Academic literature on the topic 'Sustainable Engineering Systems'

Abstract Given the most competitive nature of global business environment, effective engineering innovation is a critical requirement for all levels of system lifecycle development. The society and community expectations have increased beyond environmental short term impacts to global long term sustainability approach. Sustainability and engineering competence skills are extremely important due to a general shortage of engineering talent and the need for mobility of highly trained professionals [1]. Engineering sustainable complex systems is extremely important in view of the general shortage of resources and talents. Engineers implement new technologies and processes to avoid the negative environmental, societal and economic impacts. Systems thinking help engineers and designers address sustainable development issues with a global focus using leadership and excellence. This paper introduces the Systems Engineering (SE) methodology for designing complex and more sustainable business and industrial solutions, with emphasis on engineering excellence and leadership as key drivers for business sustainability. The considerable advancements achieved in complex systems engineering indicate that the adaptation of sustainable SE to business needs can lead to highly sophisticated yet widely useable collaborative applications, which will ensure the sustainability of limited resources such as energy and clean water. The SE design approach proves critical in maintaining skills needed in future capable workforce. Two factors emerged to have the greatest impact on the competitiveness and sustainability of complex systems and these were: improving skills and performance in engineering and design, and adopting SE and human systems integration (HSI) methodology to support sustainability in systems development. Additionally, this paper provides a case study for the application of SE and HSI methodology for engineering sustainable and complex systems.

Products from chemical engineering are essential for human well-being, but they also contribute to the degradation of ecosystem goods and services that are essential for sustaining all human activities. To contribute to sustainability, chemical engineering needs to address this paradox by developing chemical products and processes that meet the needs of present and future generations. Unintended harm of chemical engineering has usually appeared outside the discipline's traditional system boundary due to shifting of impacts across space, time, flows, or disciplines, and exceeding nature's capacity to supply goods and services. Being a subdiscipline of chemical engineering, process systems engineering (PSE) is best suited for ensuring that chemical engineering makes net positive contributions to sustainable development. This article reviews the role of PSE in the quest toward a sustainable chemical engineering. It focuses on advances in metrics, process design, product design, and process dynamics and control toward sustainability. Efforts toward contributing to this quest have already expanded the boundary of PSE to consider economic, environmental, and societal aspects of processes, products, and their life cycles. Future efforts need to account for the role of ecosystems in supporting industrial activities, and the effects of human behavior and markets on the environmental impacts of chemical products. Close interaction is needed between the reductionism of chemical engineering science and the holism of process systems engineering, along with a shift in the engineering paradigm from wanting to dominate nature to learning from it and respecting its limits.

Many fisheries have significant challenges related to sustainable development, such as overexploitation and overcapacity in the fishing fleet. Overcapacity leads to increased pressure on fish resources, reduced profitability, and environmental problems such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and acidification fromfuel consumption. Sustainable management of the fish resources is an important objective in Norway, but overcapacity is a problem in several Norwegian fleet segments. Important issues in this respect are whether the traditional management models are able to deal with the capacity development, and whether the role of technology as a relevant discipline in fisheries management is underestimated.

The objective of this work has been to integrate a technological perspective into fisheries management in order to improve sustainability in the fishing fleet. The thesis work has been limited to the Norwegian fisheries in Norwegian territorialwaters. Since the main problems addressed in this thesis are sustainability and overcapacity, the system boundaries are limited to the fishing fleet. This means that the marine ecosystem in where the fishing vessels are interacting, is outside the thesis’ boundaries.

The main contributions of this thesis are:

• Development of a methodological framework that structures fisheries management decision-making, with main emphasis on improved sustainability in the fishing fleet.

• Clarification of the concept of sustainability in the Norwegian fishing fleet.

• Classification of attributes characterizing sustainability, and a performance evaluation of the different vessel groups in the cod-fishing fleet.

• Comparison of two cod-production systems, with focus on sustainability.

• Suggestions for how fisheries management can evaluate sustainability on a regular basis.

• Improved foundation for further research about sustainability in the fisheries. A lot of literature is collected and synthesized.

The framework developed is based on the systems engineering process. The nature of sustainability requires a systems perspective. There are different system analysis methods, but from a technological perspective, dealing with multidisciplinary tasks, systems engineering has been selected as the most feasible process. It has a strong focus on stakeholder needs and requirements, and it facilitates frequent evaluations of sustainability, which is important in order to assess management efficiency and goal achievement.

