Circularity and water management

Aims of the course

The aim of the course is to enable the students to become active change agents in the water management environment as future managers, employees, experts or otherwise involved i the water management ecosystem.
They will be introduced to the concepts of circularity and the circular economy in relation to the water management. A significant accent will be given on the adoption of enabling technologies of the green circular transition, both from the aspects of water engineering and digitalisation in different target transformation areas.
A focal observation phenomena will be associated with enabling technologies emerging to support circular business models. The students will focus on a deep understanding of the how to design circular models through innovation and transformation processes combines
The course will provide students with the opportunity to critically evaluate, optimise and manage innovative solutions for citizens and organizations in the domain of water management. They will learn how to manage complex multi-level transformations and will be enabled to thrive in collaborative, project-based organisations. The course will provide them with hands on experience through the on-site group project assignments. The objectives of these assignments are to learn how to identify circular opportunities, transform them into innovative business models and to analyse and compare existing water management concepts with the potentially developed circular business models using methods and approaches developed in the classroom.

Course syllabus

Part 1
• Introduction to Circular Economy
• Origins of the resource and climate crisis
• The environmental and social impacts of linear and extractive practices
• Economic drivers of current state approaches

Part 2
• Introduction to linear and circular business model designs with examples
• Corporate sustainability, co-opetition and global supply chain influence
• Measuring circular progress in business operations
• Leading practices from companies
• New business models and innovative small-scale players

Part 3
• Elements of Water Demand and Supply
• Principles of circular economy in water management
• Regulatory and institutional framework for the green transition in the EU and the circular economy
• Aspects of water as a key resource in the context of resource and climate crisis

Part 4
• Introduction and key areas of water management: Contemporary challenges of water management
• Elements of smart water management for circularity
• Managing data and information in water management, underlying technologies and their adoption, reporting requirements
• Transformation in key areas:
- Water in Urban areas
- Water in Agriculture areas
- Water in Industry
- Water for Energy
- Other Water Demands

Part 5
• Modelling circularity in water management
• Multi stakeholder optimization
• Typology of business models in the context of water management (linear and circular concept)

Course director(s)