Soil and water resources management and environmental technologies professional seminars + excursion

Teacher(s)

Bielders Charles; Vanclooster Marnik (coordinator);

Language

French

Main themes

Seminar
1 ECTS: Seminars given by professionals from the soil and water sector. Both experts from the public and private sector present seminars.
1 ECTS: Seminars given by students on a subject related to soil and water management, encompassing the environmental, economic , social and legal aspects of soil and/or water management. Suggested topics : European legislation on integrated water management. Integrated water management in Europe and in developing countries. Soil remerdiation. Framework directives on water and soil protection . Managing multi-purpose dams. Water and public health in the tropics. Etc ...

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	a. Contribution de l'activité au référentiel AA (AA du programme)     M1.4 ; M2.2 ; M2.4 ; M2.5 ; M5.1 ; M5.3 ; M6.1 ; M6.2 ; M6.3 ; M6.4 ; M6.5 ; M6.6 ; M6.7 ; M6.8 ; M8.3 ; M8.6 b. Formulation spécifique pour cette activité des AA du programme     After the seminars (2 ECTS) , the student :     -       will have been confronted with the complexity of  soil and water resources management and engineering,  through seminars given by professionals of the sector;     -       will have raised awareness of the environmental, legal, economic and sociological aspects of soil and water resources management programs, both in temperate and tropical regions     -       will have raised awareness of the functioning of enterprises and organizations working in the soil and water sector ;     -       is able to perform a SWOT analysis in relation to a project;     -       will have increased his skills in communicating project results;  and       -       will have strengthened his capability for doing teamwork.

Content

The overall objective of the course is

• to expose students to current issues in the field of water and soil resources and environmental technologies via experts in the field and student seminars;
• to provide an overview of the professions related to these fields so that students can better project themselves in their future careers.

The objective of the course will be achieved on the one hand by seminars given by experts in the field (researchers, actors in the public or private sector),  by seminars prepared by the students themselves and by some field trips in Belgium or aborad.
During the first 8 weeks, external professionals present seminars during 2 hours. Then, students present topical seminars. Topical seminars are presented in groups of 2 to 4 persons.

Teaching methods

Presentations by professionals: A specific soil and/or water engineering or management problem is presented by the professional expert.
Presentations by students in student group: A specific soil and/or water engineering or management problem is presented, based on a literature review.
Due to lecture room capacity limitations related to the COVID crisis, some part of the course can be organised at distance.

Evaluation methods

Professional seminar. SWOT sheet: For each expert seminar, the student makes a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)of a solution presented by the expert.
Student Seminar. Multi-criteria evaluation. Scientific, technical and formal quality of the  presentation, quality of responses.  Evaluation by teachers and fellow students

Other information

This course can be given in English.

Online resources

• A course vademecum, describing the details of the programme, is available on Moodle.
• For the seminar, a copy of the slides is available on Moodle.

Faculty or entity

AGRO