Water Management

In the first year, you lay a solid foundation in water management. This starts with understanding water itself. Biology and ecology give you an understanding of the plants and animals that live in and around water, and how they affect each other and their environment. You will also learn how factors such as soil structure, flow, waste products and water temperature affect the ecosystem. You will also look at water from a social and economic perspective. This allows you to understand where water-related problems come from and how you, as a water manager, can contribute to solutions.

Water management is a hands-on programme. As early as your first year, you will therefore go outside a lot. You will work on real projects for organisations in Zeeland and learn to observe, analyse and sketch. You will not only look at the water itself, but also at the users and the environment. You will learn how to cooperate and communicate with your fellow students and professionals in the field.

In your second year, you will work with fellow students, HZ research groups and Dutch and foreign organisations on increasingly challenging problems. Three areas of expertise always come together in each project, in which you choose which role to play.

• Are you the aquatic ecologist with knowledge of water quality and ecosystems?
• The creative designer who designs areas from the drawing board?
• The delta manager who sets out a strategy, runs projects and takes all stakeholders into account?

For each project, you choose the role you want to play in the team and what you want to learn more about. You take in-depth courses with experienced HZ researchers.

In year 3, you complete a six-month minor. With a minor you can further specialise in your field of study or choose to broaden your knowledge in another study programme. You can do an in-depth minor at the HZ research groups in the field of water, but you can also study for half a year at another university of applied sciences at home or abroad.

During your second semester, you will do an internship at home or abroad with an organisation in your field. You may choose where you want to do this. Your Study Career Coach will help you find a suitable place.

In the first half of year 4, you will immerse yourself in a theme of an HZ research group (Aquaculture, Water Technology, Building with Nature or Resilient Deltas). You will also participate in the Coastal Challenge. Here, you will work together with Civil Engineering and Architecture students on a wicked problem that cannot be solved without each other's expertise.

Your final semester is dominated by your graduation internship. During your internship, you are not completely away from HZ. In between, there are online classes and sessions with the other students. This way, you exchange knowledge and experiences and encourage each other on your way to your bachelor’s degrees.