Master in Ecological Transition and River Contracts Manager

The second-level master in Ecological Transition and River Contracts Manager trains professionals able to coordinate processes of governance of water and river territories, a field in which technical, legal and relational skills are needed. River contracts are instruments of negotiated planning with which administrations, companies and communities define shared actions for the protection and enhancement of river basins. The programme covers the sustainability of water territories, ecosystem services, risk management and sustainable planning. River contracts stem from the idea that water management cannot be entrusted to a single body, because it involves agricultural, industrial and civil uses, environmental quality, flood risk and the landscape. The master teaches participants to coordinate the different parties, to build agreements and to monitor their implementation, work in which technical skills and the ability to mediate both count.

Teaching takes place online, through the Polytechnic University's platform, with 430 hours of lessons and assessment through examinations at the end of each module. To these are added 250 hours of curricular internship at territorial bodies, research centres, universities and professional firms. The approach integrates theory and practice. The master lasts one year and the cost is €3,000. The page does not make explicit the language of delivery, which can be assumed to be Italian, or the credits, the start dates and the deadlines. The theme of ecosystem services, that is, the benefits that people derive from ecosystems, such as climate regulation or water purification, helps to assess territorial choices more fully. Risk management, in particular that linked to floods and climate change, is another pillar, because the ecological transition requires safer territories.

The aim is to prepare figures for public bodies, private consulting, river basin management and spatial planning. The master is aimed at master's graduates in the territorial, environmental, legal and social fields, and therefore at those coming from environmental and land engineering, planning, and the natural, agricultural, legal and socio-political sciences. The variety of profiles encourages an engagement between different skills, necessary to tackle problems involving environmental, regulatory and social aspects. The online format makes it accessible also to those who live far from Turin. The Polytechnic University of Turin is ranked 241st in the 2025 QS world rankings and 103rd in the European ones. The 250-hour internship at territorial bodies, research centres, universities and professional firms makes it possible to see at close quarters the work of administrations and of the groups working on river basins. The examinations at the end of each module punctuate the online programme and encourage regular attendance, an important aspect for those who study remotely and have to organise themselves independently.