Each year, UNESCO-IHE organizes refresher courses in Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and/or the Middle East, primarily for UNESCO-IHE alumni. The courses cover themes that are of direct relevance and importance to the region and the participants.

NEW! 2013 Refresher Courses
 

Complete information will be available at the end of March. Alumni will receive the invitation by e-mail. Registration will be available online from 1 April 2013 until 30 June 2013.

Course name: Revisiting water management in irrigation systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: opportunities and constraints for productivity increase
Date: 6 - 10 October, 2013
Location: Wad Madani, Sudan
Coordinator: Dr. Abraham Mehari Haile, Dr. Yasir Mohamed

Course name: Integrated water and sanitation management in urban slums and the surrounding environment
Dates: 7 - 11 October
Location: Kampala, Uganda
Coordinator: Dr. Jan Willem Foppen

Course name: Planning and governance of large dams
Date: 28 October - 1 November 2013
Location: Accra, Ghana
Coordinator: Dr. Luigia Brandimarte

Course name: WASH service delivery in conflict affected and fragile states
Dates: 18 - 22 November 2013
Location: Butare, Rwanda
Coordinator: Dr. Michelle Kooy

Course name: Membrane filtration in drinking and wastewater treatment
Dates: 9 - 13 December 2013
Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil (1)
Coordinator: Dr. Sergio Salinas Rodriguez

Objectives
 
  • Facilitating exchanges of experiences between alumni from different countries facing similar issues and problems in their professional capacities;
  • Enhancing and strengthening relationships among these alumni, and between them and UNESCO-IHE;
  • Adapting and improving the approaches and contents of courses held at UNESCO-IHE on the basis of the experiences and practices of professionals working in developing countries; and
  • Exploring opportunities for establishing and strengthening local and regional knowledge centres that are part of regional and global networks for capacity building in the water, environment and infrastructure sectors.

The refresher courses, which are typically one to two weeks long, consist of interactive lectures, role-plays, group discussions, field trips, excursions, social events, country presentations by participants, and a final ceremony where certificates of attendance are awarded.

Application Procedure
 
  • Select the refresher seminar you would like to enroll (available on 1 April 2013)
  • Once you have chosen your preferred course, access the online application form through the ‘click here to apply for this course’ link on that course’s web page.
  • Fill out the form and upload your CV and a copy of your passport.
  • By selecting 'scholarship' in the question 'how do you intend to pay for the course', you will automatically apply for a NFP fellowship, UNESCO-IHE will handle this.
  • Submit your information. UNESCO-IHE will now receive your information digitally and you will receive an automated e-mail message confirming your application and listing all your submitted information.
  • After the application deadline, UNESCO-IHE makes a selection of all applicants and sends a proposal to NUFFIC. After NUFFIC's approval, UNESCO-IHE will inform the selected candidates by email. One month before the start of the course, all applicants will be informed about the outcome of the selection.

Please take note that you can only register for one course.

Netherlands Fellowship Programmes (NFP) for Refresher Courses
 

The Netherlands Government has made full fellowships for a maximum of 20 participants available for each refresher course.

These fellowships include:

  • air travel (economy class) from the nearest international airport in the candidate’s home country to the refresher seminar country and vice versa. Please note that travel costs made to reach the airport in your home country will not be reimbursed,
  • transfer from the airport to hotel and vice versa. No other travel costs are refunded,
  • health insurance,
  • accommodation, including meals, for the duration of the seminar, up to a maximum of 15 days in total, depending on the date of arrival in and departure from the hosting country,
  • direct visa costs (no related costs, such as travel costs to the Embassy or hotel stay are refunded). The visa costs can only be reimbursed when the original receipts are handed in.
Fellowship Eligibility
 

You can apply for a fellowship if you fit the following criteria. You:

  • are a national of, and work and live in one of the 62 current NFP countries (open to all continents!) for the refresher courses held in Africa and
  • are a national of, and work and live in of the 12 NFP countries located in Latin America and Caribbean region for the refresher course held in Brazil, and
  • received your Postgraduate Diploma course, Master of Engineering, Master of Science or PhD degree at UNESCO-IHE, and
  • graduated before or in 2010, and
  • studied on an NFP fellowship, and
  • have not attended any UNESCO-IHE refresher seminar or UNESCO-IHE short course on an NFP fellowship since 31 December 2010, and
  • your application is endorsed by your employer. You do not need to send proof of this.

By selecting 'scholarship' in the question 'how do you intend to pay for the course' in the application form, you will automatically apply for a NFP fellowship so no further action from your side is required.

Self paying participants
 

The courses are open to a limited number of self-paying participants who have the required background and work experience, and who are not necessarily alumni. The tuition fee for one course is Euro 210, to be paid in advance. This tuition fee covers registration, tuition, and fieldtrips (when applicable), all other costs such as meals, hotel and travel costs are borne by the participant.

More details can be provided upon request by contacting refresher@unesco-ihe.org.