Delta Management

During the first six months, you follow lectures with all Water Management students at the same time. You learn about water challenges such as climate change and sustainable development. You will also become acquainted with all three study tracks, so that after the first semester you can choose what suits you best. If you choose Delta Management in the second semester, you will develop your vision and project management skills. You will learn more about water safety and how to involve stakeholders in your project.

Semester 1
You get to work on a design for a European area which is prone to flooding. You will be commissioned by a European municipality to prepare a vision for their area, in order to make it more resistant to the effects of climate change. You thereby look at the social, economic, political, legal and cultural aspects. You learn how to digitally map out an area and how to graphically design your project.

Semester 2
This semester focuses on one of the largest nature reserves in America. You will be studying the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana. An area known for natural disasters such as hurricanes. Due to climate change, the water in the river is rising. This results in more and more parts of the area disappearing into the river. You will work on a strategic plan for a part of the Mississippi Delta, for which you choose a city or a nature reserve. Your design should improve the safety of the area, without losing sight of nature. You take into account local and national politics, but also the cultural and social environment.

You follow a six month minor during the third year. A minor will deepen or broaden your knowledge and skills. You can complete the minor with the research groups from water courses at the HZ, at another HZ course or you can opt for another university either in the Netherlands or abroad. You do a work experience placement either at home or abroad during the second half of the year at an organisation in your specific field. You can choose where you want to do this work experience. You could, for example, opt for a work experience placement in Vietnam, where you could look at how different districts within a large town could deal with climate changes, for example the removal of water after heavy rainfall. Or you could decide to work for a harbour company, in order to work on making the harbour area future resistant.

Asia is central during your final year: Vietnam and the Mekong Delta. Climate change has resulted in the Mekong Delta now being one of the most threatened delta areas in the world. If the sea level rises by 1 meter, 38% of this area will be under water. This has consequences for food production. You and your project team will be working on a spatial design for part of this delta. The design contributes to ensuring there is sufficient fresh water, food, coastal protection and sufficient space for tourism and recreation. This allows you to give the local economy an effective boost.

As a manager of a Belgian coastal area, you also start tackling the prevention of flooding in year 4, using natural solutions like green dikes, flood resistant constructions and generating energy from water. You do this together with students from other water specialisations. And finally, you conclude your studies in this academic year with a research project. You could, for example, look at how large European harbours can respond to the consequences of climate change, or you could issue advice regarding the way in which an executor can prevent the formation of blue-green algae.