My first term on the Advanced Water Management MSc
02/02/2022

I’m Hilke Schweer, an Advanced Water Management MSc student and IWA & Cranfield Excellence scholar from Germany. My interest in water developed gradually over time while studying a BSc in Economics in Hamburg and a BSc in Environmental Sciences in Norwich. What really made this MSc in Cranfield stand out to me was the interdisciplinary research approach to the complex relationships between the economic, environmental, and societal water needs. Having worked in a startup developing a low-cost smart water-quality monitor and in the Agri-tech sector before, the strong interaction between leading research and industry at Cranfield was really promising to me to enhance a holistic approach to this huge topic WATER.
Already in the first 12 weeks of the course, I have been able to bring together many of my different interests and previous experiences. Every module in the course is very much applied to what you could potentially do in a job later in life. Presentations from external lecturers such as those from the environmental consultancy Mott MacDonald on how the UK water industry is planning to become carbon neutral, and field trips, where staff from the Environment Agency or the local council joined us, made each day very exciting! In addition I have also become a member of the Institute of Water.
We started the MSc by learning the more technical and physical side such as hydraulics, groundwater, and soil analysis. Then, we went into water quality policy and management of floods and droughts. For example, we wrote a technical report on the impact climate change is predicted to have on the river flow of a catchment, based on a numerical hydrological model that we built. In the second module, we wrote a water quality assessment report and developed a monitoring plan for a river restoration project in England. We used ArcGIS and Excel to analyze chemical and biological data, such as diatoms as indicator species, and put the data into the context of the EU Water Framework Directive. Lectures from the River Restoration Centre and a day-long field trip to the site, where we took measurements and sampled macroinvertebrates, really rounded up the learning in this module.
The IWA & Cranfield Excellence Scholarship lets me become more involved with the International Water Association (IWA). I am very thankful to start my career as a young water professional with this opportunity and hope to connect to many people in the sector looking to find and implement solutions to the world’s growing water crisis.
I have also joined the SAFAD (Silsoe Aid for Appropriate Development) committee as treasurer, a Cranfield-led student non-government organisation linking Cranfield students to projects in middle to low-income countries to get work experience. There, I’ve met passionate people from the Water and Sanitation for Development MSc and already got a high exposure to projects and funding.
In our 14-people class, we are from ten different countries across the world. This diversity and the different study and work backgrounds of everyone adds a lot of value to class discussions. All classes are taught face-to-face and via Zoom. For example, students who couldn’t get their visas on time and anyone who has to self-isolate because of COVID can still join lectures and workshops – minimising the impact of COVID on students and making the experience much more interactive.
The past three months have been intense, but I enjoyed every day of it! I’ve learned an enormous amount of content, and at the same time, I met passionate people from all around the world. Now, I’m looking forward to the next six months where we’ll finish the last two modules on floods and drought risks and water management in cities and catchments, undertake a two-month long group project for a company/organisation, and carry out the individual research thesis.
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
Introducing…. Orbis BankFocus
For anyone researching the financial sector, Orbis BankFocus is a great place to start, providing financial and company data for finance institutions and companies. The service allows you to search for a single company or ...
Me, myself, and anxiety
Then and now I remember the moment very well – I was sat at a desk talking to my boss, pointing out the key elements of a strategic plan. I was in quite a stressful ...
“My Cranfield degree transformed me as a person”
Kalyani Hedge (Management MSc, 2021), is currently working as the Head of Supply Chain, Administration and Legal at Nandu Chemicals Private Limited. We caught up with Kalyani to find out more about her experiences ...
“Studying at Cranfield encouraged me to move out of my comfort zone”
For marketing professional Jim Davies, studying for a part-time MSc in Marketing and Leadership at Cranfield School of Management was the catalyst for making a bold career move after more than a decade spent ...
Commonwealth, Cranfield and my journey so far
I have worked in the water treatment plant of a hospital, as a biochemist, for over a decade, and therefore have first-hand experience of managing water quality and the challenges faced by a low-income ...
Cranfield University bursary opportunities – my experience
My name is Paula Gonzalez, and I am currently completing my Thermal Power MSc at Cranfield University. I began my studies in March 2021 - although my journey towards this goal started long before ...
Such an eye opener to the field “Advanced Water Management.” Life is Water, Water is Life. We have to manage water effectively for sustainability purposes. Thank you Hilke Schweer
Great read!
You are awesome. God bless you.