In support of the Sustainable Development Goals, the UNEP/UNESCO/BMU offers the International Postgraduate Course on Environmental Management for Developing Countries, a 6-month course that follows an integrated and interdisciplinary approach covering the field of environmental management. The curriculum is organized in modules comprising issues of conservation and restoration ecology, water and atmosphere, soil and land resources, sustainable urban and regional development, waste management and circular economy, renewable energy and energy efficiency. An overarching science-policy interface frames all disciplines.

Moreover, all participants will train skills of fundamental, cross-sectoral relevance such as policy advice and project management in the context of developing countries, communication across disciplines and participatory government practices, as well as understanding geo-information and basic German language skills.

The overall approach is to blend academic knowledge with local, traditional and professional expertise for finding practical and practicable solutions that can be implemented and eventually contribute to large-scale systemic changes and fundamental redirections in people-planet relationships that can have an impact at magnitudes that match the challenges of our time and are essential for accomplishing the SDGs.

The lectures are given by professors of Technische Universität Dresden as well as experts from various national and international institutions. A multitude of excursions are also part of the course to illustrate environmental problems and exemplify successfully integrated environmental management practices. Participants are required to carry out a profound research project on a specific environment-related subject and present the results of this work in a symposium at the end of the course.

International Postgraduate Course on Environmental Management

Course level: Postgraduate training

Field of study: Environmental Management

Scholarship/program period: 13 January – 15 July 2021

Institution and country: Technische Universität Dresden, Germany

Sponsor: UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UNESCO, and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU)

Number of awards: 21

Scholarship inclusions:

  • Course fees
  • Accommodation
  • Monthly stipend of approx. EUR 550.-/month plus money to send home books (varying from course to course)
  • Roundtrip airfare
  • Public transport ticket in Dresden City
  • Health and accident insurance

Eligibility criteria for the International Postgraduate Course on Environmental Management:

This course is particularly designed for decision-makers of public governance and administration both at the national and local levels requiring an overall-competence in environmental matters. To be eligible, candidates must possess the following:

  • Aged between 25 and 45 years
  • First university degree related to environment and/or course main focus (equivalent to Bachelor)
  • Origin and current employment in a developing or emerging country, meaning countries listed in the currently valid version of the OECD’s DAC List of ODA Recipients.
  • Ability to communicate actively and efficiently in English (at least reference level B2 according to the CEFR).
  • Environment-related professional background with at least two years of work experience in a course-related field.
  • Provable future professional engagement in fields of sustainable environmental management and development
  • Employing institutions must endorse the application and release the candidate from his/her professional obligations for the duration of the course. Courses are full-time and attendance of lectures and excursions is compulsory. It is not possible to pursue regular employment at the same time.

Application period: 10 March – 21 April 2020

How to apply for the International Postgraduate Course on Environmental Management: 

You can apply online through the online application portal as soon as the application phase for the particular course has started. After registering with a valid email address, you can log in and start the application process.

If you have completed the submission of your application (step 8 in the application portal), you can be sure your application will be fully considered. You will not receive an additional confirmation email.

Other useful links:

UNEP/UNESCO/BMU International Postgraduate Course on Environmental Management