Module 1 - Foundations of Risk Prevention and Disaster Management (17 ECTS)

Module outcomes:

• Introduction to the objectives of the continuing education and training program and its relevance in everyday practice, with particular focus on risk prevention and disaster management;

• Overview of the basic strategies and models in the field of risk prevention and disaster management;

• Presentation of the risk cycle and the actions and their importance during the different stages;

• Emphasis on terminology and the differentiation of terms (e.g. risk, vulnerability, resilience, risk governance);

• Presentation of the most important actors, their functions and their responsibilities;

• Basic knowledge of new media in the context of risk prevention and disaster management;

• Importance of new online services and  the distinction between spatio-temporal base data and real-time data in a disaster situation;

• Collection of real-time data via social networks (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, blogs) and crowdsourcing initiatives;

• Knowledge of different spatial presentations of risk prevention;

• Illumination of legal and organisational aspects in risk prevention and disaster management;

• Application of fundamental principles and methods in academic research and writing, with a focus on academic research methods.

Key competences:

On completion of the module students will have obtained knowledge on …

• Risk prevention and disaster management as permanent linked processes including fundamental strategies and models (cycles);

• Historic development of disaster management;

• Sources of information and data sets;
  

• Terminologies, glossaries, technical terms, strategies in risk prevention and disaster management;
  

• Governmental, non-governmental, national and international actors and their responsibilities and principles;
  

• Official and non-official activities in disaster scenarios, including legal, organisational and social foundations of processes and decisions;
  

• Factors of vulnerability and resilience;
  

• Basic knowledge and possible applications of new media in risk prevention and disaster management;
  

• Critical analysis of the advantages and limitations of real-time data in disaster management;
  

• Assessing and appreciating the importance of spatial data in risk prevention;
  

• Legal and organisational basics of risk prevention and disaster management;
  

• Standards and methods of academic research and writing and the fundamentals of different research methods.