The Working Group on Capacity Development, Training, and Education (WG-CDTE) was established in 2015 with the mandate to coordinate and guide the knowledge management activities of ICID and the capacity development activities by various WGs; compile the status of training and educational programs offered in different regions; identify the training and education requirements, and identify gaps in available training programs, explore the feasibility of developing e-Learning program and prepare guidelines for their development to support education and training programs and webinars; explore the scope of use of ICTs in capacity development including distance learning and implement them where feasible etc. The WG-CDTE which held its third meeting in August 2018 at Saskatoon, Canada highlighted the importance and need of empowering young professionals, encouraging the membership of the WG and national committees for training programs, seminars, workshops and promote sharing of knowledge (webinar/web-based activities), dissemination of the appropriate modern tools (ICT and e-learning material) to help them develop their capabilities and overcome any knowledge or skill gap. In order to promote the activities of the Technical Support Programme (TSP), the WG appreciated the Korean Rural Community Corporation (KRC) and Korea National Committee of ICID (KCID) for their support to the activities of TSP.  

During the individual training sessions of its events, ICID sponsors 10 YPs to attend the training programs and events. 

Training Programme for Young Professionals in Bali, Indonesia | September 2019

The Young Professionals Training Program during the World Irrigation Forum 3 in Bali was organized by IWMI and UNU-FLORES on topics 'Capacity Development for Improving Crop-Water Productivity under Irrigated Agriculture' and 'Online Irrigation Benchmarking Services (OIBS) and Systematic Asset Management System (SAMS) for Irrigation Managers'. The former workshop focused on optimizing the value of water through integrated farming and market-driven agriculture, enhancing the value chain of irrigation water to promote socio-economic community transformation. While the latter demonstrated on how irrigation managers can use the Online Irrigation Benchmarking services (OIBS) and the Systematic Asset Management System (SAMS) to improve water management in irrigation system. A total of 22 Young Professionals participated from Australia, Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Japan, Indonesia, Ukraine, Finland, Russia, South Africa, Republic of Korea, Philippines, Iraq, Sri Lanka and India. 

Training Programme for Young Professionals in Seoul, Republic of Korea | April 2019

The Korean National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (KCID) organized the first International Young Professionals Training Program (YP-TP) on 'Climate Resilient Smart Irrigation Systems' in collaboration with  Korea Rural Community Corporation (KRC), Chinese National Commitee (CNCID) and ICID. The training was followed by an expert consultation workshop on 'Irrigation Technologies to Mitigate Climate Change'. The training program and the workshop provided an opportunity to the young professionals (YPs) to have a broader and also in-depth exposure to emerging irrigation technologies and management scenarios considering the urgent need for a sustainable climate change-resilient agriculture sector. During the training program, the participants learned different ways in which the available advanced technologies can be used for an improved irrigation system and exploring various opportunities to have a wider adoption of these technologies in different regions as per local needs.

During the training program, the YPs would be required to make a detailed presentation of their countries profile on the current status of technology usage in the irrigation sector. The training programme also included a technical tour for one day to the  Saemangeum project site and the Dae-ah dam (Korea's first arch-shaped dam) to understand practical aspects of operational performance of irrigation systems. A total of 34 participants from Afghanistan, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Italy, Korea (Republic of), Myanmar, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, USA and Zambia attended the training program. 

International Training Workshop on Water Accounting in Tehran, Iran | February 2019

The International Research Programme for Irrigation and Drainage-Iran Regional Node (IRPIDIRN) organized the International Training Workshop on “Water Accounting Concepts and Tools”, in collaboration with FAO and ICID from 23-26 February 2019 in Tehran, Iran. The aim of the workshop was to introduce concepts and tools to a wide range of audiences including high-level decision-makers, academics and professionals in the water, agriculture and environmental sectors. The workshop witnessed a wide range of audiences including high-level decision-makers, academics and professionals in the water, agriculture and environmental sectors. 

The Water Accounting (WA) workshop intended to: (i) Introduce global experiences, international activities and state-of-the-art of knowledge on water accounting; (ii) Discuss challenges in developing and implementing water accounting frameworks; (iii) Highlight the need to apply water accounting frameworks for efficient water resources management at different geographical scales (from farm to catchment); and (iv) Draw the attention of decision-makers at the national level to the use of new
concepts and tools for better water resource management. Presentations and booklet for the Water Accounting workshop are available at http://irpid-iran.org/ for download.

