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    Rivers – shaping the future of water management

    Exchange programme

    The only thing that’s constant is …? Change! Our world is changing rapidly, with climate change being one of the most prominent challenges our society is facing. In the programme Smart Water you will shape the future of water management using disruptive thinking, rapid prototyping and research through design.

    Climate change is the biggest challenge our society ever faced: More frequent extreme events are impacting coastal areas all around the world, home to an ever-growing population. Impacts range from sea level rise, coastal flooding and flash floods to droughts, water shortages and water quality issues.  

    Though climate change may be the biggest challenge, it is by far not the only one. The increasing shortage of resources shows the urgent need to develop an entirely circular society. The surge of plastics in rivers and oceans, known as the plastic soup, underlines that we need a radical change in how we use plastics in our everyday life, but also need a way to remove plastics in rivers and oceans.  

    Finding solutions for those challenges requires a different way of thinking. It requires a deep and holistic understanding of complex systems, the use of data science to support decision making, and the participation of stakeholders in the transition process.  

    This is the core of the programme Smart Water 4.0 - Shaping the Future of Water Management. In this programme students will learn system thinking and data analysis to be able to re-think the state-of-the-art and finding ways to come up with new and truly disruptive solutions. By combining the power of data, system understanding and stakeholder participation,students will be enabled to contribute solutions for the ever-growingchallenges and become a facilitator of change.  

    Facts and figures

    The programme at a glance
    number of ECTS
    30
    period
    September - February
    tuition fee
    No tuition fee

    Part of School

    Programme information

    What to expect

    About the programme

    At the start of the programme we provide you with a theoretical base in System Thinking and Data Sciences. After a few weeks we start with the research project which is at the heart of the programme. During the project we will do location based research and you will make a two week field trip with the students in your course researching and analysing the physical, technical and sociatal aspects of a river system. Based on the research you will identify an issue that you will be working on. We conclude the programme with you building a prototype for a client based on your identified issue, using rapid prototyping techniques like SCRUM. In addition you and your fellow class mates will organise an impact café in which you go deeper into future developments in the field.

    Method

    The way we work within this programme:

    The programme Smart Water is based on the concept of Research Through Design: making and creating is the core of your (research) activities and learning happens by making mistakes, discussing and reflecting on them.  

    This also means that in this programme,you will not write reports. Instead, the research products you will make are for example: A short documentary (Project River 21), a working prototype (Project Smart Prototyping), a presentation (System Thinking), an interactive Python notebook (Data Sciences) or a reflection on your negotiation strategy (Smart Governance).  

    The research you will carry out takes places mainly in groups. Making mistakes is not only an option, it is an integral part of the learning process. You will not only be assessed on your final products, but also on the process and the reflection upon. 

    Type of assessment

    • Presentations
    • Reflections
    • Oral assessments

     

     

    Learning outcomes

    If you have successfully completed this exchange programme then you are able to:

    • Understand complex systems; 
    • Analyse structured and unstructured data and generate valuable information for decision makers; 
    • Use concepts as system thinking and design thinking in your research; 
    • Develop a practical solution through rapid prototyping;
    • Support stakeholders as a facilitator of change.  

    Calendar

    Awarding

    After completing your exchange programme at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, you will receive a:

    • Transcript of records
    • A certificate of attendance of the programme

    Subjects

    An indication of the subjects you can expect

    Block 1

    • System Thinking (3 ECTS)

      System Thinking (3 ECTS)

      Topics 

      • Understanding of societal, technical and natural systems such as urban systems, water systems, river systems, infrastructure systems or climate systems.
      • Ability to decompose a complex system for further analysis and understanding.
      • Apply system thinking to a given system and understand the impact of changes in boundary conditions in the overall system. 
      • Approaches for modelling complex systems.

      Learning materials

      Relevant articles and materials will be made available in the online learning environment of the programme. 

      Learning outcomes

      • The student understands how a system functions. 
      • The student is able to decompose a complex system into sub-systems, parts and components.  
      • The student is able to understand impacts of changes in parts of systems on the overall system. 

