SDMM13006U Shelter and Settlements in Disasters

Volume 2022/2023
Content

The course is designed to provide students with new learning on strategies, methods and guidelines promoting sustainability in the shelter response from relief to recovery and reconstruction. Students will be prepared to address shelter and settlements challenges in accordance with local needs and build on local resources. It is an important feature of the course to teach students to integrate risk and vulnerability reduction strategies in recovery programming. The students will learn to consider local building technologies and materials as part of "building-back-better" strategies. The course embraces the common phases of the emergency cycle, emergency shelter, transition shelter, early recovery, and reconstruction.

Learning Outcome

At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

Knowledge

  • Demonstrate adequate knowledge of the humanitarian response system, the role and functioning of the shelter cluster and the various shelter and settlements typologies, tools, standards and approaches
  • Display acquired strategic and practical knowledge of shelter and settlements policies, methods, tools and procedures in the humanitarian response system and will be prepared to practice these in a sustainable manner from relief to recovery.

 

Skills

  • Identify key shelter and settlements challenges and opportunities, apply relevant shelter assessment methods and prepare sustainable shelter and settlements strategies relevant to specific intervention phases.

 

Competence

  • Demonstrate a strategic and practical knowledge of shelter and settlements policies, methods, tools and procedures in the humanitarian response system and practice these in a sustainable manner from relief to recovery.
The methodology of the three course components combines e-learning (Absalon system) with face-to-face campus learning. The course includes an initial four-week knowledge building phase followed by two weeks campus lecturing, group discussions, workshops and written assignments. This phase will incorporate visiting practitioners invited to share their knowledge and real-time experiences during lectures and discussions. The final two weeks e-learning is focused on a written assignment as the final exam paper.

Some information about online learning
During the online weeks you will only meet and interact with your teachers and fellow students in the University of Copenhagen's online learning platform.

A typical E-module is composed of:

An introduction to the topic
An overview of the purpose, the subjects and the intended learning outcome
A short study guide
Learning resources (which can be text, audio and/or video files)
Several exercises called E-lessons.
The E-lessons are online learning activities which can be questionnaires, assignments or online discussions. The roles of the teachers are to assist student learning by serving as E-moderators for the various E-lessons.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 40
  • Theory exercises
  • 10
  • Practical exercises
  • 5
  • E-Learning
  • 60
  • Exam
  • 23
  • Total
  • 138
Written
Collective
Feedback by final exam (In addition to the grade)

Examiners provide a joint collective feedback on the examination via Digital Exam or Absalon.

Credit
5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Type of assessment details
Take-Home assignment
Written assignment using tasks based on a given case in Digital Exam platform.
In total, the exam paper is 7-8 pages, excluding the cover page and reference list (1 page = approximately 2,400 keystrokes, font size 12 pt. line space 1.5).
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
More than one internal examiner
Exam period

See the MDMa Exam Schedule

Re-exam

See the MDMa Exam Schedule

Criteria for exam assesment

To achieve the maximum grade of 12, the student shall be able to:

Knowledge

  • Demonstrate adequate knowledge of the humanitarian response system, the role and functioning of the shelter cluster and the various shelter and settlements typologies, tools, standards and approaches
  • Display acquired strategic and practical knowledge of shelter and settlements policies, methods, tools and procedures in the humanitarian response system and will be prepared to practice these in a sustainable manner from relief to recovery.

 

Skills

  • Identify key shelter and settlements challenges and opportunities, apply relevant shelter assessment methods and prepare sustainable shelter and settlements strategies relevant to specific intervention phases.

 

Competence

  • Demonstrate a strategic and practical knowledge of shelter and settlements policies, methods, tools and procedures in the humanitarian response system and  practice these in a sustainable manner from relief to recovery.