African Young Water Professional Forum (Af-YWPF) in Cairo, Egypt | October 2018

In order to strengthen the activities of African Regional Working Group (AFRWG), VPH Dr. Mohamed Abd-El-MoneimWabha (Egypt), Chairman of AFRWG, promoted and established the African Young Water Professional Forum (Af-WYPF), hosted by the Egyptian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (ENCID) to create awareness among Young Professionals on water resources, irrigation and drainage challenges and capacity development to facilitate sharing of experiences in water related fields. 

The Af-YWPF was held from 14 -16 October 2018 under the auspices of the AFRWG of the International Committee on Irrigation and Drainage and the Egyptian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (ENCID) supported by Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of Egypt (MWRI), International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID), Korea Rural Community (KRC), International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean (GWP-MED), the Nile Basin Capacity Building Networks (NBCBN) as well as National Committees on Irrigation and Drainage of Morocco, Italy and South Africa. The three-day training workshop brought together 24 African future water leaders from 12 African countries including Sudan, Morocco, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauretania, South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria, Malawi, Tanzania, Ghana and Egypt. The workshop exposed participants to important issues such as Water-Energy-Food Nexus, value engineering, current trends, technologies and research gaps in water resources, irrigation and drainage as well as simulation modelling in irrigation and drainage. Discussions ranged from climate change impacts and vulnerability assessments in the Arab Region to using solar energy in irrigation. During the forum, SG Pandya stressed on strengthening the ICID membership network of the National Committees with more involvement and support of YPs in the knowledge management activities, especially knowledge portal of ICID.

Training Workshop for Young Professionals at Saskatoon, Canada | August 2018

During the 69th IEC meeting held in August 2018 at Saskatoon, Canada a full-day training workshop was held on 16 August 2018 for the young professionals on the topic “Irrigation in Western Canada – from the Mountains to the Plains.” The goal of the workshop was to provide an overview of agricultural water management in Western Canada since early 1900s, with a focus on how water source (mountain snowmelt) has affected infrastructure development and organization/legislation of water distribution. It was a great opportunity to discuss lessons learned in Western Canada and their potential application in other regions of the world and to share insights from the region that could be applied to water management.

In the morning session, Mr. Roger Hohm, President, CANCID outlined the Irrigation water demand and supply in Western Canada while Jennifer Nitschelm (Alberta Agriculture & Forestry) demonstrated the organization and legislation of irrigation in Western Canada. During the afternoon session, a field trip was organized for the YPs to explain the solar irrigation systems, horticultural irrigation and need for precision agriculture and irrigation followed by a hands-on experience in soil sampling and to learn about innovative technology in irrigation scheduling such as the use of a ground conductivity meter (EM 38) for field mapping and using unmanned aerial vehicles for remote sensing. The various activities outlined in the training workshop roved around innovative and practical aspects of agricultural water management and culminated with rich interactive discussions and feedback from the YPs.

Training Programme for Young Professionals in Kathmandu, Nepal | May 2018

The 8th Asian Regional Conference (8 ARC) on the theme “Irrigation in Support of an Evergreen Revolution” was organized from 2-4 May 2018 in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Nepal National Committee of ICID (NENCID) hosted the event in collaboration with Department of Irrigation (DoI), Government of Nepal and other international and national partners. 

During the 8 ARC, a one-day-training-programme for YPs was also organized by NENCID on 1 May 2018 with the aim of (i) capacitating the young engineers in the area of irrigation and drainage sector and motivating them to work for the national  development; (ii) sharing innovative ideas of irrigation and drainage and recent technology from different parts of the world (learning from resource persons, sharing of ideas among the participants and providing opportunity for networking with the international delegates); and (iii) providing young engineers an opportunity to participate in the Conference. The training programme covered two key areas: (i) Water Footprint and Virtual Water Approach as a tool for improved Water Use Efficiency, in addition to the Micro Irrigation for improved land and water productivity, and (ii) Basin planning, its implementation, and introduction on the basin planning tool: Basin Futures. VP Dr. K. Yella Reddy, Director, WALAMTARI, Hyderabad, India conducted the technical session on “Water Footprint and Virtual Water Approach as a tool for improved Water Use Efficiency’ while second session was conducted by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation(CSIRO), Australia. 25 Young Professionals (YPs) from Asian countries participated in the training programme.

