MSc in Water Science and Engineering
Hydroinformatics - Modelling and Information Systems for Water Management
You will develop a good understanding of the fundamentals of hydraulic, hydrologic and environmental processes, advanced modelling and control techniques, decision support and information and communication technology.
You will be able to integrate hydroinformatics systems using the latest technologies and tools, and provide expert advice to managers in such areas as river basin and flood management, various aspects of urban water and aquatic environment that are especially important in the context of disaster management and climate change.
Starts: Annually in October
Duration: 18 Months
Location: UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands
In general, Hydroinformatics concerns the integrated use of information and communication technologies, computer sciences, modelling and decision support systems in solving problems related to hydraulic, hydrological and environmental problems of urban, inland and coastal waters.
It provides the computer-based, decision-support systems that are revolutionising traditional planning, design and decision-making methodologies in river basin and flood management, urban water and environment.
More specifically, Hydroinformatics deals with the dynamics of information flow through the “data - models - knowledge - decisions - impacts” chain:
- from data acquisition and analysis using advanced ICT and remote sensing tools;
- through advanced meteorological and hydro-modelling, using distributed computing and system integration technologies;
- through optimisation of water management and control;
- all of which support managerial decisions and control actions, where hydroinformatics tools enhance social and stakeholder collaboration through participatory processes;
- and promote the uptake and dissemination of knowledge and the user’s and stakeholders’ feedback through appropriate use of communication systems like mobile telephony and Internet.
Joint Programmes
In cooperation with partner institutions UNESCO-IHE offers the following Joint Programmes in Hydroinformatics:
Hydroinformatics is based on a holistic view of water infrastructure and management issues taking into consideration and integrating the aspects above, and creates the appropriate technological and institutional environments that contribute to social justice.
Course content
The course in Hydroinformatics includes a broad coverage of fundamental water-related topics and a deep presentation of the specific areas like information management, GIS, software engineering and integration, internet-based computing, numerical methods for 1D and 2D modelling, advanced water modelling tools and systems, climate change issues, integration of weather and water models, computational intelligence, neural networks and fuzzy systems, real-time control, multi-objective optimisation and decision support systems, and social and business dimensions of water projects.
Erasmus Mundus
Hydroinformatics - Flood Risk Management. This Erasmus Mundus Joint Master programme in Flood Risk Management is offered by UNESCO-IHE , Technical University of Dresden, University of Ljubljana and BarcelonaTech, Barcelona.
The modelling systems and tools used in the taught and research phases of the course include: MIKE-11, 21, SHE, Sobek 1D and 2D, Delft 3D, MODFLOW, BreZo, HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, SWAT, EPANET, MOUSE, HBV, SWMM, WEST, Aquarius, Neural Network Machine, AFUZZY, LINGO, Globe and NSGAX Optimizers, mDSS5, ArcGIS, Access, Google Earth, and others.
The software engineering tools and languages include: MATLAB, Delphi, Visual Studio, Java, and others.
Prospective Students
The target group are professionals from universities, consulting firms, research institutes, water boards and government agencies dealing with river basin and flood risk management, droughts, urban water modelling and management (sewerage, drainage and water supply), water quality, hydropower and water resources, environmental planning, numerical modeling, information management, systems integration and other related fields.
Learning Objectives
By the end of the course graduates will:
- have a good understanding of hydraulic, hydrological and environmental processes related to urban, inland and coastal waters, advanced modelling techniques, software engineering, system integration, and information and communication technology for water management;
- be able to select and use simulation models to solve problems related to river basin and flood risk management, droughts, urban water, water resources and environment;
- be able to use the current software tools, and know their advantages and limitations;
- know how to design, develop and integrate decision-support systems and tools;
- be able to provide advice to managers and users of advanced tools;
- understand and practice collaborative work, making use of Internet-based platforms in social contexts.
Application procedure
Please click here for the application procedure for the UNESCO-IHE MSc programmes.
Programme Structure & Contents
This specialisation consists of 14 modules covering a total of 12 months, this is followed by a 6-month research and thesis phase. Graduates of the programme will be awarded 106 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credits.
