African Water Development Report 2006 - United Nations Economic ...

the science and technology of the sector. Generally,the curricula are based first and foremost onthe experiences of the host country and may notamply reflect specific regional and national hydrologyand water resources situations of the recipientparticipants. At all the educational levels,the students are introduced to available hardwareand software technologies and are encouraged tocarry out comparative analysis of methodologiesand techniques through course projects and casestudies in order to adapt them to their specificproblems.Some of the considerations on which postgraduatetraining could focus are summarized as follows:(a) Non-uniformity of university curricula;(b) Diversities of professional backgrounds;(c) Different course emphasis at various traininginstitutions;(d) Diverse physico-climatic environments thatrequire specific top-up knowledge.within which professionals operate requires atransversal format which could serve as a guideto national employers and employees alike.The role of continuing education in technologytransfer is to help build human and institutionalcapacity through a continuous process of updatingknowledge with a view to adapting and assimilatingtechnologies developed in differentenvironmental set-ups to meet the exigenciesof the receiving environment. It is in responseto the progress of science and technology, theincreasing demand for development and theecological-environmental challenges of our age,all of which are calling for a larger number ofhighly trained water experts. The training frameworkshould blend the multidisciplinary andmulti-objective requirements of a modern waterresources development for sustainable development.Continuing education could take variousforms e.g. apprenticeship, short courses, distantlearning, correspondence courses, seminars andworkshops..ENSURING THE KNOWLEDGE BASEContinuing Education: This as a system of directand indirect instruction aimed to reduce thelag time between professional activity and theadvances in science and technology in the fieldof hydrology and water resources. Continuingeducation must be directed at monitoring thedynamics of change in the hydrological and watercycles and providing skills for detecting andmanaging any change. In a world, in which thephysico-climatic ecosystems are continuouslychanging under human influence and the advancesin science and technology moving at anever-increasing pace, training cannot be static.Thus, training should be dynamic, providingknowledge that can stand the test of time, includingcontemporary ideas of natural disasters,the effects of an impending climate change andnecessary strategy for minimizing them. Moreover,training needs would differ from country tocountry depending on the socio-economic levelof development. The complex matrix of physico-climaticand socio-economic environmentsResearch and Development: The role of researchin technology transfer is fundamentalsince it creates the necessary methods and basesfor discovering, understanding, updating andadapting a given technology to the new environment.Research can be basic or applied and moreoften than not both are intertwined. Basic researchaims to increase knowledge, creating newmethodologies and techniques whereas appliedresearch is more concerned with adapting availablemethodologies to specific objectives andlocal conditions and hence facilitating their applicationby users, in our case by water resourcesinstitutions (Boxes 16.7, 8 and 9). Research contributessubstantially to the development of bothsoftware and hardware technologies for assessmentand management of water resources andalso contributes to the design of water projects.Research needs vary from country to country dependingon the climatic, geographical and landuse conditions; the socio-economic level of developmentalso influences research needs in waterresources.317