BIP - Decentralized water and waste management systems: appropriate technologies and solutions for resilience and sustainability

Objectives and Description:

The course aims to explore appropriate technologies for water and waste management in rural and isolated areas in developing countries, providing participants with theoretical-practical knowledge for the decentralized management of these services. Decentralization appears as a logical solution to address the sustainability issues of water and waste management systems, as it focuses on on-site treatment and local recycling and reuse of resources.
Furthermore, extreme weather and climate events pose significant risks to rural water systems. At this point, the vulnerability of the water sector to extreme weather and climate events in rural areas will be examined, and how systems support resilience will be explored.

The course offers knowledge on decentralized technologies in water and waste management in rural and isolated areas, and their resilience and sustainability, with special focus on low-income countries.

The course will offer participants:

1. a series of tools to operate in rural and isolated contexts.
2. ability to develop transversal skills that influence the decision and selection of the most appropriate technology;
3. tools to increase the resilience of communities and improve the sustainability of water and waste management systems in rural and isolated areas.

Methods and outcomes:

The BIP will consist of a total 48 working hours for students: 40 hours physical and 8 hours virtual activity.
The following methodologies will be used during the course: challenge-based learning, participatory learning, cooperative learning, problem-based learning flipped classroom, work group and case study presentation.

As a result, participants are expected to obtain:

• an overview of decentralized technologies for water and waste management in rural and isolated areas,
• theoretical-practical knowledge to choose the best decentralized technology for better resilience in these areas.

Field of Education:

Civil Engineering, Land and Environmental Engineering,  Sustainable city management, Architectural Engineering

Target audience / Participants profile:

The course is designed for undergraduate, master and Ph.D students and practitioners who have an interest in the 

study and management of appropriate technologies for water and waste management in isolated areas, with special focus on low-income countries. The target audience includes individuals from different fields:

• Practitioners in international development cooperation;
• Undergraduates, MSc and PhD students;
• Researchers, professors and other interested persons.

No of ECTS issued: 3 CFU

Language of instruction and requirements: English (minimum level B2)

Dates for physical activity: 24.06.2024 – 28.06.2024

Dates for virtual component: 01.07.2024 – 02-07.2024