Course Syllabus

The course commences at the beginning of October, lectures and excursions are completed at the end of July of the following year, subsequently the participants have the opportunity to pass a practical on-the-job training. Holidays are from December 22 until January 5 and from March 10 until 30. The program of lectures, seminars, excursions and field work is as follows:

Winter semester

• Multicultural cooperation (1 week-end)
• Hydrogeology of tropical and subtropical regions I (32 lectures of 45 min.= 32 L)
• Well construction and water catchment with exercises (32 L) and excursion (1 week)
• Quantitative methods in hydrogeology I (32 L)
• Applied hydrochemistry (24 L) with lab course and fieldwork (1 week)
• Groundwater contamination and protection (24 L) with excursion
• Geoscientific fundamentals of road and dam construction (24 L)
• Introduction to hydraulic engineering (24L)
• Special methods in soil mechanics with lab component (32 L)
• Introduction to soil science (16 L) with excursion (2 days)
• Soil protection (16 L)
• Economic and social geography (32 L)
• Introduction to MS-DOS with exercises (1 week)
• Scientific/technical English (32 L)
• Colloquium (32 L)
• Development policy (3 days)
• Geotechnical excursion to North Africa (3 weeks)

Summer semester

• Hydrogeology of tropical and subtropical regions II (24 L)
• Hydrogeological excursions (10 days)
• Quantitative methods in hydrogeology II with computer exercises (24 L)
• Fundamentals of rock mechanics and tunnelling with exercises and field work (36 L) Tropical soils (36 L)
• Tropical soils (36L)
• Raw materials (24 L) with field work
• Introduction to surveying (24 L) with field work (3 days)
• Remote sensing methods in geoscience with exercises (36 L)
• Geoelectrical methods with field work (5 days)
• Refraction seismics with field work (5 days)
• Compiling scientific/technical reports with exercises and field work (6 L, 3 days)
• Geotechnical seminar (24 L)

The course occupies a total of approximately 625 lectures and 65 days excursions and field work.

Several tutorials are offered to enable the practical application of material learnt in the lectures courses of, for example, Soil Science, Tropical Soil Science and Quantitative Methods in Hydrogeology.

Lecture notes on course topics are supplied, textbooks and periodicals, covering the fields of applied geology can be borrowed from the library. Training in the use of computers is provided and each participant will have access to computers.

All lectures conclude with final examination. Individual grades are collated under the following main grades:

• Hydrogeology,
• Engineering Geology,
• Soil Science and Raw Materials,
• Exploration and Surveying Techniques,
• Geography,
• Scientific/technical Reports.

Participants successfully completing all course requirements will be issued a certificate stating the examination grades obtained.

After successfully completing all academic requirements of the course, participants are then expected to acquire some practical on-the-job training. For German participants, training must be gained in a tropical or subtropical country and cover at least 3 months. For foreign participants, the administration of the course will make every effort to arrange a practical on-the-job training opportunity with a German consulting company.