Belen (Ecuador)
Maria Belen Andrade of Ecuador has secured a thriving career in integrated water management in her home country after obtaining a Master of Integrated Water Management from the International WaterCentre (IWC) in Australia.
This program is custom-designed and taught by academics from four leading Australian universities, ranked amongst the top 1% of the best universities in the world for teaching and research. IWC’s member universities are The University of Queensland, Griffith University, Monash University and The University of Western Australia.
Belen graduated from the program in December 2008. The following year she returned to her country, which was facing economic turmoil. “Because of my country´s economic situation, it became challenging to find a job. I sent my CV to every possible organisation related to water while I was working as an English teacher for children,” Belen said.
Employment Opportunities
However, in late 2009, Belen said persistence paid off when the National Secretariat for Disaster Risk Management in Ecuador became impressed with the “integrated approach” to water management training she received from her Masters degree in Australia. “They hired me to contribute with some integrated approaches to prevent disasters,” Belen said.
A month later, the National Secretariat for Water Management head hunted Belen to work within their team. Belen has now been working at the National Secretariat since March 2010 and has had the opportunity to participate in two projects related to water: (i) transboundary river issues and (ii) disaster risk management (flood and droughts).
Acquiring expert water knowledge and skills
Belen said she feels the Masters degree not only helped her gain work in Ecuador’s struggling job market, but also equipped her with expert knowledge on water issues and the practical research skills to address problems. “I can say that the MIWM really prepares us for life,” Belen said.
“The program prepared me to be able to understand the different water issues in different contexts such as trans-boundary river basins, disaster risk management, water access and sanitation, which is why I was an attractive candidate to other areas that are not always directly related to water,” she said. “Another skill that the MIWM has helped me develop is the ability to research. In my country, we have not been able to develop this skill - we tend to ‘rediscover the wheel’ without learning from either previous experiences or experiences in other countries.”
One of Belen’s recent milestones at work involved developing general guidelines of an Integrated Water Management Plan that could apply to varying Ecuadorian contexts such as drinking water, sanitation and water supply. “During the meeting on the plan, I received criticism. A meeting attendee said: “You are only looking at things as a textbook case. What if those things do not adapt to our country?” And I replied, “It is true what you are saying. Not everything that is done in other parts of the world can be adapted to our country. However, these experiences in other places have given us some idea of what aspects could be considered for an IWM Plan. After reading from various experiences, we have come up with this proposal that needs to be reviewed and corrected by all of us. That is why we are here.”
Belen said her confidence in her current role was due to the practical nature of the Masters degree and the skills she specifically developed in the program’s problem-based assignments. As part of the Masters program, Belen undertook a six-month research project on multi-stakeholder platforms in the Pumicestone Region Catchment, Queensland, Australia. She said the project and the overall program had allowed her to: “truly understand integrated water management and to encourage people and myself to reflect on the importance of integration, cooperation and coordination. I cannot be more thankful to the people at IWC, all the teachers and students that make possible this Masters program.”
Master of Integrated Water Management
Masters Degree - three semesters can be completed in 12 or 18 months.
Semester starts in February or March of each year.
IWC Master of Integrated Water Management uses problem-based learning, case studies, field trips and industry placements to develop skills for integrated solutions in the real world. Students graduate with a co-badged qualification from the four member universities. On average, more than 50 per cent of IWC Master of Integrated Water Management students come from overseas.
To find out more, read the program outline or email admin@watercentre.org.
