Urban Water and Sanitation

Specializations of Urban Water and Sanitation

Aim of the programme

Once you have successfully completed this programme, you can place your profession in the wider social, economic and environmental contexts of urbanisation and municipal water and infrastructure services provision. We also aim to provide you with the tools and knowledge to contribute to the development of innovative approaches to the provision of sustainable and equitable municipal water, sanitation, environmental and infrastructure services in developing and transition countries.

Desired profile

The programme is directed predominantly at civil and sanitary engineers working in water supply and waste-water companies, municipal assemblies, government ministries and consulting companies dealing with water supply, sanitation and municipal infrastructure. Depending on their choice of specialization, participants should have a Bachelors or equivalent degree in civil engineering, sanitary engineering, chemical engineering, hydraulic engineering, environmental engineering or related fields. Prospective candidates would also benefit greatly from having had several years of experience as a professional engineer.

Learning context

Recent decades have witnessed an increasing rate of urbanisation, particularly in developing regions and in countries in transition. About 80% of the world’s mega-cities can be found in these regions. During the next two decades the world’s population is expected to double. The high concentration of people in urban areas will place enormous pressure on the local environment and on available resources. It will also generate ever-higher, sometimes conflicting demands on services such as water supply and sanitation. 

At the same time, under decentralisation policies, the responsibility for delivering such services will be increasingly delegated to lower levels of government that are often ill equipped for this challenge in terms of financial and human resources.