Excerpted from the first call for applications disaster field operations course at the Florida International University through its Academy for International Disaster Preparedness.
Course description and benefits of participating in the course
The Course is intended to provide participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to engage in an international disaster response, in a real to life field settings. Participants will gain the understanding of the frameworks in the humanitarian disaster field and will focus on practical and complex issues that arise during a disaster, including situation assessments, field cluster sampling, search and rescue, water, sanitation and hygiene, personal security, food aid, shelter and site planning, field reporting, media relations, working in teams, problem solving, conflict resolution, and operational approaches to relations with the military, NGOs, and government officials.
Profile of participants
The Course is intended for working professionals who have backgrounds or work related duties in emergency management and disaster response. These professions include first responders in fire, law enforcement and EMS, public administrators, emergency management employees, policy makers and program directors, urban planners, NGOs, public health workers and private sector professionals.
Course location, dates & details
Students will be deployed to an undisclosed site in South Florida to participate in this full-scale field exercise. The students must be prepared to deploy at 8 am on Friday, 13 July at the main MMC FIU campus (11200 SW 8th Street Miami, Florida 33199). Exercise will conclude approximately 12 pm on Sunday, 15 July.
The students will deploy to an international disaster as a member of a disaster response team. They will work in a sleep-deprived, physically demanding and austere environment, replicating many of the key elements of an international response. Throughout the exercise the team will focus on practical issues that arise in the disaster field environment, such as, conducting assessments, situation reporting, communications, personal and team security, food security and shelter, WaSH (water, sanitation and hygiene), and meeting with local and national government officials. The students will also draft and present a humanitarian aid delivery proposal in a UN Cluster meeting designed to address the needs of the impacted community. Lastly, students will learn how to operate safely around a helicopter and marine vessels while conducting remote location damage assessments.
Application deadline 27 June, 2018.
OAS
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