Educative experiences through cooperation for development activities

Ending nineties, UPC decided to push a Development Education program embedded in its usual education activities, jointly with campus-based co-operation for development groups. The proposal was initially included in a four-year university strategic plan, and it has been politically prioritized since then. The origin and main characteristics of the program 2000-2005 are presented here (see [1] and references therein for more details).Postprint (published version

UPC’s institutional transformation towards sustainability

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Promoting development education in Spanish engineering studies, a comprehensive strategy from the non governmental fiels based on a collabroative approach with the univesity

The main goal of this paper is to present the conce pt of ‘Technology for Human Development’ (THD) as a conceptual and particular f ramework for promoting ‘Development Education’ (DE) programmes in engineer ing curricula. The proposal is based on the accumulated experience of the Spanish federation of Engineering Without Borders (ISF-Spain) since the mid-nineties, when th e first specific proposals were consolidated, as well as the on-going work promoted by the network. Remarkably, ‘THD’ constitute a general framework not only for e ducational purposes but also for engineering practice in the international developme nt and the co-operation fields. For ISF-Spain, ‘THD’ constitutes a strategic goal for o verseas development programmes which necessarily include lobbying campaigns, engin eering educational proposals, awareness-raising and research activities. As an ex ample, the ‘DE’ state-level programme for 2005-06 is presented.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Enhancing the water point mapping: a WASH approach

Strategic planning and appropriate development and management of water and sanitation services can be strongly supported by accurate and accessible data. If adequately exploited, these data might assist water managers with performance monitoring, benchmarking comparisons, policy progress evaluation, resources allocation, and decision making. A variety of tools and techniques are in place to collect such information. However, some methodological weaknesses arise when developing an instrument for routine data collection, particularly at local level: (i) comparability problems due to heterogeneity of data and sector-re lated indicators, (ii) in adequate combination of different information sources, and (iii) statistical validity of collected data. The purpose of this study is to adopt an integrated water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) approach for data collection at community level in rural low income settings, as an attempt to overcome previous shortcomings. The survey design takes the Water Point Mapping (WPM) as a starting point to record all available water sources at a particular location, and this information is then linked to data provided from a household-based survey. In order to demonstrate the applicability of the method, a case study is presented at Tiraque Valley (Cochabamba, Bolivia).Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Professors responding to the new challenges on engineering profession: bringing new values into the classroom

Professors responding to the new challenges on engineering profession: bringing new values into the classroom Josep Lobera* 1 , Agustí Pérez-Foguet 2 , Cristina Escrigas 1 1 Global University Network for Innovation (GUNI) Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) Edifici TG (S1), C/ Jordi Girona, 31, 08034 Barcelona – Spain e-mail: [email protected] du 2 E.T.S de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos de Barcelona Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya Módulo C2, Campus Nord, c/ Jordi Girona 1-3, 08034 Barcelona – Spain ABSTRACT Education in values is seen as a continuous process that begins at the childhood. It is unquestionably influenced by the family and the society. University should consolidate the formation of the political, ethical and moral values acquired in the former educational levels, as well as to form and to develop the professional values (Lourdes Zumalacárregui and Alonso, 2002). Formation of values is not an addition al content in the curriculum, but a reality that should be considered in the whole work system and activi ties at the university through all the dimensions of the educational process. In the engineer education, values are and always have been present. Yet these values not always have been adapted to the reality of the society in which engineers develop their profes sional careers and lives. The last decade has seen a remarkable change in the economic and social landscape of society. Many societal trends and needs call fo r engineers to broaden t heir outlooks, have more flexible career options, and work closely and e ffectively with persons of quite different backgrounds. Yet the education and general orientation of engineers have been directed inward toward the profession, rather than outward toward the rest of society and the world (King, 2006), and in some classrooms there are transmitted va lues that were for the first or the second industrial revolution. The convergence of the Spanish te rtiary education system into the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) represents an opportunity to introdu ce new educational methodologies that could facilitate the development of the knowledge, atti tudes and procedures that are needed to the new professional and personal contexts. Some teachers at the Technical University of Catalonia (UPC) are developing a project of educational innovation in which they aim to inco rporate the following issues transversally into the technical subjects that they give nowadays: values and ethics in engineering, participative learning, transdisciplinarity, multiculturalism and diversity, and human sustainable development. This paper draws on this experience and it treats the opportunities and difficulties which teachers face bringing new values into the classroomPeer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Compositional data for global monitoring: the case of drinking water and sanitation

Introduction At a global level, access to safe drinking water and sanitation has been monitored by the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) of WHO and UNICEF. The methods employed are based on analysis of data from household surveys and linear regression modelling of these results over time. However, there is evidence of non-linearity in the JMP data. In addition, the compositional nature of these data is not taken into consideration. This article seeks to address these two previous shortcomings in order to produce more accurate estimates. Methods We employed an isometric log-ratio transformation designed for compositional data. We applied linear and non-linear time regressions to both the original and the transformed data. Specifically, different modelling alternatives for non-linear trajectories were analysed, all of which are based on a generalized additive model (GAM). Results and discussion Non-linear methods, such as GAM, may be used for modelling non-linear trajectories in the JMP data. This projection method is particularly suited for data-rich countries. Moreover, the ilr transformation of compositional data is conceptually sound and fairly simple to implement. It helps improve the performance of both linear and non-linear regression models, specifically in the occurrence of extreme data points, i.e. when coverage rates are near either 0% or 100%.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Research on WASH sector, environment and water resources in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia

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Local Government planning: from data to action

Decentralisation is built on the assu mption that decentralized governme nts are more knowledgeable about and responsive to the needs of the poor. This article ex amines the role of local governments in Kenya and the ways in which they make their decisions about the allocation of resources to deliver water and sanitation services. Two major challenges are identified: i) lack of data that accurately reveal which areas are most in need; and ii) inadequate instruments for planning, monitoring and evaluation. In tackling previous shortcomings, this study i) adopts a new specific appr oach for data collection at community level, and ii) exploits these data through simple composite indicator s as policy tools that assist local government with decision-making. It concludes that accurate and compre hensive data are the basis of effective targeting and prioritization, which are fundamental to sector planning.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Methodology for the reporting of small scale rural water and sanitation programmes' outputs

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