Hello there! Are you wondering if you have what it takes to become a water manager? I have been a Water Management student at the HZ for two years and a half now and I think I might be able to tell you what are the skills and features that will make your life easier as a Water Management student in this university. But don't worry, if you feel like you are lacking in some of those, you can always work on it!
1. Open Mindset & Creativity
When trying to solve any water related issue, the first step is to find possible solutions. You'll be asked to come up with innovative ideas – hence the creativity – and analyse their feasibility in the scenario your projects needs to fit in.
Problem solving and project development are complicated matters and because two brains are better than one you will frequently work in groups. The hardest part about working in a group is getting everybody to agree, and here is where an open mindset will come in handy.
2. Adaptivity
During your journey at the HZ, you will encounter some obstacles, that is almost mathematically sure. You might find struggles in passing a certain exam, or writing a specific report... You are going to need some adaptivity to make the best out of every situation. Water Management is adaptive, and so needs to be the water manager.
3. Willing to learn
Beside projects and lab work, that are practical and more "obviously" fun and interesting, consider that a big portion of the professional knowledge comes from traditional lectures. You won't possibly like all the subjects, but each one of them is an important piece to build a professional Water Manager, therefore it is important to put as much energy as possible into learning the knowledge.
4. Social and marketing skills
A good idea means little to nothing if it's not backed up by the best "selling strategy". The project itself is as important as the stakeholders that are involved in it. Being able to deal with stakeholders interests is one of the main tasks of a delta manager and this plays a huge role in the making (or not making) of project..jpg)
5. Altruism
The more altruist a solution is the more people will like it. Let me explain what I mean by it. I think that the mindset you should work with is a mindset that cares about everyone and everything. There are many aspects of every solution, and not everyone can possibly be satisfied, however always always always remember the balance between the People, the Planet and the Profit.
What do you think? Are there any more important features in a water manager? Let us know in the comments!
