With an aim to prepare the community for better response to natural disasters, the University of Madras Applied Geology department will launch a certificate course on Coastal resilience in the next academic year. The certificate course will be offered in collaboration with the Keio University of Japan. The two universities have entered into a pact under which collaborative research will be undertaken in areas such as climate change and urban resilience, and challenges in the area of community-based disaster management will be addressed through the transfer of technology and professional skills from Japan to India.
"The course will focus on coastal resilience and disaster risk reduction. We are currently chalking out the study material and drafting the details of the course. We will roll out the course from March next year," said RR Krishnamurthy, head of the Applied Geology department. This will be the first certificate course to be offered by the department, which has been working on disaster management and climate change issues. Krishnamurthy explains that keeping in mind the current scenario of climate change, community resilience is very important and it is the need of the hour to prepare society to deal with natural calamities in a better way.
"Mitigation and preparedness will play a major role to ensure how we are prepared to deal with eventualities. As Tamil Nadu has a vast coastline, our priority is to prepare communities more resilient to the growing threats of coastal erosion, flooding, and other calamities. The certificate course will provide insight to the people about these factors," said a faculty of the department. As part of its initiative to create awareness among the community about disaster management for preparedness, mitigation, response and recovery during times of disasters, the department has conducted a five-day programme.
Policymakers, disaster management administrators, higher education administrators, researchers, academicians, corporate social responsibility executives, business continuity professionals, non-profit representatives and students participated in the event. "This kind of programme will help in reducing the vulnerability of the community to disasters and encourages volunteerism in the young minds to actively participate during the times of disasters," said Krishnamurthy.
