5 June 2015 Isaiah Krutak & Katherine Smith the UNESCO-IHE Field
UNESCO-IHE 2015 Field Course 24 May – 5 June 2015 Isaiah Krutak & Katherine Smith The UNESCO-IHE field course provided many different educational avenues for learning. During the two week course, 28 of us students drove 5,000 km through six European countries and a wide variety of terrains and climates. Each site we visited was carefully chosen based on its engineering achievement or notable natural feature. Each stop also exhibited a different language, culture, and foods to experience. As we took these things in, we also got to know and learn from each other. Since UNESCO-IHE focuses on capacity building amongst professionals in developing countries, the majority of the students came from Indonesia, Ethiopia, Benin, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Eritrea, Pakistan and Bangladesh. However, developed countries like Australia and the United States were also represented, which prompted many conversations and exchanges of cultural viewpoints. The course started in the wet climate of Delft, Netherlands before driving through Belgium and into northern France. From there we made our way down to southern France and the Mediterranean coast. There we encountered the Mediterranean climate and the associated fauna as we drove along the coast to Italy. From there we went up into the mountainous regions of northern Italy and the Alps of Austria. Our last stop was in the relatively flat region of Germany before returning to the Netherlands. What follows in this document is a description of all the sites we visited together. Information was gathered from class and tour handouts, as well as tour notes. The UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education building A group photo at the hydroelectric power station in Austria.
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