Introduction
Water Related Education, Training and Technology Transfer is a component of Encyclopedia of Water Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias.
Learning processes offer knowledge, skills, and competencies to the individual through different methods of education and training. The learning society and the concept of lifelong learning form the basis for the so-called “knowledge-based” economy. Since water resources development and management are an essential part of this economy, education, training, and transfer of technology for water resources should be seen as important aspects of societal policies for a sustainable future.
This book starts with a little history, and introduces several issues related to water resources in the learning environment. What does the water profession expect from education? We must consider the methods and tools used the need to match demand and supply, and quality assessment of education and training. Transfer of technology to close the technology gap between countries can only be effective if an enabling learning environment exists. Capacity building must ensure that this environment is sustainable.
This volume is aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.
Editor(s) Biography
Andre Van der Beken was born in Ghent (Belgium) and received an agricultural engineer’s degree (M.Sc. level) in 1962, and a Ph.D. degree in 1969, at the State University of his home town. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Iowa Institute of Hydraulic Research (Iowa City, USA), he became an appointed researcher of the National Fund for Scientific Research, working at the Laboratory of Hydraulics of the University of Ghent. In 1973 he moved to the newly-established Faculty of Applied Sciences of the Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB/Free University Brussels). Here he developed hydrology as a discipline in its own right, within the Civil Engineering curriculum. He became professor ordinaries in 1979, and was head of the Laboratory of Hydrology (later renamed Department of Hydrology and Hydraulic Engineering) from 1975–2000. In 1979 he developed an M.Sc. postgraduate program in hydrology, under the auspices of the Belgian National Committee of the International Hydrological Programme (IHP) of UNESCO. In 1981 this became the Interuniversity Programme in Hydrology (IUPHY), sponsored by the Belgian Government Department of Co-operation for Development. He was director of IUPHY till 1994, and promoted its merger with a similar program in irrigation engineering at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven/Catholic University Leuven), to form the current Interuniversity Programme in Water Resources Engineering (IUPWARE). Besides leading education programs and research projects in Belgium, the author has taught in Bolivia, Kenya, Italy, Tanzania, and Tunisia, and has helped to develop projects in Indonesia and Zambia. He was chairman of the Planning Group for UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme Phase V (1996–2001), and served at several Working Groups on education and training of IHP. In 1998 he was team leader of the UNESCO-WMO-DWAF mission on the “Assessment of the Education and Training Needs of the Water Resources Management Services of the Republic of South Africa.” He is a member of the WMO Executive Council Panel of Experts on Education and Training. Since 1988 he has been promoter, partner, and co-ordinator of numerous education/training projects and networks funded by the European Commission. He was a founder and co-ordinator (1990–2000) of the University Enterprise Training Partnership TECHnology for WAter REsources (TECHWARE). The latest network is the European Thematic Network of Education and Training (ETNET) for ENVIRONMENTWATER
