Living Lab

Course goals

• Students can plan and safely conduct fieldwork using appropriate methods, tools, and protocols for reliable and high-quality data collection (and storage of data in line with quality, reproducibility and transparency standards of the university), advancing their currents skills so they could undertake independent field research for a master's thesis.
• Students can safely conduct basic laboratory analyses on water and soil, following established protocols to obtain accurate and interpretable results. Upon further specific guidance, they would be prepared to utilize this method for their master's thesis.
• Students can understand and apply fundamental modeling concepts and statistical analysis techniques, using appropriate software tools, to analyze water systems and draw evidence-based conclusions that support informed decision-making in water management.
• Students further develop their understanding of qualitative research methods (especially interviews and outreach with stakeholders) to study water governance practices and provide suggestions for improvement.

• Students gain hands-on experience with rigorous, interdisciplinary empirical research addressing real-world water challenges, and can design an individual, stakeholder-informed research project, translating it into a written proposal at the level of a master's thesis proposal.
• Students can write a structured and critical scientific report on a water-related issue, including literature, methods, data analysis, and discussion & combine their individual research reports into a coherent, multidisciplinary scientific report addressing a regional water challenge.
• Students can translate scientific findings into a public-facing product (e.g., presentation, infographic, video) with clear messages and recommendations for stakeholders.

• Students have learned how to reflect on their role as researchers in a transdisciplinary context and within society (in the Living Lab of Zeeland) considering ethical aspects, positionality, and the societal impact of their work.

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