Support for Postgraduate Education in Applied Hydrology and Water Management for the Anglophone African Region

To strengthen the Institute for Meteorological Training and Research (IMTR) and the University of Nairobi, Meteorological Department (UoN-MD), through staff development and retraining; to improve IMTR's facilities to review and update the existing postgraduate teaching and education-related research; to develop short, specialised courses in Applied Hydrology and Water Management for IMTR and UoN; and to build local postgraduate training and research capacity for hydrological and water sector professionals in the region.

The water sector in Africa ranks as one of the regions top priorities in its macro-economic recovery process, wherein water resources development and environmental awareness are critical components.

The shortage of qualified hydrologists and water managers is currently a serious bottleneck in the development of the water resources sector, in terms of hydrological data availability and the satisfactory functioning of hydrological services and water institutions.

Africa's development programmes aim to improving the accessibility of safe and sustainable water supplies to its populations, as well as elevating the level of water resources management.

To address these issues, IMTR in collaboration with UoN initiated a permanent professional training programme for professionals involved in water management.

This project covers several phases, from staff development at lecturing and research levels to the organisation of short, specialised courses addressing topics specific to the region.

Through this project, IHE, IMTR and UoN are building the local capacity required to carry out postgraduate training and research activities, ultimately contributing to the development of sound policies for Kenya's water sector.

The project covers several phases. To improve the teaching capacity and to expand education-related research, the first phase consists of staff development at the lecturing and research levels.

An improved curriculum of the postgraduate course in Water Resources and Information Systems will further increase the insight into actual problems faced by the region's water sector. Additionally, short duration courses for practising water sector professionals will address specialised topics of relevance to the Eastern African region.

Project activities include:

Course Development

• Review and update of the existing postgraduate programme in Water Resources Management;
• Implementation of the improved International Postgraduate Course in Applied Hydrology and Information Systems for Water Management;
• Organisation of 4 short courses targeted at professionals involved in Meteorology, Hydrology, Groundwater Modelling and Water Resources Management.

Staff Development

• 6 BSc holders to take part in the IHE MSc in Hydrology, Water Resources Management and Hydroinformatics;
• Training of management and lecturing staff in educational management, marketing and technology;
• Training of lab technicians

Training and Research Facilities Upgrading

• Purchase of laboratory equipment
• Upgrading of laboratory facilities
• Purchase of field equipment, meteo equipment and a field bus
• Upgrading of computer and information facilities

International Postgraduate Course in Applied Hydrology and Information Systems for Water Management: The course is designed to increase the understanding of hydrological processes and the impacts of human interference and targets professionals in government organisations, water resources projects and applied research institutions dealing with hydrology and water resources.

Programme participants are exposed to the practical applications of monitoring systems, remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS), surface water and groundwater models, hydrologic information systems and water resources assessment and management.

The programme offers a selection of topics: Water Resources Systems, Principles; Survey, Remote Sensing and Data Management; Modelling and Water Resources Management. Groupwork, fieldwork, project work, computer-oriented workshops and individual study are included in the course curriculum.