Competence based learning for an on-line course on flood modelling for management

In their future working and professional environment higher education graduates are expected to effectively work in the “Information Society”. This work is knowledge intensive and ICT-rich. Implied is a change from application of disciplinary topics to competence based working where knowledge, skills and attitudes are integrated across separate disciplines. Students in higher education need a learning environment in which they can learn to operate at the level required for starting a professional career. The learning environment therefore should take realistic account of the future working and professional environment with the main focus on development of professional competences of students. The students learn to apply knowledge in professional situations; their competence development is measured and assessed. This is the characteristic of an educational concept which is often termed ‘competence-based education’. The present paper presents the Hydroinformatics on-line courses, with focus on “Flood Modelling for Managenment”, designed for competence based learning. An analysis is given for the differences between classical on-line learning and competence-based learning courses, as well as the evaluation of the two given by the participants