Professional training for humanitarian health workers at McGill!
The 2014 Canadian National Disaster and Humanitarian Response Program is
Canada's first comprehensive and collaborative professional humanitarian training
program involving humanitarian NGO, UN, government and academic faculty and
partners across North America. The professional certificate course is run over two
consecutive weeks. It comprises 3 modules: a 5-day Introductory Course (May 5-9), a 3-
day Advanced Course (May 2-14) and a 4-day Simulation Exercise (SimEx) (May 15-18).
There is an option to complete the entire 2 weeks or to choose any one of the three parts.
Students registering for the Advanced Course or the SimEx must have done McGill or
Harvard University’s Humanitarian Studies Initiative (HSI) Program(s) or must have
experience working in the humanitarian sector. The entire Program is competency and
evidence-based and designed to provide students with the essential skills, knowledge and
behaviours needed to respond to disasters and/or humanitarian health emergencies.
The entire 2-week Program provides participants with a robust training in
current humanitarian issues as well as the essential skills, knowledge and hands-on
experience to best prepare professionals for field operations. Teaching methods are
chosen to maximize student learning and include multi-media, didactic, small group,
case-based, discussion, tabletop and simulation. The Program offers up to 72 hours of
classroom-based lectures and learning activities, a 3-day field-based SimEx, research and
field practice opportunities and networking with faculty and a community of
humanitarians from around the globe. Program faculty are leading authorities in the
evolving field of humanitarian studies, each bringing specialized areas of expertise from
world renowned institutions such as McGill, University of Toronto, University of
Ottawa, McMaster, Harvard, Tufts and organizations including Médecins Sans
Frontières, Red Cross and Oxfam to cite a few.
For more information, click here.
