Billions of people rely for their everyday existence on aquifers. The invisibility of these waters, however, poses formidable challenges for those who rely on them: locating, measuring and controlling aquifers is complex and precarious, yet of utmost importance for human survival in many parts of the world. The overall aim of the proposed project is to explore the vital connections between humans and aquifers in everyday life. Building on trans-disciplinary studies that consider water as the contested nexus of social and political affairs, this project explores groundwater as both mediating and generating diverse ‘groundwater practices’: as an invisible resource, groundwater requires visualization; as an underground supply, it calls for innovative extractive techniques; as a finite good, groundwater needs to be regulated and controlled; and as a practical everyday resource, it sustains irrigation, sanitation, and human consumption. Through ethnographic fieldwork in Atacama Desert of Northern Chile, this project will develop an analytical framework to understand how social relations are affected by various groundwater practices. The proposed research will explore such practices with a focus on the effects that the visualization of aquifers has on socio-economic and eco-political inequalities. Through transdisciplinary training at the Universidad Católica del Norte, I will strengthen methodological skills to study the groundwater practices of indigenous communities, hydro-geologists and state administrators. I will transfer the acquired skills to the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, where I will strengthen understandings of the dynamics among groundwater practices, power, and culture, providing trans-disciplinary input for policymakers engaged in the design and realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. Findings will be disseminated among policymakers, academics, and broader audiences concerned with environmental sustainability.

The objective of the International Master in Environmental Technology and Engineering (Consolidation phase, after two previous IMETE phases) is to train 100 talented students from all over the world at three European Higher Education Institutes (HEIs), in an international and multidisciplinary environment, to contribute to environmental protection, (waste)water treatment, resource recovery and circular economy. Students will follow 4 semesters (120 EC), starting with foundation and introductory topics at the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague (Czech Republic). During this first semester IHE Delft from the Netherlands and Ghent University from Belgium will contribute two online courses. This mixture of physical and online education within each semester creates a very high degree of jointness. The students will experience to study at each of the three HEIs at the same time, and benefit from an optimal mixture of physical and online education. During the second semester, IHE Delft offers specialised courses on water treatment in two elective tracks: Ecotechnologies and Resource Recovery, and Desalination and Water Reuse. The students may choose a summer internship with a company in Europe, the Middle East or elsewhere, before moving to Gent University where both a broader perspective (economics, entrepreneurship) and further specialisation is offered (tracks Environmental Engineering and Resource Recovery Engineering). The fourth semester is thesis research at one of the HEIs or one of the Associated Partners. In the previous phases of IMETE an extensive network of companies from the sector was build that have shown eagerness to host our students. In addition to 100 new MSC graduates, the project is expected to contribute to development of innovative environmental technologies and these will be disseminated in a dedicated communication programme. Full financial sustainability is realistically expected after this consolidation phase.

The EMJM programme in Groundwater and Global Change – Impacts and Adaptation, acronym GroundwatCh, aims to provide postgraduate education in the assessment, management and protection of the largest liquid freshwater reservoir on earth in support of sustainable and equitable development. GroundwatCh aims to attract the brightest and most motivated graduates and professionals to Europe to acquire and subsequently spread the skills and competences in this core field of groundwater and its interactions with climate, ecosystems and human activities. It does so by integrating the complementary expertise of IST Lisbon, IHE Delft and TU Dresden, building on its implementation in previous phases, seeking to create a programme that is unique in its content, applied character and link to professional practice, with over 40 associated partners promoting internships, thesis research, steering and visibility of the programme worldwide. New joint elements include: i) six jointly coordinated and reorganised thematic fields around the core theme, promoting innovation and interdisciplinarity; ii) close collaboration in interdisciplinary fieldwork and preparatory training; and iii) possibility for ECTS-credited internships in any of the HEI countries. Other existing joint elements are consolidated, including the shared management and administration of the programme, teaching at each other’s university and joint organisation of MSc thesis research. In terms of impact, through four new intakes, GroundwatCh aims to: i) increase its financial sustainability and enhance the (currently 30%) top-up of EU funding; ii) enroll 100 new participants (currently 145 of 46 different nationalities, 48% female); iii) consolidate the employment rate of alumni, aka “certified GroundwatChers”, currently above 90% and iv) through its global network build proactive responsiveness towards the ecological value and need for preservation of groundwater and its critical role in adaptation to global change.

The Coastal Hazards – Risks, Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation (COASTHazar) is an EMJM Programme that aims at providing master’s students with state-of-the-art knowledge, skills and competences to meet challenges that coastal hazards and associated risks may pose, to assess and tackle the impacts of increasing human activities and climate change in coastal areas, and to design adaptation measures to minimize those impacts. The COASTHazar EMJM programme will increase the number of professionals with holistic and multi-disciplinary knowledge across the world, who can contribute to safeguard society against coastal hazards and global change at the coast line, and associated risks. The COASTHazar EMJM programme is intended to address the objectives of Key Action 2 (Erasmus Mundus actions), aiming at fostering excellence and worldwide internationalisation of higher education institutions via study programmes, jointly delivered and recognised by higher education institutions. The COASTHazar EMJM programme is an integrated and multi-disciplinary master’s programme, offered by three eminent higher education institutions: IHE Delft (coordinator), from the Netherlands, University of Algarve, from Portugal, and University of Cantabria, from Spain, together with a group of 34 Associated Partners, public and private (academic and non-academic). The proposed COASTHazar EMJM programme (120 ECTS, 2 years long) is based on the shared vision and complementary expertise of the three partner institutions. A vision that coastal areas and coastal settlements face increasing hazards and risks, due to climate change, population and economic growth and increased urbanization, that need specific and dedicated holistic and multi-disciplinary knowledge and competences to deal with proper adaptation and management measures. This vision is shared by the consortium associated, that have stated the current need of these professionals in the labour market.