Advances in Water Management and Climate Adaptation Change

Water plays a critical role in sustaining human and environmental needs, including water demands, food and energy security, health, and ecosystem services. Climate change is hampering our access to water resources and, along with population growth and urbanization, it is exacerbating the stress on existing water resources. Furthermore, the increasing frequency and intensity of hydroclimatic extremes is worsening the susceptibility of our communities to hazards associated to water, such as flooding. Adaptation strategies and action are needed to foster water security, resilience, and sustainable water resources management under uncertain future socio-technical transformation. As highlighted in the EU Adaptation Strategy, climate change will have impacts at all levels of society and across all sectors of the economy, so adaptation actions must also be systemic.

The lecture series "Advances in Water Management and Climate Adaptation" is a comprehensive course designed to explore the latest techniques, tools, technologies, strategies, and policies in managing water resources and adapting to the challenges posed by climate change. Tools and technologies will include, among others, advanced modelling techniques, digital technologies, remote sensing, geographic information systems. Water management and climate adaptation strategies and policies will unpack the intertwined relationship between environmental, technological, societal, and economic stakes, and include topics related to climate justice, multi-objective optimization, risk and conflict management, and multi-sector dynamics under uncertainty.

After an introductory session, different early-stage researchers from international universities, research institutions, technology centers, and policy institutes will present cutting edge research, projects, lessons learned, challenges and visions on water resources management and climate adaptation. Each lecture will be of (approximately) 1-hour duration, followed by a discussion among the attending students and the lecturer.

Assessment includes weekly quizzes on the lecture content and a short final report on one of the topics covered in the lecture series.

In this course, students will learn about cutting-edge research advances in water management and climate adaptation. They will gain a deep understanding of the impacts of climate change on the hydrological cycle, water availability, demand, quality, and natural hazards. They will learn about regional and global implications of climate change on water resources, including the increased frequency of hydroclimatic extremes (droughts and floods), along with the impact of climate change-induced natural hazards on our communities.

Through lectures given by early-stage researchers on recent case studies, research papers, and real-world examples, students will learn about tools, technologies, strategies, and policies in water resources planning and management to foster climate adaptation at various spatial and temporal scales.

This lecture series provides the students with an active forum to discuss topics related to water management and climate adaptation with international early-stage researchers in a multi-disciplinary and inclusive setting.

Students will learn how to read scientific literature. They will learn how to concisely analyze and present a research work/review.

Background in topics related to water resources management, hydrology, hydraulics, environmental systems analysis or related fields is recommended, but not required.

The two-level mutual trust-based quality assurance scheme has been adopted:

• at the university level: Technische Universität Berlin has applied its internal quality assurance procedures and structures to the proposal of Advances in Water Management and Climate Adaptation it submitted to ENHANCE and to its implementation - the related learning activities,
• at the Alliance level: the body composed of Education Officers has made decisions regarding the inclusion of Advances in Water Management and Climate Adaptation proposed by Technische Universität Berlin to the Innovative Learning Campus part of the joint ENHANCE educational offer, based on the compliance with the formal requirements and ENHANCE goals.

The lectures will take place on a weekly basis. Students will attend either in-presence at TU Berlin or online. Slides will be made available to the students. Additional material (e.g., research papers, links) will be made available after the live session. Further instructions about the final schedule, lecture rooms, and on how to get access to the lectures and exercise materials online for the course will be communicated to the registered students via the e-learning ISIS platform.

Assessment includes:

• weekly quizzes, to be completed individually by each student after each lecture day;
• a short final written report, to be prepared individually by each student at the end of the lecture series.

Register via email to: j.irlenkaeuser@tu-berlin.de

online or in-presence at TU Berlin