Training Programme for Young Professionals in Beijing, China | April 2018

As a part of capacity development of Young Professionals, ICID in association with the Chinese National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (CNCID) and support from the Korean National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (KCID) organized a five-day Young Professional training programme to hone the skills of the budding young professionals on the theme “Performance Assessment of Irrigation Systems” from 9-13 April 2018 at China Hall of Science and Technology in Beijing, China. The training programme mainly focused on the physical, institutional, organizational and participatory management aspects of the irrigation systems. 19 Participants from National Committees of Australia, Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK), India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Korea, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand and Uzbekistan attended the training programme. Topics such as need for and framework for performance assessment of irrigation and drainage systems; modernization approach and overview; techniques and tools for performance assessment; Rapid appraisal procedure, MASSCOTE and MASSMUS approach; strategies of rehabilitation and modernization of irrigation systems including structural, non-structural and management interventions in modernization of irrigation systems; measurement devices, canal lining, and water management practices etc. were covered during the training programme. 

In continuation to the training programme, CNCID organized a two-day workshop entitled “Innovations of Irrigation Technology” from 14-15 April 2018 wherein Young Professionals shared experiences from their respective countries. All presentations related to Young Professionals’ Training Programme and workshop are available at http://www.icid.org/cdtraining.html.

Training Programme for Young Professionals in Mexico City, Mexico | October 2017

During the 23rd ICID Congress, two training workshops were organized for the young professionals: (1) Value Engineering: An effective and eficient methodology for enhancing irrigation, drainage and lood management Projects; and (2) Irrigation Water Management to Adapt to Climate Change. The workshop aimed to enrich the knowledge and decision making process of YPs in the domain of irrigation, drainage and lood management. The Value Engineering Workshop was organized and conducted by Dr. Kamran Emami (Iran), Chairman of Task Force on Value Engineering (TF-VE) and Head of the Board and Managing Director of TOOSSAB Consulting Engineers Co., Mashhad, Iran. The workshop introduced the history, concept, and applications of Value Engineering (VE) in irrigation, drainage and lood projects and the way it can be used to increase beneits, reduce cost and ensure sustainable irrigated agriculture. Dr. Emami explained the concept of value engineering and used multi-media presentations to enhance the understanding of the participants. To have maximum interaction a Q&A session followed by a group discussion was also organized. At the end of the workshop, the selected resources on VE applications in the form of books, handbooks, papers, ilms, and brochures were distributed to the participants. The workshop on “Irrigation water management to adapt to climate change” was organized and conducted by Dr. Kaluvai Yella Reddy (India), Director of Water and Land Management Training and Research Institute WALAMTARI, Hyderabad, India. It imparted knowledge to the young professionals in the irrigation and drainage sector on the importance of irrigation water management in the context of climate change and suitable measures of adaptability. The workshop acclimatized the young professionals towards the management of irrigation water and adaptive measures to cope with climate change using the experience of ClimaAdapt Project. During the workshop, a presentation on “Importance of irrigation water management & ClimaAdapt Project Experiences” was made. Further, video ilms were screened on ‘Use of Sensors and Water Management at Farm Level’ followed by presentations from Dr. Sylvester Mpandeli on ‘Coping and Adaptive Responses of Smallholder Farmers to Climate Change in South Africa’; and Dr. Patricia Mejias-Moreno (FAO) on ‘Climate Change & Water’. During the second session, Dr. Emami also made a presentation on ‘Adoptive Water Resources Management’. Dr. Evan Derdall (Canada); Dr. Madhav Belsare (Nepal) and Dr. Marco Arcieri (Italy) shared their experiences followed by responses from the trainees.

Training Programme for Young Professionals in Cairo, Egypt | April 2016

The African Regional Working Group (AFRWG) at its 26th meeting held on 13th of October 2015 at Montpellier, France during 66th IEC laid emphasis on sustainable development for Africa to alleviate food insecurity and agreed to need establishing and strengthening the existing national committees across the African continent. AFRWG identified lack of capacity development especially among young professionals as one of the critical issues and accordingly developed a Capacity Building Strategy (CBS) for Africa in 2015.

ICID with the support of the Egyptian National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (ENCID) and in coordination with the Regional Center for Training and Water Studies (RTCWS) organized a short training programme on “On-farm Water Use and Management” for participants from African countries during 18-24 April 2016 with the aim of building the capacity of the engineers and practitioners in the areas of water resources management, irrigation and drainage. The course was designed to give the candidates opportunity to obtain knowledge and experience in the different related subjects dealing with irrigation and drainage.

