Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) is all set to roll out its and country’s first integrated PG course in water management and sanitation from the next academic year.
Regarding the same, tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed by the university with UNESCO IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Netherlands, and Unity Knowledge.
IHE is in the lead role in designing the course syllabi and its faculty will also teach the modules during the course. The course will be run and managed by Department of Environment Science.
According to the officials from SPPU, apart from being available as a regular two-year post-graduation courses, short modules in the form of online courses are also available.
The first course to be launched online will be Faecal Sludge Management and the registrations for the course will start from the second week of Novemeber.
Dr Nitin Karmalkar, vice-chancellor of SPPU, said, “With urban flooding, caused by poor storm water management, erratic monsoon and improper water distribution, becoming major issues, this course is aimed at having better planners and policy makers, thereby strengthening manpower working in this area.”
Initially, the MSc degree in Integrated Urban Water Management will commence in 2018 with the intake of 30 students. Graduates from science, engineering and other streams can apply for the same. Some of the major topics covered by the course will be chemical compositions of both- surface and groundwater, rainfall and climate change, water quality and distribution system.
MTech course will be launched after getting the approval from the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE).
According to Dr Eddy Moors, it is the beginning of improving Water management in India.
Moors said, “Though we have worked with other Indian universities on various projects, this is the first time a course of this scale has been designed. We are also hopeful of setting up an institute dedicated to water management and sanitation.”
