Master in Environment and Resources Management

Master in Environment and Resources Management

The Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC) encompass a huge diversity of landscapes and ecosystems and is highly heterogeneous in terms of economic development and social and indigenous history. The region faces serious challenges such as climate change and natural disasters; and under conditions of population growth, urbanization and industrialization efficient environmental policies and programs are required to sustainably manage the natural resources. This calls for experts they are familiar with the culture, language, and politics of both sides and are skilled in intercultural communication – in short, professionals with lateral understanding and trans-disciplinary approaches for a sustainable development.

The binational Master Program started in 2008 as a joint initiative from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development (BMZ) and the Mexican National Council on Science and Technology (CONACyT).

About the program

The two year Double-Degree Master Program (to be known as "Environment and Resources Management –ENREM" with a focus in Latin America) is building on the two accredited master programs of the cooperating universities in Mexico and in Germany:

• Maestría en Ciencias Ambientales at the Programa Multidisciplinario de Posgrado en Ciencias Ambientales - PMPCA from Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí ( UASLP-Mexico ) with a multidisciplinary context.
• Master in Natural Resources Management and Development at the Institute Technology and Resources Management - ITT from TH Köln University of Applied Science ( TH Köln-Germany ) with an interdisciplinary approach.

Objective of the program

The Double Degree Master Program (known as ENREM) qualifies young professionals from Latin America and Europe with the necessary skills, tools and methods to evolve and apply integrated solutions for environmental and natural resources management in an international context – especially German-Latin American cooperation – and at the same time provide their work experience and regional knowledge to the mutual learning and intercultural environment. These experts are able to analyze and solve complex environmental problems in their specific socio-cultural and political contexts, given the technical and economic potentials of both regions.

Target Group

The ENREM approach is for Mexican, German and Latin American participants, however, the program is opened for applicants of all nationalities, if the participants are highly motivated to work in an international cooperation with Latin American and fluently speak Spanish and English.

Mobility

The mobility concept of the program begins with the first year in Mexico, the third semester takes place in Germany and the last semester is exclusively for the development of the master thesis project either in Germany, Mexico or another Latin American Country depending in the thesis topic.

Degree

Successful graduates of the Double-Degree Master program will not receive an ENREM degree, but instead, two degrees issued by:

• UASLP: Maestría en Ciencias Ambientales.
• TH Köln: Master of Science Natural Resources Management and Development.

Future Career

The master program qualifies the student for a wide array of attractive positions, with career perspectives working with a high international mindset in the fields of planning, project implementation, and evaluation either for:

• Professional career: preparing students for an employment in an industry, the public institutions, and ODA (both public and third sector) working in the field of environment and resources management usually with an interdisciplinary and international market orientation, or
• Research: leading to a Ph.D. study and later employment at a university or Research Centre.

Content

The aim of the Double Degree Master Program is to qualify young experts in the field of environmental and natural resources management. In an interdisciplinary learning environment, students diversify their knowledge and build the capacity to think transdisciplinary and laterally, as well as team and leadership skills, among them intercultural abilities. These competencies shall equip the graduates with the ability to analyze, characterize and solve complex problems of environmental and natural resources management and well as foster sustainable development, all in line with MDGs, the post-2015 development agenda, and the emergent SGDs.

The core module provides the students with an overview of different challenges relevant to environmental and natural resources management as Problemática y Gestión Ambiental, Desarrollo Sustentable, and some disciplinary and methodological approaches like Ecología, Estadística, Economía Ecológica, and Project and Business Management.

The Project Modules (Seminario Multidisciplinario, ProjectIII- Implementation) are team-work and project-based and require the multi-cultural student groups to elaborate an interdisciplinary and practice-oriented case study. During these Project Modules, the students go through the processes of problem definition and analysis, development of concepts and solutions and finalized by designing a concept for implementation.

The master thesis is based on a present research or management problem and can be developed within an ongoing project at a company or institution in Mexico, Germany or another Latin American Country, with the aim to expose the students to practice and embed them into a broad international network by strengthening links with organizations involved in the relevant research fields.

