MSc in Tropical Hydrogeology and Environmental Engineering – TropHEE

In debates on the future needs of society, “sustainability” has become a major issue. Introduced in forestry as early as the 18th century, the term sustainability has been defined for our time in the UN report “Our Common Future” (1987; also known as the Brundtland Report).

In accordance with this report, the term implies that a sustainable development must meet the needs of the present generation without barring future generations from meeting their own needs; in other words a fair sharing of the resources by the present generation and generations to come must be attained.

Water is an essential resource for mankind and nature. One of the specific targets of Goal 7 “Ensuring Environmental Sustainability” of the UN's Millennium Development Goals is to “halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation”. Water supply and water management tasks will be even aggravated in the future by climate-change-induced processes.

Many of the most urgent problems in the field of water and energy supply and environmental protection are related to geoscientific issues and require a sound knowledge of the foundation of our material existence: the underground and its special features and processes. Geoscientists investigate the potentials of the subsurface in order to e.g. find fossil fuels, metals and raw materials, exploit groundwater and describe the capacities of different soils and their vulnerabilities, assess land use and planning decisions, etc. Thus geoscientists have the necessary knowledge to balance the challenge of economic growth against ecological needs and social goals.

TropHEE in Darmstadt

The Darmstadt Master of Science Course “Tropical Hydrogeology and Environmental Engineering” (TropHEE) aims at combining a comprehensive understanding of geoscientific fundamentals with a specific focus on issues of application that are essential in hydrogeology and environmental management. In particular, TropHEE concentrates on methods and modern techniques enabling the participants to find ways for a sustainable development of tropical and subtropical countries from a geoscientific point of view. Although in the broader framework of international development cooperation, TropHEE offers a comprehensive, research-oriented education in Hydrogeology and Environmental Geosciences and Engineering on Master level.

TropHEE started in 2006 under the name “Tropical Hydrogeology, Engineering Geology and Environmental Management”, after finishing the accreditation process in 2005. With its re-accreditation in 2012, the profile of the course profile is stronger than before focused on water and environmental technology issues, while strictly engineering-geology-focused issues have been omitted from the syllabus.

The students of TropHEE obtain a broad assortment of fundamental knowledge and an excellent theoretical and applied knowledge in the fields of hydrogeology, water management and land use planning with emphasis on geoscientific recommendations. Their scientific competence will be complemented by their competence of methods as well as their understanding of systems.

English has been chosen as the course language to allow participants from all over the world to attend the classes without wasting time for language familiarisation.

The international master's program Tropical Hydrogeology and Environmental Engineering (TropHEE) aims at training students with a background in geosciences or civil engineering to approach and help solving specific water issues of subtropical and tropical regions. Special focus is put on arid regions with strong water scarcity, but emphasis is also placed on water and soil quality problems within growing mega-cities with dense population and industrial areas. Engineering is taught from a geoscientific perspective, e.g. awareness of local geology and regional water fluxes, biogeochemical cycles, or long-term hydrology of fossil groundwater resources etc.

Hydrogeology deals with the presence, flow, and chemical properties of groundwater, including interactions with surface water, soils, and rocks. Beside lectures pointing out the practical relevance of e.g. exploration, exploitation, treatment, management and protection of groundwater, modern techniques in groundwater management are included, such as modelling of groundwater flow, contaminant transport, and geochemical reactions, as well as isotopes and tracer hydrology.

Environmental Management and Engineering addresses geoscientific aspects in land planning and engineering. TropHEE places emphasis on the management of urban areas. The integration of large data sets of highly different nature becomes necessary, and hence the use of Geo Information Systems (GIS) and geostatistical methods are introduced. The use of GIS supports complex analysis and decision-making in order to define scenarios for sustainable development. Other topics covered in lectures and practical exercises include remote sensing techniques, construction of safe waste deposits, and techniques for remediation of contaminated groundwater and soil decontamination.

The course comprises compulsory modules and elective modules:

Compulsory Modules (CM1 – CM3): Compulsory modules include a field trip to a semiarid region (CM1) to study geosciences and water management issues in regions with scarce water resources, a project seminar (CM2) to foster interdisciplinarity and teamwork skills, and the Scientific Training (CM3).

Basic Modules (BM1 – BM5, elective): The lectures of the Basic Modules cover essential geoscientific knowledge and methods for a water- and environment-related education in Applied Geosciences. They are held in preparation of the contents in the Special Modules. The students decide on their choice of Basic Modules in an orientation meeting with the student advisor, under consideration of their previous knowledge in geosciences.

Special Modules (SM1 – SM12, elective): Objective of the Special Modules is to deepen the scientific and methodological knowledge of the students, with focus on the specific conditions of the target region of this course. This should enable the students to develop and apply problem solving strategies and methods. Special focus is given to problem-oriented application and further development of the knowledge obtained in the course.