have a wide range of professional backgrounds, core modules aim at providing the student with a general overview of different disciplines relevant to water resources. The IWRM-MENA program follows the principle of sustainable development, which can only be achieved in consideration of ethical and social aspects. Therefore, these aspects play a fundamental role during the studies. Additionally, in various courses, students are encouraged to think and reflect critically.
Elective Modules
In addition to the core modules, the students select ten specialized elective modules related to topics of water management emphasizing the particular situation and experiences in Germany or the MENA region.
The elective modules are organized into „Methods and Tools“ and three thematic blocks: „Integrated Water Resources Management“ (IWRM), „Natural Resources Management and Development“ (NRM) and „Renewable Energy Management“ (REM). Students select a total of ten elective modules from the respective module catalogue IWRM (minimum 25 ECTS), the module catalogue „Methods and Tools“ (minimum of 10 ECTS), and any module catalogue, including the catalogues of the adjoining master’s programs of NRM and REM (a maximum of 15 ECTS). The students will study three out of the five IWRM elective modules at GJU during their exchange (third) semester.
Such various choices of elective modules is considerably beneficial for the interdisciplinary nature of the student body. That is, every student is supported in his/her way of specializing during the master’s program. Since resources management includes numerous cross-cutting issues, free choice of electives from the adjoining module catalogues related to energy and land is highly important.
Master Thesis
The fourth semester is dedicated to the master thesis research that addresses a present research or management problem in the MENA region. Internships and research stays predominantly in an Arab country guarantee the practical orientation of the master’s research, which is preferably done in cooperation with an ongoing project of an institution or company. Through their master’s research work, the students apply the knowledge and competencies acquired in the previous semesters to demonstrate their ability to identify and analyze a research problem and conclude on policy and research implications. They also demonstrate ability to plan, design, execute, and document a research project systematically and independently.
Field visits
Field visits play an important role as the exposure to real projects and to relevant institutions is of highest importance in order to meet the objectives of the master program.
Projects
In the Project modules students will have the chance to apply the new knowledge received in the basic or specialized modules to an interdisciplinary case study.
The participants should come from diverse technical or managerial backgrounds. The team projects should be related to real projects visited during the field trips or to projects suggested through other partners of the network.