      Type of assessment

      Presentation

    • Project River 21 (8 ECTS)

      Project River 21 (8 ECTS)

      Topics

      • Improved co-operation among riparian states;  
      • Joint efforts in water basin management;  
      • Shared analysis of complex problems;  
      • Team building and cooperation; 
      • Capacity building related to transboundary riverbasin planning.

      Learning materials

      • Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy (EU Water Framework Directive).
      • Further material will be made available in the online learning environment of the programme. 

      Learning outcomes

      • The student is able to analyse the physical and technical functioning of a river system.
      • The student is able to understand the information needs of stakeholders within the river system, in particular the cross-border aspects and challenges. 
      • The student can develop a vision on the long-term development of the river systems.  

      Type of assessment

      Presentation (Film)

    • Data Sciences (5 ECTS)

      Data Sciences (5 ECTS)

      Topics

      • Collection of valid and confident data, data structures, evaluation of data quality; 
      • Statistical analysis using statistical metrics, extrapolation of datasets;
      • Data analysis and visualisation using Python programming language and algorithms within the Jupyter Notebook environment; 
      • Creating an interactive report that suits the information needs of end-users and stakeholders documenting the data analysis, research steps and results of the research.  

      Learning materials

      Relevant articles and materials will be made available in the online learning environment of the programme. 

      Learning outcomes

      • The student is able to transform information needs of a stakeholder into a conceptual model for data collection and analysis.  
      • The student is able to collect, store and analyse data and to transform data into information. The student can present the data in structured way.  
      • The student knows the basis of Python programming language and can write scripts to analyse the data.  
      • The student can collect data using Citizen Science and assess the quality of the data based on reliability, validity and ethical aspects. 

      Type of assessment

      Oral assessment

    Block 2

    • Smart Governance (3 ECTS)

      Smart Governance (3 ECTS)

      Topics

      • To support decisions with information it is required to coordinate different stakeholders.  
      • The student will develop a negotiation strategy based on information and use its network of stakeholders to reach these goals.  
      • The student will make use of the building blocks of good water governance. 

       

      Learning materials

      • Building blocks for good water governance.
      • Further relevant articles and materials will be made available in the online learning environment of the programme.

      Learning outcomes

      At the end of this course the student is able to:

      • Understand the key principles of good governance.  
      • Negotiate with other stakeholders on the subject of drought based on given boundary conditions.  
      • Reflect on the negotiation process and formulate strategies to potentially improve the process in the future. 

       

      Type of assessment

      Reflection

    • Impact Cafés (2 ECTS)

      Impact Cafés (2 ECTS)

      Topics

      • Get in touch with new and potentially disruptive technologies and discuss the possible impacts on work, economy and society during interactive Impact Cafés with experts, students and other stakeholders.  
      • Understand the ethical implications of new technologies and discuss the pros and cons with each other. 

      Learning materials

      Relevant articles and materials will be made available in the online learning environment of the programme. 

      Learning outcomes

      At the end of this course the student is able to:

       

      • Oversee future developments such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Smart Cities, Big Data, Citizen Sciences and other technological and societal disruptions and to understand possible implications on work, society and economy in the future.  
      • Judge ethical aspects of future developments. 

       

      Type of assessment

      Reflection

    • Project Smart Prototyping (9 ECTS)

      Project Smart Prototyping (9 ECTS)

      Topics

      • Build a working prototype forself-chosen problem in collaboration with a costumer as your client.  
      • Develop, improve and demonstrate the most relevant functionalities and the overall applicability of the developed solution. 

       

      Learning materials

      Relevant articles and materials will be made available in the online learning environment of the programme. 

      Learning outcomes

      • The student can transform a practical problem into a applicable solution and build a working prototype to demonstrate the most relevant functionalities.  
      • The student is able to use the SCRUM approach and to collect and implement the requirements of the stakeholder. 

       

      Type of assessment

      Oral assessment

    Practical matters

    What you need to know

    Location

    Where you can find us
    Foto van locatie Location

    Academieplein

    G.J. de Jonghweg 4 - 6 3015 GG Rotterdam

    Location

    Where you can find us
    Foto van locatie Location

    RDM Rotterdam

    Heijplaatstraat 23 3089 JB Rotterdam
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