Education and Training

Photo: Courtesy of the Geneva Water Hub (via Flickr)

Our educational programs address water management’s political and institutional dimensions by focusing on policy frameworks, on the analysis of use rivalries and on the study of conflict and cooperation dynamics at multiple levels and scales.

We offer the following educational formats to students, practitioners and the public worldwide to promote science-based decision-making and build water ‘literacy’.

Graduate Programmes
The University of Geneva’s Institute of Environmental Sciences (ISE) offers a master’s degree in Environmental Science – MUSE by its acronym in French – in partnership with the faculties of Science, Social Sciences, Economics, and Management. This interdisciplinary programme targets students with a relevant bachelor’s degree who wish to deepen their knowledge of the natural environment and its interaction with humans and society and are interested in pursuing a professional career in this field.

The MUSE programme currently offers five specialisations:

• Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Society
• Climate Impacts
• Sustainable Development and Urbanisation
• Energy
• Water Sciences, in which the UNESCO Chair teaches the course on Water Governance and Policy

Massive Open Online Courses
In collaboration with the Geneva Water Hub, the Chair has launched a series of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) open to the public and designed to offer deep dives into critical issues of interest to the field of water governance:

• Water Resources Management and Policy
• Ecosystem Services: A Method for Sustainable Development
• International Water Law
• Water Cooperation and Diplomacy

 E-Learning Courses
The Chair has also developed interactive e-learning courses suitable for water practitioners and university students. For instance, the Chair has launched an e-learning course on Water Diplomacy and Integration of Water Norms in Peacebuilding financed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The course targets water practitioners, professional negotiators, and university students. It seeks to enhance cooperation over transboundary water management, contributing to peacebuilding and conflict resolution in the OSCE area and beyond.

Summer Schools in Water Governance
The Chair and the Geneva Water Hub organise an annual Summer School in Water Governance hosted at the University of Geneva. Over the course of its past six editions, the Summer School has brought together professionals acting at strategic levels of water management and provided them with a 15-day certifying course focused on water frameworks and negotiations (Certificate of Advanced Studies, 12 ECTS Credits). To date, over 70 professionals from the water, peace, and security fields have benefited from our summer programme.

Photo: Courtesy of the Geneva Water Hub (via Flickr)

Trainings

In addition to our standing educational programs, the Chair has also developed a series of tailored workshops and trainings for parliamentarians, diplomats, senior officers from governmental entities, and the public at large.