Content
Sustainable land and groundwater management, along with urban land problems and engineering, are important global and current environmental issues. Sustainable Land Management refers to practices and technologies aimed at integrating the management of land, water, and other environmental resources to meet human needs while ensuring the long-term sustainability of ecosystem services and livelihoods. Worldwide, population pressures, severe degradation, pollution, and desertification are threatening these natural resources – relatively scarce in several countries – and creating competition between agricultural, industrial, urban planning, and nature conservation needs.
Main subject: Land and Groundwater Management
This major aims at training researchers, academics, government staff and expert consultants in the inventory and detailed characterization of land capacity, and of groundwater in particular. Graduates should be able to understand the development and evolution of groundwater under natural conditions or following human interference using field, map, laboratory and remote sensing data. They should have the scientific knowledge to use and manage land and water in a sustainable way, and to optimize land and groundwater use under different natural and environmental conditions.
Main subject: Urban Land Engineering
This major aims at training researchers, academics, government staff and expert consultants in the inventory and detailed characterization of land capacity, and of urban land in particular. Graduates should be able to understand urban hydrology and hydraulics, and the problem of sustainable mobility and logistics, using field, map, laboratory and remote sensing data. They should have the scientific knowledge to use and manage urban land and water in a sustainable way, and to optimize urban land use under different natural and environmental conditions.
Learning Outcomes
The Master of Science in Sustainable Land Management aims at delivering experts with a broad, advanced up-to-date knowledge in the field of physical land resources, and groundwater and urban land in particular, that are capable to integrate this knowledge with the acquired techniques, skills and attitudes, and to apply them in their professional life. Special consideration is given to analyzing problems in developing countries.
Structure
The Master of Science degree programme in Sustainable Land Management is a two year, full time course. The first year provides a fundamental basis in physical land resources, including supporting methodological courses. The second year offers specialised courses in one of both main subjects: either Land and Groundwater Management or Urban Land Engineering. The students have to prepare a master dissertation in the second year. Successful completion of the programme leads to the award of an Master of Science degree in Sustainable Land Management.
The course curriculum of the first year, and of the main subject in Land and Groundwater Management of the second year is primarily organised at Ghent University, whereas all courses of the main subject in Urban Land Engineering of the second year are lectured at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). There is one common course in the second year: “Integrated Project”, assuring coherence between both majors.
The academic year starts the last week of September. However, students are advised to arrive in Ghent in the first week of September to follow the preparatory summer course.
A wide variety of teaching methods are used in the programme. All course units, except for “Internship” and “Master Dissertation” include lectures. Lectures are fundamental to provide students with the necessary basic knowledge in order to acquire the requested competences .
Besides lectures the following teaching methods are very frequently used: practical classes, PC-room classes and coached exercises. Teaching methods like guided self-study, group work and micro-teaching are occasionally used.
Field work and excursions are evidently an important component of the programme.