Spain: Erasmus Mundus Master Course in Public Health in Disasters

The Erasmus Mundus Master Course in Public Health in Disasters (EMMPHID) is a joint university educational programme organized by the Emergency and Disaster Research Unit of the Universidad de Oviedo (Spain), the Division of Global Health of the Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) and the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters of the Université catholique de Louvain designed to deliver high quality education and training in the field of Public Health in disaster situations. The Programme is sponsored by the European Union and also involves thirteen associated universities and institutions around the world.

Objectives and learning outcomes

Objectives

The aim of the master programme is to, through knowledge, experience and research build capacities that will reduce disaster risks and contribute to better and more targeted public health based relief following disasters. The Master has the following four objectives:

I. To increase the knowledge and understanding of the disaster phenomenon, its different contextual aspects, impacts and public health consequences.
II. To increase the knowledge and understanding of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR) and to increase skills and abilities for implementing the Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Strategy.
III. To ensure skills and abilities to analyse potential effects of disasters and of the strategies and methods to deliver public health response to avert these effects.
IV. To ensure skills and ability to design, implement and evaluate research on disasters.

Learning outcomes

The objectives of the EMMPHID have been designed to achieve general and specific learning outcomes. General learning outcomes are listed below. Specific learning outcomes for each EMMPHID module are shown in the section on academic structure.

The EMMPHID generic learning outcomes of EMMPHID encompass a series of capacities that will allow the student to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the role of Public Health in disaster situations, including both a broad command of the field and a deeper knowledge of specific areas, together with insight into current research and development work and to demonstrate deeper methodological knowledge related to their chosen study track:

• Capacity to integrate knowledge and to analyse, evaluate and manage the different public health aspects of disaster events at a local and global levels, even when limited information is available.
• Capacity to describe, analyse and evaluate the environmental, social, cultural, economic, legal and organisational aspects influencing vulnerabilities and capacities to face disasters.
• Capacity to work theoretically and practically in the processes of disaster management (disaster risk reduction, response, and recovery) and relate their interconnections, particularly in the field of the Public Health aspects of the disasters.
• Capacity to manage the Public Health aspects of the disasters.
• Capacity to obtain, analyse, and communicate information on risks, relief needs and lessons learned from earlier disasters in order to formulate strategies for mitigation in future scenarios with the ability to clearly present and discuss their conclusions and the knowledge and arguments behind them.
• Capacity to design and perform research on the different aspects of the emergencies and disaster events while demonstrating insight into the potential and limitations of science, its role in society and people’s responsibility for how it is used.
• Capacity to analyse and evaluate research work on the field of emergencies and disaster while demonstrating insight into the potential and limitations of science, its role in society and people’s responsibility for how it is used.

Use the web application at: www.pubhealthdisasters.eu

Application Form Application period for self-financing students is open until 31st July 2015. The tuition fees amount to 12.000€ for non EU students and 8.000€ for EU students.