SPRING signifies Spatial Planning for Regions in Growing Economies and is a two-year Master´s degree programme that addresses current topics of spatial planning in developing and emerging countries. In lectures, for instance SPRING participants discuss the challenges of rapid urban growth, reflect on the conflict between environmental protection and economic development, develop concepts to improve transport systems or define strategies to cope with impacts of climate change. The first year of the SPRING programme takes place at TU Dortmund University, followed by a second year at one of the five partnering universities in Ghana, Tanzania, The Philippines, Brazil or Chile. Language of instruction is English. The SPRING programme awards a M.Sc. Degree in “Regional Development Planning and Management”. Both final documents, certificate and transcript, are jointly issued by TU Dortmund University and the respective partnering university of the second study year.
Over the last decades, many governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America have initiated new regional development strategies, based on national decentralisation policies in order to reduce regional disparities. The level of management of the new decentralised administrative units (districts, regions or municipalities), however, rarely correspond with the new requirements. The quality of governance is still weak and experience in managing regional and urban development limited. Planners are increasingly challenged to bridge the boundaries between administrative sectors and the gap between formulating a plan and implementing a programme. New qualifications are required, ranging from planning competence to management skills, i.e. to make programmes operational with respect to financial requirements and restrictions or to moderate participatory processes. In order to fill the evident gap in adequate training for regional planning and management, six universities in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe are co-operating in running the SPRING programme. Launched in 1984 and designed as a joint post-graduate course, SPRING has pioneered a new way of international academic co-operation.
12.01.2021 – The SPRING-Community mourns the death of Manoj Basnyat Alumnus from Batch 1989/1990. He died on January 12th in New York.
24.12.2020 – The SPRING Team wishes you a merry christmas and a prosperous and happy New Year 2021
11.11.2020 – The international students of the SPRING - class 2020/21 were warmly welcomed to our faculty on 26 and 27 October 2020.
27.10.2020 – Last 23-25 October 2020, the SPRING International Association of Development Planners (SIADP) - Chile Alumni Group held the "SPRING Cross-Regional Dialogue 2020 with the theme: Responding to the Global Pandemic towards a Sustainable and Resilient Future. The SPRING Cross-Regional Dialogue was a three-day virtual conference, which brought together practical experiences and theoretical reflections of invited speakers and SPRING Programme alumni on planning policies, guidelines and practices related to the global COVID-19 pandemic response. Its main objective was to have a deeper understanding of how these practices contribute to emerging transformative planning approaches and resilient regional spatial development.