Problems regarding sustainability in the fisheries are not only caused by technological development, but have organizational challenges as well. However, in this thesis the focus is within the technological perspective. Systems engineering is not applied as an attempt to change the structure of fisheries management, but as means of suggesting a decision-making process that improves sustainability in the fishing fleet.

Fisheries management involves decision-making in situations often characterized by high risks and uncertainties, and it may be difficult to predict the outcomes of the decisions, for example, regarding sustainability in the fishing fleet. A number of tools that are available to support decision-making have been discussed and used in the thesis, such as cost-benefit analysis, risk acceptance criteria, life cycle cost (LCC), the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and Quality Function Deployment (QFD). Nevertheless, these tools do not provide “correct” answers; they have limitations, they are based on a number of assumptions, and their uses are based on scientific knowledge as well as value judgments involving political, strategic, and ethical issues. This means that these methods leave the decision-makers to apply decision processes outside the practical applications of the analyses, to which the framework offers guiding principles and structure.

The main outcome of using systems engineering principles in fisheries management, is that the framework offers a broader analytical perspective to fisheries management and sustainability, which acknowledge that sustainability cannot be distinguished fromthe context. Today, most input to fisheries management come from biology and economy, such as stock assessments and profitability analyses. In systems engineering, information from different scientific disciplines, for example, biology, social sciences, economy, and technology, are necessary input to the analyses and decision processes, because fisheriesmanagement is much more than bio-economics. Application of the systems engineering process in fisheries management, and the inclusion of technology, introduce new perspectives, new disciplines, and new stakeholders into the decision-making process in the fisheries.

Based on the framework developed in the thesis, the sustainability performance of the cod-fishing fleet has been evaluated. Sustainability in the fishing fleet may be characterized by seven attributes; accident risk, employment, profitability, quality, catch capacity, bycatch/selection, andGHGemissions/acidification. Indicators have been identified in order to measure the system performance within the attributes. The evaluation shows that there are differences in the performance of the vessel groups. These differences pose a major challenge to fisheries management in their decision-making regarding sustainability in the fleet. The smallest vessels have the lowest fuel consumption (kg fuel/kg fish), but they have a very high accident risk (FAR). The evaluation of cod fishing vs. cod farming shows that the potential growth in the cod farming industry may cause changes in the management system of the cod fisheries, such as a possible shift from the IVQ-systemof today to an ITQ-system.

The Norwegian fisheries management lacks frequent evaluations of its policies, and the information and data available about the fisheries are fragmented. Sustainability should be evaluated on a regular basis by use of performance indicators to determine if sustainability increases or decreases. For simplicity, the indicators could be aggregated into a sustainability index showing the overall system performance. Aggregation implies simplification and weighting of the indicators, which means that such an index should be used with care. Sustainability implies a long term perspective when taking decisions, because future generations will be affected. The performance evaluations can give indications of trends, which means that the results can be used to predict consequences in the future, based on the current development.

Paper I, II, III, IV and VI are reprinted with kind permission of Elsevier, sciencedirect.com

A major problem is looming in Saudi Arabia. The problem is a direct result of the ever growing volume of construction waste. Collecting construction waste firms are guilty of dumping waste on undeveloped lands creating a nuisance and public hazard. Landfills in major Saudi cities are nearing capacity. The facilities to sort out recyclable materials from construction waste are nearly non-existent. As a result, materials that could be recycled end up being lost in dumpsite or landfills. The cost of construction materials continues to rise with inflation. There exists opportunities to help contain construction costs, reduce landfill use, and make Saudi Arabia more ecologically compliant by applying a sustainable construction waste system. This opportunity exists in construction waste management system, and how to manage it? Providing a new or revised system will provide a more efficient and effective job in managing construction waste and will resolve many concerns for the citizens of major Saudi Arabian cities. This paper proposes how multiple problems will be solved by developing and implementing a sustainable system to recycle construction waste and use it in the construction sector. The solution that will be chosen will maximize revenue generation from recycling, provide needed materials to the construction industry for reuse, will minimize landfill use when compared to current methods, and will support a more "green" Saudi Arabia than the current system provides.

