IIT Madras with Tel Aviv University and KMCH-RF Launches Hybrid Course on Water Quality

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has partnered with Tel Aviv University, Israel, and KMCH-Research Foundation (KMCH-RF), Coimbatore, to offer a comprehensive course on water quality. This four-month-long course aims to promote water literacy among citizens and will be available in a hybrid format through the NPTEL online platform.

Registrations for the course will begin on July 29, 2024. Interested candidates can register via the following link: https://bit.ly/3zgpkMy. The course is particularly suited for final-year science and engineering students, as well as anyone with a technical background interested in water quality.

Course Structure

The programme, titled "A Hybrid Course on Water Quality: An Approach to People's Water Data," covers fundamental aspects of water quality. Students will learn to analyze key water quality parameters and understand their impact on human health. The course also aims to establish a comprehensive database of water quality from various sources, including households, rivers, borewells, groundwater, and pipeline networks.
Practical sessions will involve fieldwork where students will use hand-held instruments and field test kits to measure water quality parameters such as:

• Free chlorine
• Total chlorine
• Alkalinity
• pH
• Oxidation-reduction potential (ORP)
• Conductivity
• Total dissolved solids (TDS)
• Temperature
• Turbidity
• Presence and absence of E. coli and total coliforms
• Instructors and Guest Lecturers

The course will be taught by:

• Professor T Pradeep and Professor Ligy Philip from IIT Madras
• Professor Hadas Mamane and Professor Ram Fishman from Tel Aviv University
• Dr. G Velmurugan from KMCH-Research Foundation
• Additionally, guest lecturers from IIT Madras, BARC, and Purdue University will contribute to the course.

Professor Thalappil Pradeep from IIT Madras highlighted the significance of water quality in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He stated, "Achieving Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations is possible only when people understand the reasons that limit their realization. Water quality is one such aspect. This course will build reliable water quality data by people which will also make them water-literate."

Practical Sessions and Data Collection

The practical sessions are designed to take place in various cities and villages across India. This approach encourages many participants from each location to enroll, enabling them to contribute effectively towards building People's Water Data. Universities and institutes are encouraged to become centers for these practical sessions.

The course was developed based on a pilot study conducted last summer in different locations across Tamil Nadu, including Chennai and Erode. College students participated in this study, helping to create an online database of water quality with spatial coordinates and survey inputs.

Students can attend lectures online or offline, or access recorded sessions at their convenience. Their understanding of the concepts will be assessed through online assignments and quizzes. Those opting for practical sessions will conduct measurements both in the field and lab settings. Upon successful completion of the course, students will receive a certificate, which may count towards their degree program credits at their respective institutions.