International scientific cooperation expands knowledge about the causes of and solutions to climate change and thus plays a central role in achieving the climate and environmental policy goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. The DAAD climate portfolio shows how the DAAD's funding programme strengthens international cooperation and is active for individuals and institutions across disciplines and national borders in three fields of action: promoting the acquisition of knowledge (1), boosting climate research (2) and putting climate knowledge to use (3).

This article is the first part of a three-part series of articles and is dedicated to the first field of action: the promotion of knowledge acquisition. One successful example is the cooperation between TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences and the University of Costa Rica. In the interdisciplinary master’s programme “Integrated Water Resources Management with focus on Latin America and the Caribbean” (IWRM – LAC), students from Germany and Latin America learn the basic principles of water management in tomorrow’s world. IWRM – LAC is funded via the DAAD’s programme Transnational Education (TNE) courses.

When hydrologist Dr Alexandra Nauditt gives her lecture at TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences at 5 pm, it is only 9 am in Costa Rica. A good dozen students at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) join the lecture in Cologne via Zoom. Dr Nauditt talks about issues of existential importance in view of the water crises brought about by climate change: water use, water availability, drought risks, and climate models.

The lecture is part of the international master’s programme “Integrated Water Resources Management with focus on Latin America and the Caribbean” (IWRM – LAC) at the University of Costa Rica. It is deliberately scheduled in the late afternoon so that students from different continents and time zones are able to take part. In Latin America and the Caribbean, too, the aim is to train experts who will be able to tackle the challenges involved in managing the precious resource that is water. “The idea is to train students in an international context with the broadest possible perspectives of water resource management,” says Nauditt. These experts are urgently needed all over the world.

Comprehensive climate portfolio

IWRM – LAC is financed as part of the DAAD’s Transnational Education (TNE) courses programme with funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). “It is about helping German universities to set up degree courses abroad that are adapted to local needs in cooperation with the international partners,” says Petra Bogenschneider, who in her role as DAAD Head of Section is responsible for degree courses run by German universities in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. “Exchange is important so that both sides benefit. The university abroad can trial new study modules, which has an impact on teaching back in Germany. In this way, our programme also fosters the internationalisation of German universities.”

The programme is part of a comprehensive funding portfolio with which the DAAD supports climate-related cooperation projects worldwide. Funding aspires to three goals that are defined in the “Climate Portfolio” along with concrete programmes, activities and impacts. For one thing, knowledge about climate change is to be expanded, with a particular focus on raising awareness around the issue among early-career academics. In addition, global climate research is to be strengthened and the transfer and use of learning in society and politics promoted. “It is vital to get young students and junior researchers excited about this field of research,” explains Dr Caroline Felske, Head of Section Strategic Development and Higher Education Policy, which is also home to the Sustainable Development team at the DAAD. “After all, they can then act as information disseminators and, as the decision-makers of tomorrow, will be able to design sustainable processes in politics, business and society.  

Thinking and acting in networks

IWRM – LAC is a good example of how to promote knowledge acquisition. “Water resources have always been planned, even 2,000 years ago,” says Nauditt, “and yet there are not many degree courses that attempt to take a holistic view.” Though the demand for experts with interdisciplinary training is growing worldwide in the water sector, training to date has been largely provided within the framework of traditional degree courses such as civil engineering, process engineering, chemistry or geography. The IWRM concept plugs this gap by offering a course of training that encourages students to think and act in networks. “IWRM is important for every country in the world, for every region, for every village,” Nauditt believes. “That’s why we are keen to see the concept implemented more widely around the world. Especially in the context of climate change, which will lead to more extreme weather events such as droughts and heavy rainfall, it is necessary to adapt water management practices to these changes.”

The ITT has been running regionally adapted master’s degree courses based on the IWRM approach since 2006. To this end, it has cooperation agreements in place with Mexico, Jordan, Egypt and Vietnam. Based on an existing cooperation between the two partner institutions, which began in 2015, the degree course has been run jointly with the University of Costa Rica within the IWRM-LAC framework since August 2020. “Around 15 students in Costa Rica take part each year,” says Justyna Sycz, who coordinates the programme at TH Köln. “And each year four to six students come over to our university.” A DAAD scholarship gives them the chance to study for a semester or longer in Cologne and gain valuable experience there.

Summer schools, courses, congresses

Much praise can be heard from the students. “It is a wonderful programme,” says Valentina Rodriguez Fallas from Costa Rica. She has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Health with a special focus on water management and was alerted to the master’s programme by a friend. “It was a great opportunity for me,” she says. “I have had a very enriching experience, in both professional and personal terms. I met people from all over the world during my semester in Germany – and was introduced to a different style of teaching that I like a lot. I recommend the course to anyone who wants to advance professionally and on a personal level.”

“Cologne is a place that is easy to grow very fond of,” is what Juan Miguel Víquez has to say about his time in Germany. “Every day it feels a bit more like home. The many networking opportunities and wide range of experiences available in a multicultural city also helped me a lot.” With the support of TH Köln and the ITT, Víquez also had access to other universities and was able to take part in summer schools, courses and congresses. “You don’t just learn a lot in academic terms – you also have many opportunities to engage in intensive exchange on the human level,” he says. “It is a particularly good environment for learning.”

Field trips to southern Spain and Portugal

Jorge Esteban Masis Aguilar is another student who has nothing but praise for the course at TH Köln. “They do amazing work,” he says. “I took part in a number of online and hybrid courses before coming to Cologne. During my time in Germany, the university helped me to attend two conferences organised by the European Space Agency (ESA) and further expand my professional network in the area of remote reconnaissance. By joining field trips in North Rhine-Westphalia, southern Spain and Portugal, I was also able to meet local actors in the water management and agricultural sectors, as well as other scientists.”

The programme is not only targeted at young researchers from Costa Rica, however, but covers all of Latin America and the Caribbean. Julieta López for example comes from Mexico. She has a bachelor’s degree in geosciences and became aware of the programme when she did a research internship at the Geographical Faculty of the University of Costa Rica. “I have always been interested in water resources because there are so many problems in this area, both in Mexico and worldwide,” she says. “During the first semester in Costa Rica we attended virtual lectures given by professors at TH Köln, but I believe that direct contact and face-to-face learning with them in Cologne offer great opportunities for professional development.” López also recommends the programme. “It has a wide-ranging curriculum that encompasses the skills and knowledge that we will need as graduates or future water resource managers in Latin America or any other part of the world.”

Verena Kern (18 January 2024)