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Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty

 

  1. Name of the dean of faculty:

Assistant Professor Mohammad Hamid "Omar"

  1. Introduction of the Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty

The significance of water resources-related sciences within the realm of natural sciences stems from humanity's ever-growing and insatiable demands. This is especially true given the rampant and wasteful utilization of water, which poses substantial risks to our water resources. There is a pressing need to fortify the nation's water sector, ensuring sustainable development and an improved quality of life for our society. Aligned with Kabul Polytechnic University's development policy, this faculty was established in 2014 with the approval of the Ministry of Higher Education. Its primary objective is to enhance higher education, producing experts aligned with the societal and national demands. Recognizing that the growth of the national economy and living standards hinges on the acquisition of water resources engineering-related knowledge, many accredited universities worldwide are devoted to research in this domain.

The Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty has two professional departments: The Hydraulic Structures Engineering Department and the Water Supply and Environmental Engineering Department. Besides that, in the organization of the faculty, there is another department by the name of History and Professional Economy, and this department is playing a supportive role in the university. Although in the approved organization of the faculty, there are five departments: Irrigation Engineering as a professional department and the Hydraulic and Hydrology Department as a supportive department that will teach the hydraulic and hydrology subjects to all universities, because of a lack of classrooms, these two departments have not started their activity yet. However, after solving the problem, the faculty has decided to activate these two departments soon.

In addition, the Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty has two Master's degree programs: the M.Sc. of Hydraulic Structures Engineering Program (MEWE) and the M.Sc. of Integrated Water Resources Management Program (MIWRM). Moreover, the Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty has a joint Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) program under the name of Civil and Environmental Engineering with the Faculty of Construction and Faculty of Transportation Engineering; this program has been approved by the Ministry of Higher Education in 2023 and will be started soon.

The educational system of this faculty, like other faculties of the university, is based on the internationally verified credit system. Based on the current curriculum, 183 credits are taught in the Bachelor of Sciences (BSc) program. In the M.Sc. of Hydraulic Structures Engineering Program (MEWE), 43 credits are taught in 62 hours of lectures. Additionally, in the M.Sc. of Integrated Water Resources Management Program (MIWRM), 43 credits are taught in 62 hours.

The Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty is led by the dean, vice dean, and head of departments, and the faculty council, which has eight academic members, is the highest source of decision-making at the faculty level. Furthermore, this faculty has a master's programs committee in its organization that has five members and manages all administrative and academic issues of the master's programs.

Currently, the faculty lessons are taught by 19 professors with M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees, and four of them are doing their Ph.D. in India, Germany, Turkey, and England. The faculty has 340 students in its Bachelor's degree programs, 182 of whom belong to the Hydraulic Structures Engineering Department, and 158 belong to the Water Supply and Environmental Engineering Department. Furthermore, the Hydraulic and Hydraulic Structures Department has graduated ten term students from its Master's degree program and currently has 59 students in its Master's degree program.

The Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty has a decent building with well-equipped classrooms. It has 11 classrooms equipped with lighting and air conditioning systems. The classrooms also have LEDs, whiteboards, and projectors. Some of these classrooms have been equipped by the USWDP Fund based on the signed Memorandum of understanding (MOU) between KPU and USWDP. In addition, one classroom with 30 computers for the Master's degree program in Hydraulic Structures Engineering, and two other classrooms have been equipped for the Master's degree in Integrated Water Resources Management Program (MIWRM).

Since it is clear that the lessons in the Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty departments are based on practical experiments, the laboratory of the Hydraulics and Hydraulic Structure department has been equipped with the latest instruments from the most accredited companies worldwide. The students can use instruments for their practical work and experiments under the guidance of a laboratory engineer and professor. Based on the signed partnership MOU between Kabul Polytechnic University and USWDP/fhi360, fourteen modern laboratory machines were purchased from Germany and America and installed that are ready for operation. With the creation of the Master's degree program of the Integrated Water Resources Management Program (MIWRM), modern types of equipment are purchased from the United Kingdom (UK); after installation of these types of equipment, the laboratory will become an advanced laboratory in the field of water in the region. The manuals of the laboratory instruments are available for the students as soft and hard.

The library of the Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty has printed collections of materials. The library has comprehensive and unifying hard and soft book content. Also, for the laptop computers, internet services are available for all the students. The library has a calm space for the study of students with a lighting and air conditioning system. Based on the signed partnership MOU between Kabul Polytechnic University and USWDP/fhi360, 300 copies of the books that are taught in the Master's program were prepared by the University of Nebraska (UNO/UNL) in America and are accessible for professors and students.

