Abstract
Professionals of different disciplines, including chemists and chemical engineers, engage in water research, even though they might not have been extensively trained in it during their studies. We describe a project-centred master level subject “Water as a Hydrogeological, Ecological, and Analytical System”, which, by focussing on waterbodies instead of a particular aspect of water quality, merges total analytical process with water research and, by a considerate choice of chemical parameters, enables students to apply water-research-specific data-treatment techniques, including the Piper and Stiff diagram, to discuss water genesis, processes in water, and influences on waterbodies. Agile management, initiated in computer engineering in 2001, is believed to contribute to better products in a shorter time. We demonstrate how its incorporation into the organisational scheme helped students self-organise, handle their projects, and collaborate within and between groups. Student’s expressions confirm their overall satisfaction, motivation, and that the omission of the final classical exam had no adverse effects on the learning outcomes. Their consent with different benefits of the project-centred collaborative approach and their self-efficacy beliefs, respectively, expressed as mean values in a five-grade Likert scale ranged from 4.26 to 5.00 and from 4.32 to 5.00. Regarding the students’ time investment, the project-centred approach as the mean grade 3 confirmed is not recognised as an easier way. We provide partially self-calculating, self-notifying Excel spreadsheet tables to ease the implementation of water research data-treatment techniques, which help students collaborate and discuss their subject extensively.
Highlights
Water research as a multidisciplinary area can turn professionals from different disciplines into better scientists [1]
Chemists and chemical engineers often become involved in water research and management, even though they might not have been extensively trained in these subjects during their studies
We present the projects’ recruitment mechanism and organisational scheme with the elements of agile management, which helped students collaborate and master their projects efficiently and enabled us to omit the classical exam with no adverse effect
Summary
Water research as a multidisciplinary area can turn professionals from different disciplines into better scientists [1]. Given that for the closely related branches already, there are distinctions in terminology and methodology [2], and some countries are organising interdisciplinary networks for graduate students [3] or encouraging early interaction and integration to improve graduate skills in an increasingly diverse research landscape requiring a science-to-solutions approach [4,5]. Chemists and chemical engineers often become involved in water research and management, even though they might not have been extensively trained in these subjects during their studies. Elective subjects can ease into the transition. We describe a collaborative project-centred elective subject “Water as a Hydrogeological, Ecological, and Analytical System” that provides knowledge and skills in water research and helps students perceive their profession and one of its core disciplines, analytical chemistry, Sustainability 2021, 13, 10803.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
