The rise in weather and climate extremes is pushing natural and human systems beyond their ability to adapt. Climate change most often affects countries and regions through the water sector. Insufficient budgets, institutional and regulatory weaknesses and stumbling blocks to regional water cooperation hinder adaptation to climate change. A paradigm shift in water governance and water diplomacy is needed to turn water into an instrument of political change, bringing about fundamental improvements in policy making, institutional and regulatory reforms and strengthened regional and global cooperation. Universities should become drivers of this change through human capacity building and research. EU universities participating in the consortium endeavor to modernize their curricula in close cooperation with partners from third countries. Climate change is hitting Central Asia particularly hard: temperatures have risen twice as fast as the global average. Successes and lessons learned from the region can be used for the development of innovative curricula that are informed by EU policies on climate change, green development and cooperative approaches to water governance. By collaborating with Central Asian HEI-s European members of the consortium will pool resources and knowledge to address pressing global issues such as climate change and water scarcity. Thanks to this partnership of cross-fertilization and complementarity members of the consortium will jointly develop innovative, highly integrated master programmes on water governance and water diplomacy that will attract students from other regions facing similar challenges. Graduates will inspire change in governments, public and private companies, civil society, academia and regional organizations. The project aspires to become a catalyst for the modernization of water related teaching programs as a contribution to efforts to tackle climate change and water related challenges of the 21st century.