EPtre for Doctoral Training in Water Informatics: Science and Engineering (WISE)SRC Cen

全球水循环由物理、生物地球化学、生态和人类系统相互作用的复杂网络组成。对这一复杂循环的管理已经实行了几十年，但由于人口压力和环境变化的增加，新的挑战还在前面。这些挑战只能通过从根本上改变观点和实践来解决。最近对水安全在解决生态系统服务和可持续性方面的作用的关注也强调了需要采取新的方法来实现这一双重目标。这反过来又需要新的、全系统的、多方面的、数据密集的、跨学科的研究、培训和开发方法，这些方法要充分利用21世纪的信息爆炸和前沿技术。水信息学（也称为“水文信息学”或水信息工程）近年来发展迅速，旨在充分利用空间和地面传感器遥感信息的激增，在空间、时间和光谱分辨率方面的能力不断提高。从数据中获得的信息和知识可以在全球、区域和地方尺度上更有效和可靠地监测、模拟和管理水循环。水信息学处理“大数据”与“智能技术”的交集，在这些不同的尺度上提供更可持续的水解决方案，通过基于证据的洞察力实现创新。随着数字设备功能的飞速发展和价格的急剧下降，传感器能够以比以往更低的成本和更高的可靠性提供比以往更多的信息。此外，更多的人可以使用更强大的信息和通信技术（ICT）工具和设备（例如，全球有60亿手机用户- 2011年英国有8160万，超过25亿人使用互联网- 2012年英国有5270万）。这些工具还可以实现“人即传感器”（众包），将人类的技能结合起来，通过互联网的互联进行观察和解释，从而使新型信息能够被众包。结合这些趋势提供了惊人的新机会，以全新的方式解决新旧问题，以应对围绕水循环出现的新挑战。据估计，在全球范围内，通过采用智能水技术，每年可节省高达84亿英镑，以最大限度地减少运营效率低下，并最大限度地提高资本和运营支出的效果。科学技术委员会（2009年）、皇家工程院（2012年）和土木工程师学会（2012年）的报告都强调，在“能源、水、卫生、通信和IT系统”等国家重要行业，工程师和科学家的短缺尤为严重。预计欧洲IT行业的技能短缺（到2015年将有90万个职位空缺）促使欧盟委员会发起一个“大联盟”来解决这一短缺问题。很难想象，在It和水科学与工程学科的界面上工作的熟练工程师的需求将由It毕业生单独满足。因此，WISE CDT的目标将是通过提供研究生课程来填补这一技能差距，该课程将促进创新和合作的新水平，并在水信息学、科学和工程的边界培养一批工程师和科学家。此外，WISE CDT将与从统计到社会科学、地理、心理学和经济学等与可持续水管理有关的其他传统上独立的学科联系起来。

The global water cycle consists of a complex web of interacting physical, biogeochemical, ecological and human systems. Management of this complex cycle has been practised for decades, but new challenges lie ahead due to increasing population pressure and environmental change. These challenges can only be ad-dressed by fundamental changes, both in perspective and in practice. The recent focus on the role of water security in addressing ecosystem services and sustainability has also emphasised the need for new approaches to achieving this dual goal. This in turn requires new, whole-system, multi-faceted, data-intensive, interdisciplinary approaches to research, training and development - approaches which take advantage of the information explosion and leading-edge technologies of the 21st century. Water informatics (also known as 'hydroinformatics' or Water Information Engineering) has grown rapidly in recent years and seeks to take full advantage of the proliferation of remotely sensed information from space and ground based sensors with increasing capabilities in terms of spatial, temporal and spectral resolution. Information and knowledge gained from data allows more efficient and reliable monitoring, modelling and management of the water cycle at global, regional and local scales. Water informatics deals with the intersection of 'big data' with 'smart technologies', to deliver more sustainable water solutions over these diverse scales, enabling innovation through evidence based insight.As the capabilities of digital devices soar and their prices plummet, sensors are providing greater amounts of information than ever, at lower costs and with greater reliability than previously possible. In addition, many more people have access to far more powerful Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools and devices (e.g., there are 6 billion mobile-phone subscriptions worldwide - 81.6 million in the UK in 2011, with over 2.5 billion people using the internet - 52.7 million in the UK in 2012). These tools also enable 'People as sensors' (crowd-sourcing), bringing together the skills of humans to observe and interpret with the interconnection of the Internet to enable new types of information to be crowd-sourced. Combining these trends provides amazing new opportunities to address old and new problems in wholly new ways to meet emerging challenges around the water cycle. Globally, it is estimated that savings of up to £8.4 billion per annum may be realised through the adoption of smart water technologies to minimize operational inefficiencies and to maximize the effect of capital and operational expenditure.Reports by the Council for Science and Technology (2009), the Royal Academy of Engineering (2012) and the Institution of Civil Engineers (2012) have highlighted a particular shortage of engineers and scientists in industries of national importance, such as "energy, water, sanitation, communications and IT systems". The projected skills shortage in the IT sector in Europe (900,000 vacancies by 2015) has prompted the European Commission to launch a 'grand coalition' to tackle the shortage. It is difficult to envisage that the need for skilled engineers working at the interface of IT and water science and engineering disciplines will be met by IT graduates alone. The aim of the WISE CDT will therefore be to fill this skills gap by offering a postgraduate programme that fosters new levels of innovation and collaboration and trains a cohort of engineers and scientists at the boundary of water informatics, science and engineering. Furthermore, the WISE CDT will link with other traditionally separate disciplines, which are relevant to sustainable water management, ranging from statistics to social sciences, geography, psychology and economics.