Who really holds the power in international humanitarianism? In this thought-provoking taster lecture, Dr Philip Cunliffe explores the political and historical context of humanitarian aid, examining how decisions are shaped by national interests and state power. Using the recent quest to disband USAID by the new administration as a case study, Dr Cunliffe challenges common assumptions about the role of aid in global governance and international relations. He discusses the origins of USAID during the Cold War, the political motivations behind aid distribution, and the rise of new geopolitical dynamics shaping humanitarianism today. The lecture also examines key failures in Western humanitarianism — from Afghanistan to Haiti — and explores how state sovereignty, political legitimacy, and global power structures intersect with humanitarian practice.

13

4/15/2025

This module introduces students to a range of engineering and data-science methods that are currently used in humanitarian action and human welfare. This module covers the fundamentals of data-driven engineering solutions and digital data science in the era of big data. Students will be learning about the application of digital data, their limitations, and ethical considerations of using them in humanitarian and development contexts.

48

4/11/2025

Technology has always played an important role in humanitarian action. The emerging technologies, data and digital humanitarianism are transforming the way the global humanitarian and development sectors are currently preparing for and responding to humanitarian crisis and development needs. This module introduces students to a range of physical and digital technologies that are commonly used in humanitarian action. These technologies include the application of earth observation satellites, unoccupied aerial systems (i.e., drones), geospatial techniques, predictive analytics, use of social-media big data, mobile surveillance technology for digital health, and crowdsourcing of digital data for humanitarian action. Students will be learning about the application of various technologies, their limitations, and ethical considerations of technology and digital data use in humanitarian and development contexts. This module covers a wide-ranging variety of digital data and provides basic int

18

4/11/2025

The module aims to take a modelling and statistical approach to geophysical and hydro-meteorological hazards. Students will understand statistical, modelling, observational and data science approaches to assessing hazards such as earthquakes, floods and landslides. Students will have the opportunity to apply the knowledge gained from lectures using real-world data during weekly computer practicals.

8

4/6/2025

Have you ever wondered how 'natural' disasters really are? Programme leader Dr Dan Haines explains how studying on the Risk, Disaster and Resilience MSc at the UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR) will help you rethink your understanding of disasters and risk. Find out more about this MSc: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/risk-disaster-reduction/study/masters-programmes/risk-disaster-and-resilience-msc Find out more a bout the IRDR: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/risk-disaster-reduction/

200

3/7/2024

Prof. Diana Mangalagiu chairs the Roundtable Discussion: From Risk Assessment to Systemic Risk Governance. The purpose of this meeting was to engage scientists, policy makers and business leaders in a dialogue asking if systems thinking can offer help in their decision-making processes. The meeting was a great success due to an eclectic array of speakers, panellists and participants from various backgrounds ensuring lively debate and engaging presentations.

10

6/4/2021

Professor Peter Sammonds and Professor Ilan Kelman discuss the new Global Humanitarian Studies BSc

14

5/6/2021

Professor Peter Sammonds introduces module IRDR00007 Space Weather and Technological Failures

832

9/30/2020