Master's program Hydro Science and Engineering celebrates its 20th birthday!

Over 100 HSE alumni from all over the world visit Dresden

It was the meeting of a large family on November 15 and 16, 2024 in Dresden: All those active in setting up, supporting and further developing the Master's degree program in Hydro Science and Engineering (HSE for short) and, finally, those who are currently taking advantage of the program as students, met alongside countless alumni from all over the world to celebrate. Happy birthday for 20 years!

The degree program focuses on current topics in water research and water management, such as those formulated within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The focus is on the consequences of increasingly scarce water resources and the dramatic effects of climate change with the associated extreme events.

Vice-Rector Academic Affairs at TUD, Prof. Michael Kobel, was very happy to accept the invitation and explained that this attractive and high-quality degree program combines regional, national and global requirements: "With high-level disciplinary and interdisciplinary competence such that TUD Alumni are open-minded, independent and critical thinkers, have a handle on the complexities of the problems of the 21^st century."

Prof. Jürgen Stamm, spokesperson for the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at TUD, emphasized the importance of the degree program for the internationalization of TU Dresden and the international visibility of the department. The Dean of the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Prof. Peter Krebs, in the presence of Prof. Edeltraud Günther, Director of UNU-Flores and Dr. habil. Uwe Müller from the LfULG, thanked all participants and naturally hopes for repeat meetings. He himself had taken over the scientific coordination of the degree program from Prof. Christian Bernhofer and has now handed it over to younger colleagues, Prof. Andreas Hartmann and Prof. Bernhard Vowinckel.

Of the more than 800 international students who have successfully completed HSE to date, more than 400 have received a scholarship, a large proportion as part of the DAAD's EPOS program (development-related postgraduate courses).

"The Hydro Science and Engineering degree program brings together specialists and managers from developing and emerging countries to learn, research and work together on solutions to our global crises," said Dr. Renate Dieterich, Head of the DAAD's Development Cooperation Programmes Department, formulating the importance of the degree program precisely. She also noted that thanks to well-developed alumni networks, the contacts made are continuously strengthened and expanded even after graduation. They would contribute to the further use of global expertise.

A special highlight was the lecture by one of the founding fathers, Prof. Christian Bernhofer, who captivated everyone's attention with an exciting historical outline of world history combined with the genesis of what is probably TUD's second English-language international degree program. The very emotional speech was rewarded with spontaneous standing ovations from the entire audience.

The evening ended with a stimulating panel discussion between Nilay Dogulu (WMO), Armin Bigham Ghazani (UN), Felix Barquero (Toray Membrane Europe AG) and Sandra Camile Almeida Mota (EMBRAPA), alumni of various HSE years.

The release of the new HSE promo video was celebrated with particular enthusiasm (please click here).

The celebration was accompanied by a variety of live music from HSE students (Énio from Mozambique, Pranav from Nepal, Zahidul from Bangladesh and Joshua from India). In a parallel poster session, current HSE students were able to present their Master's theses and HSE alumni their current employers and network. Emily Kemp received the award for the best poster.

Special thanks for these two special holidays go to the two main organizers, Dr. Judith Pöschmann and Karen Rojas, whose commitment and excellent planning contributed significantly to the smooth running and great success of the event.

Due to the overwhelmingly positive feedback on this meeting, the coordinators are planning to strengthen the networking opportunities between students and alumni as well as between the different alumni years in the future. Alumni networks should be more involved in the degree program.

Further information:

The new HSE promo video: https://youtu.be/VSv0PHr4X-Y

Website of the degree program with more information on content and enrollment: https: //tu-dresden.de/bu/umwelt/hydro/studium/studienangebot/master_hse/hse.

Former HSE student Dr. Damiano Cacace is an alumnus in November 2024 and remembers: https: //tu-dresden.de/studium/nach-dem-studium/alumniportraets/Wenn-man-nach-Dresden-zieht-weint-man-zwei-Mal.

Full scholarships for the Erasmus Mundus degree programs M.Sc. Flood Risk and M.Sc, GroundwatCH linked to HSE can currently be applied for: https: //www.groundwatermaster.eu/ and https://www.floodriskmaster.org/.

Contact:

Advice: Dr. Sabine Hahn-Bernhofer/ Dr. Judith Pöschmann
Academic program coordinator / Substitute: Prof. Andreas Hartmann / Prof. Bernhard Vowinckel
E-Mail: