Capacity building of UMCSAWM project consist of Postgraduate Education and Short term capacity building through lectures, experiments, hands-on exercises, seminars, workshops, field visits and research. All capacity building and training are based on practical applications for problem solving while ensuring stakeholder aspirations whether environmental or development. UMCSAWM capacity building programs focus on proposing the optimum alternative for sustainable water resources management using a systems approach. The target is to empower the water practitioners through meaningful transformations.
Problem Based Learning
Capacity building focus in the UMCSAWM project is on the enhancement of critical mass of the industry who are capable of providing sustainable infrastructure solutions to practical problems. Capacity building programs range from short term technician training to postgraduate degree education for middle and senior water managers. These academic staff led capacity building programs, empower the students to solve practical problems using a systems approach and close stakeholder interactions. Over the project implementation period the participants have commended on the scientific principles covered in teaching modules, methods of delivery, tools used and the strong commitment extended by the teachers.
Problem Based Projects – Postgraduate
Students learn to solve practical problems by undertaking a Problem Based Learning Project which is commonly known as the PBL Project. This project in the postgraduate degree program level moves deeper from the traditional group PBL approach to a more challenging individual PBL project category. This requires a student to identify a problem, work on his or her own but under guidance and then to apply scientific principles to arrive at solutions that satisfy a variety of stakeholder aspirations connected with the sharing of a limited resource. This is very challenging to each student. Though the students would be able to observe how the others solve their problems, they need to learn how to solve one on his or her own. Students are required to demonstrate their transformation with a structured final report and success at a viva voce.
UMCSAWM with its experienced academic staff extends committed support for necessary interactions, provides close supervision, and carries out carefully structured individual evaluations. Once a student identifies a few problem options, associated academic staff members carefully guide the students to find appropriately sized projects that could be executed within the expected time durations.
Problem Based Projects – Short term
Short term capacity building programs are custom made to suit a specific set of employees usually from a single water agency. In these programs, unless specifically requested by clients, the problem based learning project is a traditional group PBL project where students are given a practical problem to solve using the specific theoretical aspects covered in the program.
PBL Guidance Material
Detailed guidance on the Individual PBL project is given by the respective academic staff members assigned for each course module. A general guideline for GIS PBL is available for download
Short Term Capacity Building
UMCSAWM with its space and instrumentation, is well equipped to develop structured training material and to conduct short term capacity building program based on subject modules and associated subjects related to sustainable water resources management. UMCSAWM also conducts collaborative short term capacity building programs.
The other short term capacity programs on offer are Seminars and workshops, demonstration field visits for researchers and graduate students, water managers, water infrastructure managers and policymakers. The short term capacity building program are planned and conducted with the objective of knowledge sharing, awareness enhancement of recent technological advancements and discussion of solutions for field problems.