The 2009 Summer institute for advanced study of disaster and risk (SIASDR)

The 2009 Summer Institute for Advanced Study of Disaster and Risk (SIASDR) at Beijing Normal University is the first of a series of summer institutes co-sponsored by the Ministry of Education, the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Initiated in collaboration with the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP) – Integrated Risk Governance (IRG Project), this summer institute series is an integral part and a core capacity building activity of the Hazard and Risk Science Base at Beijing Normal University (the HRSB@BNU).

The primary goal is to attract and train young scholars who have both background and strong interest in the field of hazard and risk study, and through which, to improve and strengthen education, research, as well as international communication and cooperation capacity in China in the field of disaster and risk sciences. In the long-term, the summer institutes seek contribution to laying a solid foundation of a state-of-the-art hazard and risk science base in China.

The summer institute is organized by the State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology at Beijing Normal University, the Academy of Disaster Reduction and Emergency Management of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Education, and the Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Natural Disaster of the Ministry of Education of China. From 2009 to 2011, a series of three institutes with different focal theme will be offered each summer. The focal theme for the 2009 Summer Institute is the theoretical and conceptual essentials of risk analysis and disaster management. Distinguished experts and researchers in the field of hazard and risk are invited to lecture and work with the participants during the two-week course of the summer institute.

A 10-day short course focusing on the selected essential topics of risk analysis and disaster management will be offered in weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm, August 3 – 14, 2009, including the history and development of hazard risk analysis; uncertainty analysis; hazard and risk assessment methodologies, models and case studies; risk perception and communication; hazard prevention; hazard insurance and re-insurance; vulnerability and recoverability, among others. Group discussion and working session will be held in the afternoon. Based on participants’ background and interest, groups in size of 4-6 people will be formed. Each group will select a specific research topic and deliver a course project report upon completion of the course. When possible, field study will be organized after class to help the participants to better understand and consolidate the course content.