TH Köln (University of Applied Sciences), Cologne, Germany

Technische Hochschule Köln – abbreviated as TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences – sees itself as the University of Technology, Arts, Sciences. With its disciplinary and cultural diversity and openness, TH Köln’s activities are aimed at cultural and technological breakthroughs of high societal relevance; TH Köln contributes substantially to resolving social challenges. As a community of faculty and students, we see ourselves as a learning organization forging new paths. For instance, TH Köln is one of the pioneers in the field of development and formation of concepts for higher education didactics.

Our subject range includes the fields of Applied Natural Sciences; Architecture and Construction; Information and Communication; Computer Science; Engineering; Culture; Society and Social Sciences as well as Business Studies. More than 90 degree programs are offered as full-time programs or in some cases as career-integrated or part-time programs. As a place where research-based learning and academic education take place, the university nurtures prospective scholars through cooperative dissertations. Annually, about 6,000 students take up their studies at TH Köln. Overall 25,000 students from about 120 different countries along with 420 professors and 1,200 staff employ their potential.

Research mainly focuses on future-related issues, including climate change, energy supply, health and food safety as well as demographic changes. While developing solution strategies for the most important questions of our time, researchers offer their professional expertise in interdisciplinary interaction. At the same time, they closely collaborate with local, national, and international cooperation partners, including 290 international institutions of higher education. The university offers its researchers an attractive sphere of activity. The quality seal “HR Excellence in Research” awarded by the European Commission certifies that TH Köln meets international standards in the field of human resources development. TH Köln also puts emphasis on quality in advanced academic training and promotes competencies as well as personal and professional development through a variety of programs offered to those who are interested in further education, to those who are currently working as well as to those who are returning to work.

The Institute for Technology and Resources Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT) at the TH Köln (University of Applied Sciences) aims to enable people of various technical and cultural backgrounds to better solve the complex issues related to environmental problems with an interdisciplinary and intercultural approach at the graduate and postgraduate level. Studying at the ITT does not only mean achieving a master’s degree but going beyond one’s professional and personal borders. Through manifold trainings and modern methods of teaching and learning, ITT realizes the concept of lifelong learning and puts the student at the center of the education efforts. The institute cooperates with key regional, national, and international organizations within the fields of resources management, development cooperation and higher education in addition to providing teaching, research, and capacity development worldwide.

Research Projects in Natural Resources Management

• Management of Human-Impacted Droughts in Tropical Catchments – Tropiseca
• Integrated eco-technologies and services for a sustainable Rural Rio de Janeiro Intecral
• Agricultural Solid Waste Management in the Wadi al-Far`a watershed (ASW-WFP)
• Water and Energy Security for Africa: Research focus on Energy and Water-Energy-Climate change Nexus
• Drytip – Social-ecological tipping points in drought-prone transition zones of the Mata Atlântica
• WaterSec

BSc, MSc and Doctoral Programs relevant to CNRD

• MSc Natural Resources and Development (NRM)
• MSc Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)
• MSc Renewable Energy Management (REM)
• Doctoral Program on Natural Resources and Development (DNRD)

Activities in capacity development relevant to CNRD

• Water Security and Climate Change conference

Pool of Experts