With increasing environmental awareness and natural resource limitations, researchers must begin to incorporate sustainability into their process and product designs. One target for green engineering is in reaction and separation design. This is typically done in a wasteful and often toxic manner with organic solvents and lack of recycle. The following thesis discusses alternatives to these costly separations by means of ionic liquids, benign extraction, separation with carbon dioxide, and near critical water. Ionic liquids are combined with carbon dioxide to induce melting point depressions of up to 124 degrees Celsius. Using this system as a reaction medium will offer control over the reaction phases while utilizing green solvents. Benign extractions are performed on both ferulic acid and on proteins from biomass by replacing alkaline solvents and costly protein separation techniques with simple liquid-liquid extraction. This means simpler systems and less waste than from previous methods. This thesis also discusses an opportunity for more efficient separation and recycle of a pharmaceutical catalyst, Mn-Salen. Using carbon dioxide with the organic aqueous tunable solvent system, the reaction can be run homogeneously and the product and catalyst separated heterogeneously, thus creating an extremely efficient process. Lastly, near critical water is used as an extraction and reaction medium by extracting ferulic acid from Brewers Spent Grain and then catalyzing its transformation to 4-vinylguaiacol. In this manner a simple, benign process is used to turn waste into valuable chemicals. Although somewhat different, each of the studied processes strives to eliminate waste and toxicity of many commonly used reaction and separation techniques, thus creating safe and sustainable processes.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xxiii, 306 p.; also includes graphics (some col.) Includes bibliographical references (p. 297-306). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

The protection of public health is the basis behind any waste management system while its sophistication is dictated by environmental impact concerns and constraints on the ideal solution. Waste management systems can and should be designed from a sustainable basis. This thesis examines the theoretical basis of sustainable waste management systems and explores their application in Trinidad and Tobago. The transformation of Trinidad's existing waste management system into one which is sustainable begins with a thorough characterization of the existing formal and informal waste management sectors. Their linkages are identified and understood, leading to recommendations towards the alteration of the existing policy/legislation basis, system structure and operations to create a sustainable system. The resources and expertise are in place to complete such a transformation and the resulting system will benefit the nation; converting an antiquated policy of environmental neglect into that which will provide for the earth and future generations.