A total 21 participants from 15 countries (Burkina Faso, Egypt, Iran, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Zambia) participated in the training programme. Training course was inaugurated by the Head of RCTWRS in the presence of Vice President Dr. Mohamed Abd-El-Moneim Wahba; Dr. M H Amer, President, ENCID; Dr. Sylvester Mpandeli, Chair, AFRWG; and Er. Harish Kumar Varma, Executive Director, ICID on 18 April 2016.

The training was successfully organized with financial support from African-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO), Ministry of Water Resources China through CNCID and Korean Rural Corporation (KRC) through Korean National Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (KCID).

The program was especially designed to cover various aspects on water use and management such as (i) Precise irrigation and drainage at the farm level, (ii) Advanced irrigation technologies for enhancing water use efficiency for irrigation of crops, (iii) Modeling of irrigation water, (iv) Potential of wastewater use in Agriculture, (v) Flood and drought management through rain water management, (vi) Socio-Environmental impacts of irrigation and drainage projects, (vii) Stakeholder multi-functionality and governance including how to manage competing water use and improve decision making process, (viii) Elements of an Africa strategy framework for water uses Ethics, (ix) Application of remote sensing and GIS in water management, and (ix) Data Analysis and Graphics. 

National Committees of ICID and its partner International Organizations working in Africa were invited to nominate/sponsor professional(s) fulfilling the requirements. The event was hosted by the Regional Center for Training and Water Studies (RCTWS), Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation. RCTWS is a UNESCO Regional Center for Training for Arid and Semi-Arid regions.

Brochure and Nomination Form

Glimpses of the Training Programme

International Course in Hydrology by Department of Hydrology of IITR, Fellowships Offered by Government of India | 2015-2016

Fellowships are offered by Government of India for the following courses conducted by The Department of Hydrology (DoH) at The Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, (IITR) for the academic year 2015-16.
Post Graduate Diploma in Hydrology (One Year Course)

Master of Technology (M.Tech.) in Hydrology (Two Year Course)

Members of the National Committees of ICID are advised to avail this opportunity and encourage their colleagues to apply for these reputed courses. The interested candidates can apply through online http://doh.org.in/admissions/. The admission brochure which contains the application form (Annexure-2) and other details of the course can be downloaded from their website http://doh.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/DOHAddm.Broc_.2015Final.pdf. 

The last date for receipt of the application form in the prescribed format is 15 June 2015 at IITR.  Please note that the applications are to be processed through Indian Embassy in your country.

The Department of Hydrology (DoH) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, (IITR) was established in 1972, and was the first to offer the International Post Graduate Course in Hydrology in a developing country. The courses, offered by the Department are presently sponsored by the Government of India, UNESCO and World Meteorological Organization (WMO).  The Department has nine dedicated full time faculty members having specializations in surface water hydrology (Floods, Droughts), water resources systems, watershed management, Geo-hydrology, ground water geophysics, stochastic hydrology, hydro-informatics,  environmental hydrology etc.  For more information about the Department of Hydrology, please visit www.doh.org.in

Scholarship to Young Professionals for E-Learning Program

[ Version française  ]

Effective operation, maintenance and management of irrigation systems, by adopting a user-cantered and user-driven approach, also known as Service Oriented Management of Irrigation Systems (SOMIS), is key to the sustainable agriculture water management. UNESCO-IHE offered the SOMIS online course in full distance learning mode spanning four months with a workload of 140 hours (8 hours a week on average). The course informed the participants about: Basic principles, significance, and concepts of Service Oriented Management of Irrigation Systems; Key activities and processes associated with service oriented management in real field situations; and Physical, economic, and institutional requisites for service oriented management. The course was designed for mid-level irrigation professionals and water managers engaged in sustainable, service-oriented, and participatory management of irrigation systems. ICID sponsored three Young Professionals [Mr. Esmaeel Bayat, Mr. Nima Najafi (Iran), and Mr. Krishna Prasad Rijal (Nepal)] to participate in the e-Learning Program being organized by UNESCO-IHE.

http://www.unesco-ihe.org/Education/Non-degree-Programmes/Online-courses/Service-Oriented-Management-for-Irrigation-Systems.