Use of Innovative Experiential Methods to Train Future Humanitarian Aid Workers Courtney Welton-Mitchell & Chen Reis Josef Korbel School of International Studies Humanitarian Assistance Programme

Academic programs designed to train humanitarian aid workers tend to rely on classroom-based instruction. This can result in graduates with strong theoretical knowledge, but limited awareness of how to function in humanitarian settings. To address this gap, the Humanitarian Assistance Programme at JKSIS offers a variety of experiential learning activities.

International Internships Crisis Simulation Humanitarian Assistance Applied Research Group JKSIS Humanitarian Assistance Programme Experiential Learning Activities

International internships Internships with humanitarian organizations. Recent examples include - Oxfam America Save the Children UNICEF Relief International WHO UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs InterAction UNHCR

Crisis simulation – IDP camp New arrivals to IDP camp - loosely based on events in Chad within the last decade. Protection Teams : IMC, IRC, OHCHR, UNHCR, UNICEF Conduct a rapid needs assessment, design a project, appeal for funding to a donor panel.

Crisis simulation – IDP camp 2 day training followed by 1.5 days live action. Media Relations – BBC correspondents IT – mobile needs assessment, crisis map inject Security training and use of radios, security ‘injects’ Staff Welfare Officers on site Roving evaluators – assessing for various humanitarian worker core competencies

Humanitarian Assistance Applied Research group (HAARG) From their university-base, graduate students have supervised opportunities to be involved in needs assessment, program evaluation and other forms of applied research with humanitarian organizations.

Norwegian Red Cross Research Assistants with the Humanitarian Assistance Applied Research Group (HHARG) have provided support for projects with the following organizations….

Project examples Mental Health Needs in Detention Centers – IMC Libya Syria Regional Response Technical Paper – IMC Regional Urbanization, Disasters, Displacement – Norwegian Refugee Council Violence Mitigation Mapping Initiatives in Americas – Norwegian Red Cross GBV Survey – CARE Mali Agricultural Livelihoods Strategies – UNHCR Zambia

HAARG supervision and training Primary supervision by agency staff. Additional supervision by HAARG director and other affiliates. Regular meetings for project check in, advising and training, including - SPSS/PAWS for data entry and analysis; Coding qualitative data; GBV assessment and measuring program impact.

Feedback Supervisors and students completed an anonymous evaluation of HAARG experiences recently; some representative comments: “[RAs] did an exceptional job on their research project…took excellent initiative, conducted in-depth research and wrote a great literature review. Many thanks for their hard work.” - agency-based supervisor “I personally learned a lot about project assessment, research, report writing, and data analysis, as well as about the topic of my project. Having HAARG on my resume is very valuable for my future career.” –student research assistant

These opportunities expose students to real-world challenges, allowing them to grow beyond academic knowledge, becoming a true asset in emergencies and protracted crises. JKSIS Humanitarian Assistance Programme Experiential Learning Activities

Thank you. Questions?