Adequate energy supply has become one of the vital components of human development and economic growth of nations. In fact, major components of the global economy such as transportation services, communications, industrial processes, and construction activities are dependent on adequate energy resources. Even mining and extraction of energy resources, including harnessing the forces of nature to produce energy, are dependent on accessibility of sufficient energy in the appropriate form at the desired location. Therefore, energy resource planning and management to provide appropriate energy in terms of both quantity and quality has become a priority at the global level. The increasing demand for energy due to growing population, higher living standards, and economic development magnifies the importance of reliable energy plans. In addition, the uneven distribution of traditional fossil fuel energy sources on the Earth and the resulting political and economic interactions are other sources of complexity within energy planning. The competition over fossil fuels that exists due to gradual depletion of such sources and the tremendous thirst of current global economic operations for these sources, as well as the sensitivity of fossil fuel supplies and prices to global conditions, all add to the complexity of effective energy planning. In addition to diversification of fossil fuel supply sources as a means of increasing national energy security, many governments are investing in non-fossil fuels, especially renewable energy sources, to combat the risks associated with adequate energy supply. Moreover, increasing the number of energy sources also adds further complication to energy planning. Global warming, resulting from concentration of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, influences energy infrastructure investments and operations management as a result of international treaty obligations and other regulations requiring that emissions be cut to sustainable levels. Burning fossil fuel, as one of the substantial driving factors of global warming and energy insecurity, is mostly impacted by such policies, pushing forward the implementation of renewable energy polices. Thus, modern energy portfolios comprise a mix of renewable energy sources and fossil fuels, with an increasing share of renewables over time. Many governments have been setting renewable energy targets that mandate increasing energy production from such sources over time. Reliance on renewable energy sources certainly helps with reduction of greenhouse gas emissions while improving national energy security. However, the growing implementation of renewable energy has some limitations. Such energy technologies are not always as cheap as fossil fuel sources, mostly due to immaturity of these energy sources in most locations as well as high prices of the materials and equipment to harness the forces of nature and transform them to usable energy. In addition, despite the fact that renewable energy sources are traditionally considered to be environmentally friendly, compared to fossil fuels, they sometimes require more natural resources such as water and land to operate and produce energy. Hence, the massive production of energy from these sources may lead to water shortage, land use change, increasing food prices, and insecurity of water supplies. In other words, the energy production from renewables might be a solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it might become a source of other problems such as scarcity of natural resources. The fact that future energy mix will rely more on renewable sources is undeniable, mostly due to depletion of fossil fuel sources over time. However, the aforementioned limitations pose a challenge to general policies that encourage immediate substitution of fossil fuels with renewables to battle climate change. In fact, such limitations should be taken into account in developing reliable energy policies that seek adequate energy supply with minimal secondary effects. Traditional energy policies have been suggesting the expansion of least cost energy options, which were mostly fossil fuels. Such sources used to be considered riskless energy options with low volatility in the absence of competitive energy markets in which various energy technologies are competing over larger market shares. Evolution of renewable energy technologies, however, complicated energy planning due to emerging risks that emanated mostly from high price volatility. Hence, energy planning began to be seen as investment problems in which the costs of energy portfolio were minimized while attempting to manage associated price risks. So, energy policies continued to rely on risky fossil fuel options and small shares of renewables with the primary goal to reduce generation costs. With emerging symptoms of climate change and the resulting consequences, the new policies accounted for the costs of carbon emissions control in addition to other costs. Such policies also encouraged the increased use of renewable energy sources. Emissions control cost is not an appropriate measure of damages because these costs are substantially less than the economic damages resulting from emissions. In addition, the effects of such policies on natural resources such as water and land is not directly taken into account. However, sustainable energy policies should be able to capture such complexities, risks, and tradeoffs within energy planning. Therefore, there is a need for adequate supply of energy while addressing issues such as global warming, energy security, economy, and environmental impacts of energy production processes. The effort in this study is to develop an energy portfolio assessment model to address the aforementioned concerns. This research utilized energy performance data, gathered from extensive review of articles and governmental institution reports. The energy performance values, namely carbon footprint, water footprint, land footprint, and cost of energy production were carefully selected in order to have the same basis for comparison purposes. If needed, adjustment factors were applied. In addition, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) energy projection scenarios were selected as the basis for estimating the share of the energy sources over the years until 2035. Furthermore, the resource availability in different states within the U.S. was obtained from publicly available governmental institutions that provide such statistics. Specifically, the carbon emissions magnitudes (metric tons per capita) for different states were extracted from EIA databases, states' freshwater withdrawals (cubic meters per capita) were found from USGS databases, states' land availability values (square kilometers) were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau, and economic resource availability (GDP per capita) for different states were acquired from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In this study, first, the impacts of energy production processes on global freshwater resources are investigated based on different energy projection scenarios. Considering the need for investing on energy sources with minimum environmental impacts while securing maximum efficiency, a systems approach is adopted to quantify the resource use efficiency of energy sources under sustainability indicators. The sensitivity and robustness of the resource use efficiency scores are then investigated versus existing energy performance uncertainties and varying resource availability conditions. The resource use efficiency of