Technology for Humanitarian Action (IRDR0024)

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