PROGRAM INTRODUCTION
Southeast Asia has abundant water resources at the national scale. However, rapid developments and climate change are putting pressure on water resources and water-related risks. As such, there is an urgent need for capacity building and knowledge sharing on the topic of water and the environment.
Supported by Nuffic and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vrije Universiteit and The Water Agency have launched a program called WE are Water Education (Myanmar). The foundation of the program is to deliver interdisciplinary, practice-oriented water and environment education through a dedicated online platform: Climate Lab Asia. The program will offer a wide range of online theoretical and practical water-related courses on various topics for (young) water professionals, university students and people who are interested in water and environment sectors.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVE
- To enhance the potential for knowledge transfer among local water professionals
- To closely link theory to (local) practice, ensuring that knowledge gained through the courses has a practical real-life purpose in people’s own environment
- To provide a gateway for further self-development through online resources for further learning
- To support the participants to pursue further (international) education and gain better qualifications through certification
- To encourage online interaction among participants, supporting the development of (new) networks of local water professionals as well as connections with international professionals
PROGRAM DESIGN
There will be around 25 courses within the program, developed by international and local water experts from Myanmar. The courses are broadly bundled in a couple of themes including:
- Theme I: Water and Society;
- Theme II: Water and Climate Systems;
- Theme III: Water and Environment;
- Theme IV: Water Planning and Engineering and;
- Theme V: Water Data and Analysis
Each course has an estimated duration of 2-3 hours and contains 3-6 lessons, each of which typically consists of a 15-minutes-long recorded video lesson. Each lesson is followed by a form of (formative) assignment, accompanied by quizzes, and/or open essays. Each assignment must be passed by the participants with a grading of at least 60% which will be counted for the students to continue to the next lesson of the course and it is also a good way to keep the students engaged alongside the course lessons. All courses can be followed by participants independently (self-paced).