the energy sources is then regionalized for different resource limitation conditions in states within the U.S. Finally, a sustainable energy planning framework is developed based on Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) and Post-Modern Portfolio Theory (PMPT) with consideration of the resource use efficiency measures and associated efficiency risks. In the energy-water nexus investigation, the energy sources are categorized into 10 major groups with distinct water footprint magnitudes and associated uncertainties. The global water footprint of energy production processes are then estimated for different EIA energy mix scenarios over the 2012-2035 period. The outcomes indicate that the water footprint of energy production increases by almost 50% depending on the scenario. In fact, growing energy production is not the only reason for increasing the energy related water footprint. Increasing the share of water intensive energy sources in the future energy mix is another driver of increasing global water footprint of energy in the future. The results of the energies' water footprint analysis demonstrate the need for a policy to reduce the water use of energy generation. Furthermore, the outcomes highlight the importance of considering the secondary impacts of energy production processes besides their carbon footprint and costs. The results also have policy implications for future energy investments in order to increase the water use efficiency of energy sources per unit of energy production, especially those with significant water footprint such as hydropower and biofuels. In the next step, substantial efforts have been dedicated to evaluating the efficiency of different energy sources from resource use perspective. For this purpose, a system of systems approach is adopted to measure the resource use efficiency of energy sources in the presence of trade-offs between independent yet interacting systems (climate, water, land, economy). Hence, a stochastic multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) framework is developed to compute the resource use efficiency scores for four sustainability assessment criteria, namely carbon footprint, water footprint, land footprint, and cost of energy production considering existing performance uncertainties. The energy sources' performances under aforementioned sustainability criteria are represented in ranges due to uncertainties that exist because of technological and regional variations. Such uncertainties are captured by the model based on Monte-Carlo selection of random values and are translated into stochastic resource use efficiency scores. As the notion of optimality is not unique, five MCDM methods are exploited in the model to counterbalance the bias toward definition of optimality. This analysis is performed under “no resource limitation” conditions to highlight the quality of different energy sources from a resource use perspective. The resource use efficiency is defined as a dimensionless number in scale of 0-100, with greater numbers representing a higher efficiency. The outcomes of this analysis indicate that despite increasing popularity, not all renewable energy sources are more resource use efficient than non-renewable sources. This is especially true for biofuels and different types of ethanol that demonstrate lower resource use efficiency scores compared to natural gas and nuclear energy. It is found that geothermal energy and biomass energy from miscanthus are the most and least resource use efficient energy alternatives based on the performance data available in the literature. The analysis also shows that none of the energy sources are strictly dominant or strictly dominated by other energy sources. Following the resource use efficiency analysis, sensitivity and robustness analyses are performed to determine the impacts of resource limitations and existing performance uncertainties on resource use efficiency, respectively. Sensitivity analysis indicates that geothermal energy and ethanol from sugarcane have the lowest and highest resource use efficiency sensitivity, respectively. Also, it is found that from a resource use perspective, concentrated solar power (CSP) and hydropower are respectively the most and least robust energy options with respect to the existing performance uncertainties in the literature. In addition to resource use efficiency analysis, sensitivity analysis and robustness analysis, of energy sources, this study also investigates the scheme of the energy production mix within a specific region with certain characteristics, resource limitations, and availabilities. In fact, different energy sources, especially renewables, vary in demand for natural resources (such as water and land), environmental impacts, geographic requirements, and type of infrastructure required for energy production. In fact, the efficiency of energy sources from a resource use perspective is dependent upon regional specifications, so the energy portfolio varies for different regions due to varying resource availability conditions. Hence, the resource use efficiency scores of different energy technologies are calculated based on the aforementioned sustainability criteria and regional resource availability and limitation conditions (emissions, water resources, land, and GDP) within different U.S. states, regardless of the feasibility of energy alternatives in each state. Sustainability measures are given varying weights based on the emissions cap, available economic resources, land, and water resources in each state, upon which the resource use efficiency of energy sources is calculated by utilizing the system of systems framework developed in the previous step. Efficiency scores are graphically illustrated on GIS-based maps for different states and different energy sources. The results indicate that for some states, fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas are as efficient as renewables like wind and solar energy technologies from resource use perspective. In other words, energy sources' resource use efficiency is significantly sensitive to available resources and limitations in a certain location. Moreover, energy portfolio development models have been created in order to determine the share of different energy sources of total energy production, in order to meet energy demand, maintain energy security, and address climate change with the least possible adverse impacts on the environment. In fact, the traditional “least cost” energy portfolios are outdated and should be replaced with “most efficient” ones that are not only cost-effective, but also environmentally friendly. Hence, the calculated resource use efficiency scores and associated statistical analysis outcomes for a range of renewable and nonrenewable energy sources are fed into a portfolio selection framework to choose the appropriate energy mixes associated with the risk attitudes of decision makers. For this purpose, Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) and Post-Modern Portfolio Theory (PMPT) are both employed to illustrate how different interpretations of “risk of return” yield different energy portfolios. The results indicate that 2012 energy mix and projected world's 2035 energy portfolio are not sustainable in terms of resource use efficiency and could be substituted with more reliable, more effective portfolios that address energy security and global warming with minimal environmental and economic impacts.
Ph.D.
Doctorate
Civil, Environmental, and Construction Engineering
Engineering and Computer Science
Civil Engineering

