‘Commitment to saving lives’: CDU humanitarian aid students start two-week humanitarian intensive unit

Charles Darwin University (CDU) is hosting its first two-week, on-campus humanitarian aid intensive since 2019.

CDU experts and world leading industry stakeholders will put the students through their paces in executing disaster management tasks, including building evacuation centres, and providing life-saving relief to disaster-affected populations as first responders to disaster events.

From July 13 to 24, students enrolled in CDU's Bachelor of Humanitarian Aid and Development will come together with CDU staff and partners from the National Critical Care Trauma and Response Centre (NCCTRC), RedR Australia, and the Australian Red Cross.

Unit Coordinator and Lecturer in Humanitarian, Emergency, and Disaster Management Dr Adriana A. Stibral said the innovative, theory- and practice-based simulation block allowed CDU to play a leading role in training professionals for real-world scenarios, with no other Australian university offering a similar experience for students

During one of the block's activities, Dr Stibral said students would try their hand at building a functional evacuation centre on CDU's basketball court with support from the Red Cross, whose humanitarian presence extends to more than 190 countries and territories globally.

"CDU is thrilled to have the Australian Red Cross-part of the largest humanitarian movement in the world-partnering with us. As one of the nation's leading experts in emergency shelter and evacuation center management, the Red Cross provides our students with unmatched, frontline operational insight."

With many of the course's students coming from countries affected by disasters andconflict, Dr Stibral said the unit was an excellent opportunity for students to learn not just from professionals but from one another.

"What we're teaching goes beyond Darwin and the Northern Territory - it is globally relevant, and it's critical during the period of uncertainty and rising humanitarian needs globally, because we don't know when the next crisis will hit, but need to be prepared," she said.

Senior Lecturer in Humanitarian, Emergency, and Disaster Management and Course Coordinator of CDU's Master in Emergency and Disaster Management, Dr Rodney Eksteen said disaster relief was an incredibly important and developing area in light of current events, with the Northern Territory's workforce set to play a particularly critical role.

"The Northern Territory is pretty much on the front line with regard to the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

"Several scientific studies clearly identify the impact natural hazards and other conflicts have on communities, and that puts this industry on par with medical professionals - both have a commitment to saving lives."

During a second block, RedR Australia-a leading international humanitarian response agency that selects, trains, and deploys technical experts to crisis zones worldwide-will provide critical humanitarian industry insights to CDU students.

During a large-scale simulated humanitarian disaster event on-campus, students will be required to work in teams, apply humanitarian technical sector knowledge and develop a comprehensive humanitarian response plan to save lives.