  1. Vision of the Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty

Dedication of well-equipped engineers with theoretical and practical sciences with preservation of the national values in the field of water and environment at the country and region level.

  1. Mission of the Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty

Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty is a scientific and research center with a reputation for supplying human experts equipped with modern knowledge of water resources and environment engineering, providing services, launching research for economic and social growth and development, and ultimately raising the standard of living of the people.

 

  1. Goals of the Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty

The core objectives of the faculty encompass:

  1. Enhancing the capacity of professors.
  2. Outfitting classrooms with modern teaching technology.
  3. Implementing contemporary teaching methods and technology.
  4. Developing the laboratories of professional and supportive departments.
  5. Securing funding for constructing a research laboratory building to accommodate physical models in addition to the existing hydraulic laboratory building.
  6. Creating an ethical and inclusive environment for teaching, mitigating all forms of discrimination.
  7. Continuously reviewing and updating the curriculum and syllabi of professional and supportive departments.
  8. Increasing the academic staff complement based on institutional needs and legal procedures.
  9. Undertaking research projects and providing engineering services across various domains.
  10. Sourcing additional funding organizations to bolster the implementation of the faculty's strategic plan.
  11. Elevating the number of scientific research publications authored by faculty members.
  12. Cultivating relationships with national and international universities for collaborative research and scientific partnerships.
  13. Establishing a comprehensive faculty database and assisting in the development of the university's website.
  14. Conducting regular self-evaluations and evaluating the administrative, academic, and teaching facets of the faculty.
  15. Acquiring new books and teaching materials.
  16. Pioneering the creation of new departments in alignment with the national interest.
  17. Reviewing rules, procedures, and manuals.
  18. Implementing a system of rewards and penalties at the faculty level.
  19. Constructing departmental and faculty libraries.
  20. Striving for the academic, economic, and organizational autonomy of the university.
  21. Providing training for laboratory engineers and technicians across various departments.

 

  1. Departments of the Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty

The Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty consists of two professional departments and one supportive department:

  1. Department of Hydraulic and Hydraulic Structures, a professional department at Bachelor's and Master's degree levels.
  2. Department of Water Supply and Environmental Engineering at Bachelor's degree level.
  3. Department of Filamentary economic and History (supportive department).

 

  1. Committees of the Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty

The faculty has 13 active committees within its organizational structure, including:

  1. Master's Programs Committee
  2. Trustees Committee
  3. Regulation and Discipline Committee
  4. Curriculum Committee
  5. Quality Assurance Committee
  6. Exams Committee
  7. Research and Academic Promotions Committee
  8. Revision and Application of Strategic Plan Committee
  9. E-learning Committee
  10.  Comparison of exam result sheets with Final Results Committee
  11.  Cultural and Elites Committee
  12.  Teaching evaluation Committee
  13.  Relations and Cooperations Committee

 

  1. Faculty activity in the independence framework of the Kabul Polytechnic University

Departments of the Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty in the University’s Independence framework have implemented the following programs:

    • Afghanistan National Water & Environmental Research Center (ANWERC).

The Afghanistan National Water and Environmental Research Center (ANWERC) was established through the innovation of the Hydraulic Structures Engineering Department of the Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty in the organization of Kabul Polytechnic University. Its mission is to solve water and environmental problems in the country. This center solves the water problem of Afghanistan through research, design, and cooperation with national and international stakeholders in the water and environmental affairs of Afghanistan in the sectors of water management, policy-making, monitoring, and consultancy. The jobs and activities of this center as a whole are divided into two parts: activities related to water resources and activities related to the environment in Afghanistan.

    • Master's degree program in Hydraulic Structures Engineering (MEWE).

In 2011, in order to achieve academic self-sufficiency in the country, movement toward productive knowledge, implementation of facilities and new capacities inside the country, upgrade of the quality education level, and improvement of the educational situation of the academic members and experts, the teaching of the Master's degree program (MEWE) was started in the Department of Hydraulic Structures Engineering, and currently 59 students are busy doing their Master's degree there.

    • Master's degree program in Integrated Water Resource Management (MIWRM).

The Master's degree program in Integrated Water Resource Management (MIWRM) was implemented through the innovation of the Department of Hydraulic and Hydraulic Structures of the Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty in the framework of Financial Independence of the Universities and by the fund of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the capacity building of professional and technical staff of the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) on December 21, 2019. After the completion of this Master's degree program, the students will be able to do Water Resources Management, Effective Utilization of Agricultural Water, and Wastewater Management, particularly Flood and Drought Management, in the proper manner.

 9. Organizational Chart of Environmental and Water Engineering Faculty

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