This is a long-established programme. Many graduates of the programme have gone on to hold positions of authority in the desalination industry, for example as executives in consulting companies and plant suppliers, managing and running large desalination plants and in water-planning positions within senior government.
Although most of the students are either mechanical engineers or chemical engineers, an important feature of the programme is that it is tailored to be accessible to engineers and scientists from a range of disciplines.
Content
The programme consists of two main segments - taught courses and a project. The taught courses are:
* Introduction to desalination technology
* Chemistry and electrochemistry
* Thermal processes for desalination
* Membrane processes for desalination
* Corrosion and materials selection in desalination
* Fouling phenomena and their control in desalination plants.
Each MSc student is required to submit a dissertation, based on project work. The project is an in-depth study of a topic relevant to desalination technology. Typical examples of appropriate projects are a design study for a particular type of desalination process at a specific site; a computer simulation of the operation of an existing plant; a corrosion and materials selection exercise.