The natural world has long been impacted by technological society; however, in recent years environmental impacts and constraints are increasingly on the global, rather than local or regional, scale. Moreover, the interconnectivity of biological systems with energy and material flows is increasingly evident. Today, it is well understood that climate change, energy constraints and biological degradation are largely a consequence of technological production and energy use. In this context, one would expect engineering education to have evolved to prepare engineers to be capable of addressing these issues. Rather, excluding the resurgence in design education, we see a curriculum that remains largely unchanged. In this context, we propose an integrated mechanical engineering curriculum that emphasizes sustainable engineering and whole-system design. The curriculum provides mechanical engineering students with a deeper understanding of the broader impact of the products and processes they design, the tools to assess that impact, and the system level thinking to design technologies for a sustainable future.

The academic performance of engineering students continues to receive attention in the literature. Despite that, there is a lack of studies in the literature investigating the simultaneous relationship between students' systems thinking (ST) skills, Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality traits, proactive personality scale, academic, demographic, family background factors, and their potential impact on academic performance. Three established instruments, namely, ST skills instrument with seven dimensions, FFM traits with five dimensions, and proactive personality with one dimension, along with a demographic survey, have been administrated for data collection. A cross-sectional web-based study applying Qualtrics has been developed to gather data from engineering students. To demonstrate the prediction power of the ST skills, FFM traits, proactive personality, academic, demographics, and family background factors on the academic performance of engineering students, two unsupervised learning algorithms applied. The study results identify that these unsupervised algorithms succeeded to cluster engineering students' performance regarding primary skills and characteristics. In other words, the variables used in this study are able to predict the academic performance of engineering students. This study also has provided significant implications and contributions to engineering education and education sustainable development bodies of knowledge. First, the study presents a better perception of engineering students' academic performance. The aim is to assist educators, teachers, mentors, college authorities, and other involved parties to discover students' individual differences for a more efficient education and guidance environment. Second, by a closer examination at the level of systemic thinking and its connection with FFM traits, proactive personality, academic, and demographic characteristics, understanding engineering students' skillset would be assisted better in the domain of sustainable education.

This working paper is drawn from presentations and discussions that emerged during the ‘Agency of Change: Energy in the Displaced Context’ digital Conference held on Wednesday 4th November 2020. The conference was organised by the Centre of Data Science, Coventry University on behalf of the GCRF EPSRC Humanitarian Engineering and Energy for Displacement (HEED) project.

The article highlights peculiarities of geoinformation technologies’ application in course of pre-service engineers’ training for sustainable development, their functionalities, geoinformation system’s role and position in environmental protection acts. Concepts of geoinformation technologies, geoinformation system have been disclosed. The pedagogical experiment was done concerning introduction of the developed method of using geoinformation technologies as means of forming environmental competence profile mining engineers predicted an experemental studying on course «Environmental Geoinformatics». The results of the expert assessment of rational using geoinformation technologies there were given to create an ecological competence of future mining engineering profile.

Higher education related to water is a critical component of capacity development necessary to support countries’ progress towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) overall, and towards the SDG6 water and sanitation goal in particular. Although the precise number is unknown, there are at least 28,000 higher education institutions in the world. The actual number is likely higher and constantly changing. Water education programmes are very diverse and complex and can include components of engineering, biology, chemistry, physics, hydrology, hydrogeology, ecology, geography, earth sciences, public health, sociology, law, and political sciences, to mention a few areas. In addition, various levels of qualifications are offered, ranging from certificate, diploma, baccalaureate, to the master’s and doctorate (or equivalent) levels. The percentage of universities offering programmes in ‘water’ ranges from 40% in the USA and Europe to 1% in subSaharan Africa. There are no specific data sets available for the extent or quality of teaching ‘water’ in universities. Consequently, insights on this have to be drawn or inferred from data sources on overall research and teaching excellence such as Scopus, the Shanghai Academic Ranking of World Universities, the Times Higher Education, the Ranking Web of Universities, the Our World in Data website and the UN Statistics Division data. Using a combination of measures of research excellence in water resources and related topics, and overall rankings of university teaching excellence, universities with representation in both categories were identified. Very few universities are represented in both categories. Countries that have at least three universities in the list of the top 50 include USA, Australia, China, UK, Netherlands and Canada. There are universities that have excellent reputations for both teaching excellence and for excellent and diverse research activities in water-related topics. They are mainly in the USA, Europe, Australia and China. Other universities scored well on research in water resources but did not in teaching excellence. The approach proposed in this report has potential to guide the development of comprehensive programmes in water. No specific comparative data on the quality of teaching in water-related topics has been identified. This report further shows the variety of pathways which most water education programmes are associated with or built in – through science, technology and engineering post-secondary and professional education systems. The multitude of possible institutions and pathways to acquire a qualification in water means that a better ‘roadmap’ is needed to chart the programmes. A global database with details on programme curricula, qualifications offered, duration, prerequisites, cost, transfer opportunities and other programme parameters would be ideal for this purpose, showing country-level, regional and global search capabilities. Cooperation between institutions in preparing or presenting water programmes is currently rather limited. Regional consortia of institutions may facilitate cooperation. A similar process could be used for technical and vocational education and training, although a more local approach would be better since conditions, regulations and technologies vary between relatively small areas. Finally, this report examines various factors affecting the future availability of water professionals. This includes the availability of suitable education and training programmes, choices that students make to pursue different areas of study, employment prospects, increasing gender equity, costs of education, and students’ and graduates’ mobility, especially between developing and developed countries. This report aims to inform and open a conversation with educators and administrators in higher education especially those engaged in water education or preparing to enter that field. It will also benefit students intending to enter the water resources field, professionals seeking an overview of educational activities for continuing education on water and government officials and politicians responsible for educational activities