The key competencies in order to provide solutions for sustainable use of renewable natural resources in particular of Latin America will be provided in mandatory and specialization elective modules . Obviously, methods and tools elective modules are focusing on scientific methodological skills.

Moreover and enhancing the learning experience, the ENREM program offers a wide range of extracurricular activities like seminars on intercultural communication, languages courses, etc.

Admission requirements

In order to apply for the master program the applicants should at least fulfill the following requirements:

• Bachelor degree related to environmental management: natural sciences, engineering sciences, geography, agricultural or social sciences.
• A relation to environmental management, either by studies or professional working experience.
• A minimum grade of 8.0 based on the Mexican grading system or equivalent.
• Proof of English language proficiency (TOEFL or IELTS).
• Proof of Spanish language proficiency (applies to applicants from nationalities that do not have Spanish as their mother language).
• Basic knowledge of German language is an advantage for Mexican and Latin American applicants.
• Highly motivated to learn in a multicultural environment.

Other specific requirements for DAAD-Scholarship

• Last Academic degree must not be more than 6 years old.
• Minimum 2 years relevant professional experience after the Bachelor degree.
• Proof of current work situation at the time of application.

If you fulfill the requirements above, please review the REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION for more detailed information.

New demographic, economic and climate pressures on the availability of safe and sustainable supplies of food, water, and energy require new strategies to manage our precious natural resources. In order to face this global challenge, the demand for experts who can analyze complex human-environmental system and develop suitable solutions is growing. Tropical and subtropical regions represent a special case as they often have additional challenges and exhibit highly unstable environment. The Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT) at the TH Köln (University of Applied Sciences) aims to enable people of various technical and cultural backgrounds to better solve the complex issues related to environmental problems with an interdisciplinary and intercultural approach at the graduate and postgraduate level. Studying at the ITT does not only mean achieving a master’s degree but going beyond one’s professional and personal borders. Through manifold training and modern methods of teaching and learning, we realize the concept of lifelong learning and put the student in the center of our education efforts. We believe that our alumni are an important part of the global network of scientists and professionals. We cooperate with key regional, national and international organizations within the fields of resources management, development co-operation and higher education in addition to providing teaching, research and capacity development worldwide.

The ITT Network

Future through cooperation ITT built up a broad and active partner network consisting of universities, research institutes, the public and the private sector since its formation in 1978. The network includes around 30 partner universities and numerous institutions of development and cooperation around the world, thus providing an ideal opportunity for exchanging knowledge and working on common research projects. In addition, the many small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) involved in ITT’s projects give us a strong edge in terms of applied research. The growing Alumni network currently consists of over 700 (since 1984) professionals who finished their career at ITT and are now successful professionals working on natural resources management questions. The ITT international network has experienced a major development with the foundation of CNRD (Centers for Natural Resources and Development). CNRD is supported by the DAAD and the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). CNRD is a knowledge hub and network regarding issues on assessing and managing the natural resources base as a prerequisite for sustainable development. The central point of the network is in Cologne, where the activities with all partners worldwide are coordinated. CNRD is connecting universities worldwide promoting academic exchange and cooperation in the area of the management of natural resources, in particular, related to Water, Land, Ecosystems and Renewable Energy Resources. It fosters interdisciplinary approaches to natural resources management related to the Post 2015 Agenda and the envisioned Sustainability Goals (SDG). Membership to the network CNRD is open for any HEI which offers to significantly contribute to reaching the goals of CNRD. For more information, please visit: http://www.cnrd.info Memberships The ITT is part of the following alliances:

• Water Science Alliance e.V.
• German Water Partnership (GWP)
• Aqualon, Wupperveband
• Deutsche Vereinigung für Wasserwirtschaft, Abwasser und Abfall e.V. (DWA)
• Umweltcluster Bayern
• Association of Postgraduate Programmes with special Relevance to Developing Countries (AGEP)
• RESERVE
• Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD)