The Arabian Gulf University (AGU) held the mid-programme exams for students of the 9th cohort (2023-2024) in the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) Diploma Programme, implemented by the United Nations Water Learning Centre (UN-WLC) for the Arab Region at the University’s College of Graduate Studies (CGS).
This year’s cohort includes 15 young Arab participants working in various water sectors from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, the Syrian Republic, the State of Palestine, the State of Libya, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Republic of Yemen.
Following the submission of the exams, participating students discussed the progress of the research projects they are working on for consultation with supervisors in preparation for their completion at the end of the programme next February.
On this occasion, Dr Waleed Zubari, Professor of Water Resources Management in CGS and Coordinator of the IWRM Diploma Programme, stated that the research projects included multiple diverse and important topics for the region, such as community acceptance for the reuse of treated wastewater, governance and management requirements for extending the life of non-renewable groundwater, mitigating the environmental impacts of desalination plants, designing water monitoring networks, efficiency and economics of atmospheric water harvesting methods, and measuring customer satisfaction for water services, in addition to poultry farm water management, the impact of climate change on water budgeting and agricultural activity, the risk of flash floods, comparing bottled water to networked water, and integrated planning and management of water basins.
It’s noteworthy that the UN-WLC for the Arab Region was established in 2007, as per a cooperation agreement signed between AGU and the Global Institute for Water, Environment and Health (GIWEH) in Canada. A total of 107 water specialists from various countries of the Arab world graduated from IWRM Diploma Programme up to now, while it enjoys the confidence of many parties interested in developing capacities in the water sector in the Arab region, including developmental and academic institutions from Egypt, Kuwait and the broader GCC region.
Furthermore, it is a multidisciplinary programme in the development, management and planning of water resources, and aims to build capacities of water workers in the field of integrated management of water resources and contribute to developing integrated administrative thought on how to address various aspects of water resources and related issues in the Arab region. Those enrolled in the programme propose graduation projects for practical applications that translate the principles of integrated water resources management and apply them to water problems in their countries.
The students’ research projects are supervised by a group of AGU professors and associates from outside the University who are specialists in the fields of water, environment, and social and economic sciences, while the training packages are implemented in a distance education manner.
