Maestri dell'acqua

The primary objective of this project was to create a new professional profile, the 'Water Expert,' through a dedicated training program for students in their final year of vocational high schools...

The primary objective of this project was to create a new professional profile, the 'Water Expert,' through a dedicated training program for students in their final year of vocational high schools and/or technical institutes with curricula including notions of biology and eco-agronomy. The project aimed to provide them with specific and professionalizing skills in addition to their existing ones, with the purpose of: Increasing their job opportunities and adapting their profiles to the needs of the local area. The Water Experts become crucial figures for the protection of their region's river resources, constantly studying and collaborating with local authorities to use them for the benefit of citizens while respecting ecological balances. Innovating professional profiles by updating curricula with specific skills for entering the workforce (such as consultants for public administrations, municipalities, construction companies, guides, etc.). Raising awareness and educating young people and citizens about adapting to climate change and the importance of respecting natural resources.

The core activity of the project was the capacity building to train the Water Experts. After the definition of the training content and the identification of the schools to involve, partners implemented the activities with students in Italy, North Macedonia, France and Portugal. The training program consisted in 4 modules (river geomorphology, cartography and basics of GIS tools, river ecology, alteration of river environments and hints of river rehabilitation), including both lectures in class and practical workshop. During the project two partners meetings took place: the kick-off meeting in Porto, where the project was presented and the partners defined in details different activities; and the final event in Sassinoro (Italy), where the project’s results, where presented and some previously selected international students participated in practical activities to show what they had learned through the training course. Alongside, a communication and dissemination strategy was implemented during the project lifetime, including the creation and updating of the project webpage, publishing of articles on the project news, the publication of social media content (Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube).

The key result of the Water’s Experts project is the completed training of students in the partner countries. Through the participation in the training course, including both theoretical and practical activities, the students acquired knowledge and technical skills in river geomorphology, cartography and basics of GIS tools, river ecology, alteration of river environments and hints of river rehabilitation. Guidelines of the training course have been co-designed by the consortium, to follow the same common structure, and uploaded publicly on the project leader’s website. Two transnational project meetings were held in Portugal and Italy respectively. A practical workshop on the Fluvial Functionality Index was carried out during the final event in Italy. A communication and dissemination plan was created and shared with the consortium at the beginning of the project. A web page dedicated to the project has been created on the project leader’s website, and updated with the news of the project. Social media content: several posts on Facebook and Linkedin, two videos on Youtube. A project leaflet printed and uploaded on the project web page.