CIFAL Miami- Water School
The Water School started in 2016 as a public-private alliance between the Secretariat of Water (SENAGUA), the Private Technical University of Loja (UTPL) through the Continuing Education Unit and the Department of Natural Sciences, the Fund of Water for the conservation of the Paute river basin (FONAPA), the Regional Water Fund (FORAGUA) and the International Nature & Culture Corporation (NCI).
The Water School is a training space on different topics related to the integrated management of water resources. Under this Continuing Education platform, SENAGUA seeks to implement multiple courses aimed at the different actors in the management of water resources in topics of the Human Right to Water, Administration of Community Systems of Potable Water, Conflict Resolution, among others.
The program arises from the prioritization made by local institutions and governments, given its limited technical capacity for water management and associated ecosystems, an aspect that has serious consequences for the quality of life of the people, nature and economy of the country.
- General
-To train practical technical capacities in the officials of the local governments of Ecuador to strengthen the management of water resources.
- Specific
- Implement theoretical and practical training according to the needs of society and Water school program.
- Generate free academic material.
- Define new training topics within the framework of the Water School.
- Generate products or projects of a technical, legal and financial nature as an application tool for the management of water sources.
The course consists of the following six modules or sessions:
Module 1: General principles for the conservation of water sources.
Module 2: Basic level of Geographic Information Systems.
Module 3: Advanced level of Geographic Information Systems.
Module 4: Diagnosis and monitoring of drinking water systems and micro basins.
Module 5: Legislation applied to conservation.
Module 6: Practical actions for the conservation and management of water sources, is carried out under the semi-face-to-face
(mixed) modality.
The face-to-face component highlights participatory strategies such as; workshops, practical classes in computer labs and field trips, thus achieving to enrich participants' knowledge through active learning.
The virtual component (EVA) has synchronous and asynchronous activities such as; forums, video collaborations, messaging and academic announcements. It is fundamentally sought that the student be accompanied by their teachers throughout the process, resolving doubts, concerns and training requirements.
Once the face-to-face part of each module has been covered, through the permanent accompaniment of the teachers through the Virtual Learning Environment, the trainees generate multiple technical, legal and financial products tailored to each of their municipalities. These documents are of practical use for the implementation of real actions in their respective institutions.
To ensure compliance, proper delivery of products and proper management of the virtual platform, personalized support was provided from each of the project partners and from the other partners of the project to each of the participants and institutions. This generated confidence and satisfaction by feeling constantly guided in the learning processes.
Each module is evaluated through the presentation of individual and group works (by municipality), as well as an online evaluation. Its approval implies attending a minimum of 75% of face-to-face sessions and having a minimum of 70% of the qualification in each of the modules.
The certification is given for each participant per module and has the UTPL Academic Guarantee and the Cifal Miami - UTPL center that is part of the CIFAL Global Network of the United Nations Institute for Vocational Training and Research (UNITAR), which provides training of local and subnational government officials to promote sustainable development.
In addition to this, there is a general certification for the Municipality by SENAGUA, in recognition of the institutional commitment and for good management practices.
This course is aimed at strengthening capacities for technicians and municipal officials of the country, responsible for the supply of drinking water, through the implementation of a theoretical - practical training that generates a solid learning and implementation of concrete actions.