Multi-hazard risk assessment online course

Corso online in lingua inglese su tematiche multi-rischio in ambiente GIS

This distance education course deals with the procedures to collect, analyse and evaluate spatial information for risk assessment from natural and human-induced hazards (such as flooding, earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, cyclones, forest fires, land degradation, and technological hazards). Risk is defined as the expected losses as a result of potentially damaging phenomena within a given time period, and within a given area.


The course focuses on practical exercises for the procedures involved in multi-hazard risk assessment, supplemented with theory and exercises using Internet and Excel. The exercises are centred around a comprehensive case study on the use of Geographic Information Systems, and Remote Sensing for the assessment of hazard, vulnerability and risk in a typical urban area representative of situations in many developing countries, called RiskCity.

The course contains a number of choice options for evaluating particular types of hazards and their associated risk, depending on your interest and background. The course is made for the Open Source GIS software ILWIS (Integrated Land and Water Information Systems).

• Main organization:International Institute for Geo-information Science and Earth Observation (ITC)


• Type:Online courses


• Level:Certificate/Diploma


• Geographical coverage:Global


• Language:English



• Duration:17 May - 25 Jun 2010

Program URL
http://www.itc.nl/Pub/Study/Courses/C10-AES-DE-01




What is the course content?

The course is composed of a number of sessions. Each session has a PowerPoint presentation and document introducing the topic of the session. Each session has also exercises and assignments including maps or materials to be handed in. The course is based on a study load of 1 module of 3 weeks (5 ECTS), which in distance form, is offered during a period of 6 weeks.

What will be achieved?

The course will guide the participants through the entire process of risk assessment, on the basis of a case study of a city exposed to multiple hazards, in a developing country (RiskCity).

At the end of this course you will be able to:

-understand the concepts of hazard assessment, elements at risk mapping, vulnerability assessment, and risk assessment
-formulate the spatial data requirements for risk assessment
-generate an elements at risk data base using GIS
-formulate the requirements of hazard data and methods
-apply various methods for vulnerability assessment
-generate risk maps using qualitative and quantitative methods
have insight in how a risk assessment could be carried out in your own situation.

Learning from a distance, how is it like?

The general approach of the course is task based learning which blends theory and practice. The study load is 20 to 24 hours per week. All materials including (most of) the software will be provided online in ITC's digital learning environment Blackboard. For convenient offline study most materials will be sent on a CD-Rom. The participant will use email for individual communication and a discussion board in blackboard for group communication.



Target Audience

This course is designed for all those who have to carry out risk assessment and need knowledge and skills on the procedures to do that using a GIS. These include professionals working in NGOs and governmental organisations related with disaster risk management, but also professionals, planners, engineers, architects, geographers, environmental specialists, university teachers.

Some basic background in Geographic Information Systems is desirable, although not strictly requi red, as the course follows a step-by-step approach which allows participants to rapidly acquire the basic skills in handling GIS software. If you lack the basic GIS skills it might be better to follow the course in a classroom environment, where more direct support on the software can be given. Courses on multi-hazard risk assessment (course finder, course domain: disaster management) are offered annually in the Netherlands, Mexico, Bolivia, and Thailand.



Admission Requirement

Admission requirements


Academic level and background

Applicants for the distance programme should have a bachelor degree or equivalent from a recognised university in a discipline related to the course, preferably combined with working experience in a relevant field.

English language

As all courses are given in english, proficiency in the english language is a prerequisite. Participants in distance programme are exempted from an english language test. However, ITC expects their proficiency in the english language to meet the minimum requirements mentioned below.

English language tests: minimum requirements TOEFL Paper-based Test (PBT) 550

TOEFL Internet-based Test 79-80

British Council / IELTS 6.0

Cambridge CPE/CAE


 







 


Tuition and Cost
EUR 500/1000


Deadline for application
26 Apr 2010