The programme

Mandatory courses

1. Environmental Modelling (6 ECTS)

2. Environmental and Natural Resource Economics (6 ECTS)

3. Impact Assessment (6 ECTS)

4. Air Quality Management and Climate Change (6 ECTS)


Elective courses - students may choose one of the following:

1. Remote Sensing (6 ECTS)

2. Sampling Techniques and Methodologies in Extreme Environments (6 ECTS)

3. Integrated Watershed Management (6 ECTS)


TOT: 30 ECTS

Mandatory courses

1. Surface and Groundwater Hydrological Modelling (6 ECTS)

2. Sustainability in Civil Engineering (6 ECTS)

3. Climate Change and Water Resources Planning and Management (6 ECTS)

4. Water Quality and Wastewater Treatment (6 ECTS)

5. Solid Waste Management and Soil Pollution (6 ECTS)

 

Elective course* - students may choose one of the following

1. Hydraulic Infrastructures (3 ECTS)

2. Sustainable ports and marine transportation (3 ECTS)

3. Climate change and coastal resilience (3 ECTS)

4. Solar Photovoltaic Energy and Water Management (3 ECTS)
 

TOT: 30 ECTS

Mandatory courses

1. Engineering for International Sustainable Development: Methods (6 ECTS)

2. Nature-based Solutions for Urban Sustainability (6 ECTS)

3. Water and Sediment Management for Sustainable Development (6 ECTS)

4. Sustainable Sanitation and Waste Management (6 ECTS)

 

Elective course* - students may choose one of the following

1. Renewable Energies (3 ECTS)

2. Applied Ecology (3 ECTS)

3. Artificial Intelligence for Environmental Applications (3 ECTS)

TOT: 30 ECTS
 

Engineering for International Sustainable Development: Project work (6 ECTS)

Master Thesis Dissertation (24 ECTS)
 

TOT: (30 ECTS)

Official start of the Programme: 1 September 2026

1. First Year, Fall Semester - Instituto Superior Técnico 

Arrival date: end of August 2026
Welcome week: 1 – 4 September 2026

First Period: 7 September – 21 October 2026
Preparation week: 22 – 25 October 2026
Examination session: 26 – 30 October 2026

Second Period: 2 November - 18 December 2026
Christmas holiday: 21 December 2026 – 1 January 2027
Preparation week: 4 – 7 January 2027
Examination session: 8 – 15 January 2027
Preparation week: 18 – 22 January 2027
Additional examination session: 25 – 29 January 2027

2. First Year, Spring Semester - Universitat Politècnica de València

Arrival date: early February 2027
Teaching activities: 8 February – 2 June 2027
Examination session: June – July 2027

3. Second Year, Fall Semester - University of Trento 

Arrival date: early September 2027
Teaching activities: 14 September – 22 December 2027
Examination session: 12 January – 19 February 2028
Additional examination session: 16 June – 10 September 2028
(tentative dates based on the a.y. 2026/2027)

4. Second Year, Spring Semester, flexible location 

Project work and Thesis Dissertation
Graduation sessions: September to December 2028
 

EESIC will create a new profile of graduates combining a strong engineering background

• to mitigate natural disaster risks, particularly hydrological and hydrogeological hazards linked to climate change and land use change;
• to design sustainable and equitable water supply, drainage, and flood protection infrastructures also with nature-based solutions;
• to reduce pollution and provide sanitation systems tailored to regional needs;
• to ensure sustainable access to natural resources, preserve biodiversity, minimize environmental impacts, and enhance ecosystem services;

with professional skills and global competencies, including an open mindset, initiative-taking perspective, problem-solving attitude, intercultural understanding, critical thinking, problem framing, and adaptability.

EESIC will increase the awareness of engineers about the importance of environmental sustainability, providing them with the necessary knowledge and competences to quantify and detect key drivers in complex systems, and to formulate alternative, eco-friendly solutions that also ensure social inclusion and economic competitiveness.

EESIC will increase the ability to critically understand the socio-economic and cultural factors that mostly affect engineering design within environmental projects, by enhancing their ability to work in diverse teams and by adopting viewpoints based on a novel understanding of local, real-world contexts.

Anthropogenic interventions can produce opportunities and threats on the fragile equilibrium between the natural and the built environment. EESIC aims at training future environmental engineers not only by providing cutting-edge technical knowledge, but also nurturing their capability of dealing with complex and controversial situations, educating them to recognize the crucial role of the cultural milieu for the success of an intervention.  

This is key for international cooperation for development, where knowledge of the local context controls the success or failure of technical projects, and also in any other engineering context in which conflicting interests, cultural acceptance, and other local factors play a crucial role. Training engineers to work in complex contexts, where the solution of the problem is not unique and not purely technical, is a challenge that higher education institutions must face.
 

EESIC Students who successfully fulfil each Partner’s requirement for graduation are awarded the following degrees:

1. Mestrado em Engenharia do Ambiente, awarded by IST-UL.
2. MSc in Engineering for Environmental Sustainability and International Cooperation, awarded by UPV.
3. Laurea Magistrale in Ingegneria per l’Ambiente e il Territorio (LM-35 Environmental Engineering, according to the Italian Ministry of Higher Education and Research classification), awarded by UniTrento.

A Joint Diploma Supplement will be issued. In addition, an EESIC Joint Certificate will be provided to attest the participation to the EESIC Erasmus Mundus Joint Master.
 

Graduates of the EESIC program enter a rapidly expanding global job market driven by the green transition and the demand for climate-neutral solutions. By bridging cutting-edge technical capabilities with a deep awareness of socio-economic and cultural factors, EESIC alumni are uniquely equipped to address complex real-world challenges and take on high-level management and decision-making roles. Potential career pathways include:

 

• Environmental and Civil Engineering careers: graduates can work as specialized engineers in both the private and public sectors, designing sustainable infrastructures and deploying nature-based solutions. They are fully equipped to manage critical challenges such as the mitigation of climate-induced hydrological risks, pollution reduction, and resource preservation
   
• Consulting for private, public, or non-governmental sectors: EESIC trains professionals to combine technical expertise with the capacity to navigate organizational and socio-economic issues. This makes graduates highly competitive as consultants for engineering firms, corporate entities, and public agencies looking to implement eco-friendly practices and comply with environmental standards
   
• International cooperation and NGO careers: with a strong emphasis on intercultural understanding, adaptability, and global competencies, alumni are exceptionally prepared for impactful roles within international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs). They possess the necessary context-awareness to successfully lead technical projects within complex international development environments where solutions are rarely purely technical
   
• Academic and applied research (PhD): by directly bridging higher education with research and innovation, the program serves as an ideal launchpad for academic careers. Graduates can pursue doctoral degrees (PhD) and engage in fundamental or applied research, leveraging the consortium’s extensive network and potential cotutelle agreements with international partner universities
   
• Public policy, institutional leadership and green entrepreneurship: alumni are trained to act as high-level decision-makers and managers within local authorities, national agencies, and international institutions. They are uniquely capable of formulating alternative, sustainable solutions that successfully balance environmental protection with social inclusion and economic competitiveness, or even launching innovative startups in the green economy