Chair Groups
Each academic department is composed of one or more chair groups, each of which is formed around a particular discipline or specialization.
Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering
Water Supply Engineering
Generation and transfer of knowledge related to both appropriate low-cost technologies and advanced drinking water and industrial water treatment and distribution.
Pollution Prevention and Resource Recovery
Focuses on the development of rational approaches to sustainable waste management via cleaner production, appropriate waste treatment and resource recovery in both the water supply and sanitation, and the industrial sectors.
Sanitary Engineering
Contributes to knowledge development and capacity building in the urban sanitation field; areas of interest include urban drainage, waste water collection, treatment and reclamation/reuse, and residuals management.
Water Governance
Water Governance
Identifies the three interdependent domains: Water Policy, Water Law and Water Politics through which research, education and capacity development activities are organized.
Land & Water Management
Water and Agriculture
Deals with the technology of adapting and managing land and water resources for specific forms of land use in rural, urban and industrial areas. Its activities focus on the development of rural areas and the topics of irrigation, drainage and flood protection.
Water Management
Contributes to developing and managing sustainable water systems through a better scientific understanding of their functioning.
Water Resources and Ecosystems
Aquatic Ecosystems
Creates a better understanding of the relationship between the ecological structure, function and integrity of wetlands in the support of livelihoods.
Hydrology and Water Resources
Contributes to a better understanding of hydrological processes, to improve techniques for data monitoring and handling, to improve modelling of processes within the hydrological cycle, and to interpret and present results for implementation of integrated water resources management.
River Basin Development
Investigates processes in the natural and built environment which are determinant for the design and planning of sustainable water infrastructures prepared for global change.
Coastal and Urban Risk & Resilience
Coastal Systems & Engineering and Port Development
Deals with the analysis, design and management of natural and man-made systems in the coastal environment.
Flood Resilience
Advancing scientific knowledge and practical application into integrated approaches to cultivate resilience in urban communities and built-up areas.
Hydroinformatics and Socio-technical Innovation
Hydroinformatics
Concerns the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and modelling, and their application for resolving water-related problems in civil engineering, and information systems for integrated water management.
Knowledge and Capacity Development
Analysing the dynamics of the learning, competence building and innovation systems for the water sector.