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Specialisation streams

At the end of trimester 1, Master of Integrated Water Management participants select one of four available specialisation streams, depending on their learning interests and career aspirations. The streams are:

  • WASH and development
  • urban water
  • water, land and people
  • water finance.

WASH and development

This specialisation stream aims at developing skills for effective community engagement and sustainable development, as well as the technological knowledge needed to alleviate poverty and improve access to water and sanitation services in developing countries. Participants learn to work with communities to establish effective and sustainable water and sanitation services and to improve lives and livelihoods. They gain the skills to develop and implement behaviour change strategies for improved hygiene, and to develop sustainable livelihood strategies for overcoming poverty. They learn about the strengths and weaknesses of alternative governance models for development. They also come to understand the financing mechanisms and institutional capacity required to ensure lasting impact.

Participants within this stream take two specialist courses:

  • Community, livelihoods, development and water (summer trimester in Thailand)
  • Water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)

Graduates of this stream are well-equipped with the skills to join the many NGOs, governments, aid agencies and consultancies working to improve access to safe water and sanitation globally, and to alleviate poverty through empowerment and capacity building.

Urban water

This specialisation stream develops design, planning and engagement skills and prepares students to play a significant role in delivering 21st century urban sustainability.

Participants learn a range of conceptual frameworks and methods to better integrate water into urban planning and design, to improve aquatic ecosystem function in and around cities, to promote the use of a range of alternative water supplies, to manage water-related energy use, and to enhance the liveability of urban places. They gain skills in water sensitive urban design and resource efficient urban development to make our cities more resilient to climate change.

Participants within this stream take two specialist courses:•

  • Urban futures: delivering water sensitive cities
  • Urban metabolism: resource and energy recovery systems

Both courses involve a range of classroom based learning and field trips around innovative and key infrastructure, urban development and building scale sites.Graduates of this stream are well-equipped with the skills to work in government agencies, water utilities, urban development, landscape architecture and consulting organisations.

Water, land and people

This specialisation stream develops the knowledge necessary to integrate assessment and planning of water resources with effective stakeholder engagement to enable change, promote sustainable water management and achieve water and food security at catchment scale and beyond.

Participants learn to characterise and assess the trade-offs involved in allocating increasingly scarce water resources across competing uses, including urban areas, agriculture, industry and the environment. They learn how to design, implement and evaluate strategic and collaborative planning skills to navigate the potential tensions between competing interests across agriculture, mining, industry, cities and the environment.

Participants within this stream take two specialist courses:

  • Water, agricultural landscapes and food security (trimester 3)
  • Community, Livelihoods, Development and Water (trimester 3)

Graduates of this stream are well-equipped with the skills to work in government, catchment planning agencies, not-for-profit organisations, agriculture, mining, water utilities and environmental regulators.

Water finance

The specialisation stream develops the knowledge needed to understand how to close the financial gap for water investments, in line with Sustainable Development Goal ambitions.

Participants learn about water accounting systems, methods, tools and techniques for water management and governance. They will develop an understanding on how to identify, analyse, structure and source a range of traditional forms of finance for the purpose of capital investment, and explore social capital markets and innovative finance mechanisms available in the industry to fund water infrastructure, services, programs and projects in the water sector.

Participants within this stream take two specialist courses:

  • Water accounting
  • Water finance and investment

Graduates of this stream are well-equipped with the skills to work in NGOs, donor banks, investment banks, government agencies, water utilities and consulting organisations.

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