Modules
The lecture course Water Management and Hydrology I provides the basic knowledge for the process understanding of the global and regional water cycle. From hydrologic fundamentals to hydrometry and deterministic modeling techniques, both theoretical and applied knowledge is provided. Contents include:
- Structure and functioning of the water balance
- Basics of the precipitation, evaporation, runoff and storage subcompartments.
- Basics of quantitative and qualitative water management
- Basics of deriving design values in water management (hydrological statistics).
- Application examples from water management (designation of retention areas, flood damage potential analyses, erosion modeling, storage management, DP tasks in hydrology).
Building on the knowledge base from the course Water Management and Hydrology I, students will gain a deeper understanding of water management planning against the background of national and European-wide legal regulations. On the basis of practical application examples, the knowledge is implemented independently. Students are offered a self-assessment to continuously check their acquired knowledge. Individual topics of the course are:
- Basics of the EU Water Framework Directive
- Stream type systems and Leitbilder
- Water morphology
- Water structure quality
- Rule-based modeling concepts
- Basics of the European flood protection
The lecture in the subject of engineering hydrology builds on the fundamentals of water management and deepens the knowledge of the prospective water manager with regard to the understanding of the mapping and simulation of water management processes. Complex problems from the field of engineering hydrology are dealt with, which require the engineering development as well as the integration of scientific knowledge. In addition, the fundamentals of planning law are taught. Case studies are used to present concrete tasks from water management practice and to work out the solutions in the exercise part. The focus is on the development of independent engineering solution concepts.
The collection, processing and management of geodata as a combination of factual data and geographic information is a standard task in water management. Geographical Information Systems have developed as a basis for this. The lecture series teaches the basics of processing water management data with GIS systems. In addition to a general introduction to the subject, the basic functionalities are presented on the basis of water management tasks. Case studies are used to illustrate the possible applications and limitations of GIS.
Dozent: Richard Gramlich M.Sc.
The students learn how complex water management tasks are analyzed, processed and solved with the tools of geoinformation systems as well as database systems. The theoretical basics are reduced to a minimum and the focus is on the methodology and coupling of concrete water management issues with the implementation possibilities of GIS systems and relational databases. At the end of the module the students should be able to analyze and solve complex water management tasks with the help of geographic information systems and relational database systems and to transfer the acquired knowledge to other tasks. The acquired knowledge is to be continuously checked within the framework of self-assessment.
Dozent: Richard Gramlich M.Sc.
Water management planning tasks are usually connected with modeling tasks. The lecture series teaches the basics of modeling water management processes for the complete water balance. The different modeling possibilities are shown, the respective fields of application are presented and applied to concrete case studies in the exercise part. As a result, the participants of the course have the basics for independent modeling of tasks of water balancing. Individual contents of the course are:
- Basics of modeling water management systems
- Basics of process-oriented deterministic model concepts
- Distinguishing features of deterministic and stochastic models
- Precipitation formation, runoff formation, runoff concentration, and flood routing.
- Mapping fuzzy information with fuzzy logic in model concepts
The course teaches the basics of flood management in river basins and in urban catchments as well as the concrete requirements for flood management. The necessary knowledge is imparted for the definition of adapted flood management strategies for concrete tasks from water management. The students should be able to select case-related flood strategies and to develop implementation concepts. The following topics are included in the course:
- Flood management basics
- Basics and possibilities of technical-infrastructural flood protection
- Flood prevention concepts
- Risk maps and risk management
- Flood guidelines of the federal government as well as the EU
This course is an introduction to Sustainable Development and its relation to water and energy management. It focuses on sustainable development and global changes—vital issues for humanity. Topics include examples of unsustainable development and global challenges, rethinking established ways of production and consumption; solid waste management, types of green business, the interrelationship between local and global challenges, economic growth, population growth; finding new ways of greening economics, water challenges and opportunities, renewable energies and energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, and climate change. On completing this course, the student should be able to:
- Understand and analyse the interrelationship between global challenges
- Understand and evaluate barriers in local actions related to water, energy, climate change, solid waste management, energy, and agriculture.
- Demonstrate knowledge and ability to introduce change in the system that leads to sustainable development.
- Acquire management skills necessary to make change through the sustainability project.
For more than two years, RWTH Aachen University has been offering Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on various topics on the platform edX.org an. On May 14, 2018 a new course starts with the topic „Sustainable Development: The Water-Energy-Food Nexus“.
The course focuses on sustainable development and global change. Special attention is given to the challenges in developed and developing countries and their transition to sustainable practices.
Topics of this course are:
- Renewable energies
- Energy efficiency
- Sustainable agriculture
- Climate change
- A rethinking of established resource management methods
- The interrelationship between local and global challenges and economic and population growth.
- The role of technology in the WEF nexus and the governance of the nexus at the local, regional, and global levels.
The course provides participants with an understanding of the link between water, energy and food and enables them to manage resources sustainably and effectively. The focus is on building skills and knowledge critical to sustainability.
The MOOC is 5 weeks in length and will be available to everyone starting May 14, 2018, completely free of charge, regardless of time or location. Enrollment is open as of now hier möglich.
Dozent: apl. Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hani Sewilam
Other events
Institute internship / planning workshop
Application Workshop
During the event, the participants are confronted with a current topic in groups. The tasks come from the five focus areas of energy and environment in construction, recycling, environmental process engineering, urban water and water resources management.
Civil engineering introduction
A total of 15 presentations will be shown for 1st semester civil engineering students to provide an overview of the tasks that civil engineers deal with in practice and/or research.
Dozent: Richard Gramlich M.Sc.
Umweltingenieurwissenschaften
Students in the 2nd semester of environmental engineering learn to write reports and give presentations in a group work based on a current topic.
The course offering is integrated into the following degree programs
- B. Sc. Civil Engineering
- B. Sc. Waste Management Engineering
- B. Sc. Environmental Engineering
- B. Sc. Industrial Engineering and Management Specialization: Civil Engineering
- B. Sc. Georessourcenmanagement
- M. Sc. Civil Engineering
- M. Sc. Waste Management Engineering
- M. Sc. Environmental Engineering
- M.Sc. Applied Geography
- M.Sc. Economic Geography
- M.Sc. Nachhaltiges Management in Wasser und Energie
More in-depth information and materials on the individual courses can be found in the L2P learning rooms at RWTH Aachen University and in our learning management system Moodle. Access is reserved for the respective participating students.
The individual module descriptions are freely available, please visit the Campus-Angebot of the RWTH or the Homepage of the Faculty of Civil Engineering.
