International Perspectives

International Opportunities

Next Course Offering: India: Dec. 28, 2012–Jan. 18, 2013
Course Flyer
Registration by Sept. 20, 2012
Contact: Marian Muste, course instructor

Water resources are a global concern. To help students better understand how water problems affect our shrinking world, IIHR offers the course “International Perspectives in Water Resources Science and Management,” in collaboration with UI International Programs. Each course offering focuses on a different country or world region for an intensive and in-depth exploration of the historical, cultural, social, economic, ethical, environmental, and political conditions that impact water resources projects.

The course helps prepare students for careers that are increasingly global in scope. In past years, the course has taken students to The Netherlands and the United Kingdom, India (twice), Taiwan and Japan, China (twice), Eastern Europe (Hungary, Poland, and Romania), Turkey, Egypt, and Argentina. The most recent International Perspectives course offering took students to visit India in December 2011–January 2012.

International Perspective 2009 trip to Egypt

In addition, IIHR has several international agreements for exchange of students, including possibilities for co-supervision of thesis research. These include agreements with international educational and research institutions, such as Danish Hydraulic Institute, National Center for High-Performance Computing, and University of Stuttgart.

Academic Program and Credit

The course starts with preparatory lectures on the University of lowa campus. The trip abroad is conducted during a semester break (usually May or December), and the course finishes with post-visit reports completed by participants during the following semester. During the visit abroad, students attend seminars by local experts, with special emphasis on planning, socio-economic and environmental impacts, rehabilitation programs and problems, and legal, cultural, and institutional aspects of water resources projects. Students visit specific operational and planned water resources projects to gain first-hand appreciation of issues related to their field of interest.

International Perspectives, under bridge, 2010,

International Perspectives, 2010

Participants can earn 0–3 semester hours of credit, depending on the agreement with the instructor on the scope of the project and associated assignments. Starting in 2005, the course was included in a series of short courses of the International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research Engineering Graduate School Environment Water (IAHR-EGW).

Eligibility

The course is designed for seniors and graduate students who wish to become engineers, economists, planners, legal and management specialists, and environmental, social, and political scientists, but it is also open to young professionals working in these fields. The course provides preparation for the increasingly international scope of practices and services in the field of water resources planning and management. Students from universities around the world have been attending the course, but priority is given to UI and IIHR students.

Cost

Participants are expected to pay for their travel to and from the visited countries, the course fee, and a portion of their local expenses. Financial aid from home universities and IIHR may be applied toward program costs.