How to teach engineers to interact in a political decision making environment

Sectoral professionals, like coastal engineers, need to know how to cooperate in a multi-disciplinary environment, as well as how to present substantial information to (political) decision makers. In order to train (coastal engineering) students in this matter, Unesco-IHE and TU Delft have in their curriculum an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Seminar. Because there is also a demand for such a seminar from outside the normal student population, this seminar is also open for external participants, like tourist resort developers, ecologists as well as policy support officials, who are in need to learn how to present to decision makers the various development options in a coastal zone. This paper will give an overview of the nearly 25 years of experience we have collected in giving this seminar in Delft and Overseas. It is written from the learning perspective of a professional who attends the ICZM Seminar, while remarking the challenges and goals expected to be achieved.Hydraulic EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience