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Home » Programs and Courses for Students » Summer Institute 2012 » Course Descriptions
Students may register for one or more sessions in one or more modules, earning up to twelve (12) graduate credit hours.
Site: Rome, ITALY
Course Description: Food aid continues to be the single largest component of international humanitarian response activities. Lingering protracted humanitarian crises place an enormous strain the humanitarian system, and it has become clear that more effort must be put into building resiliency and lasting food security. At the same time, recent food price volatility has grabbed the attention of world leaders, and food security has become a top priority for multi-lateral organizations and bi-lateral donors. When it comes to food security, key decisions are being made and solutions are being found at the Rome-based agencies of the United Nations in partnership with diplomatic missions and international civil society present in Italy. This course offers students unique opportunity to compliment lectures, readings, and lab work with generous opportunities to interact with professionals from UN Agencies and international civil society. Guest lectures by experts and field visits to the principle UN Agencies are an important part of the course.
Professor: Dr. Nathan Morrow
Site: Rome, ITALY
Course Description: Italy is home the United Nations' World Food Program -- the largest humanitarian organization in the world and the logistics leader for the UN system. The innovative UN Joint Logistics Center (UNJLC) was established by the Interagency Standing Committee and then hosted at WFP. A number of pioneering efforts in food security information systems began at the UN Rome-based agencies. The Food and Agriculture Organization is the UN agency tasked with collecting and sharing global food security related statistics and is home to a number of early warning initiatives covering threats such as drought, locusts, market shocks, and natural disasters. WFP, with its operational mandate, is a leader in preparedness and contingency planning. The UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in Brindisi is an excellent example of UN and civil society coordination. Beginning as a joint project of WFP, World Vision International, INTERSOS, and the Red Cross, the center has grown to serve the prepositioning and immediate transport requirements of more than 40 emergency response organizations This course offers a unique opportunity for students to interact with logistics and information systems experts from the UN and international civil society. Learning is reinforced by field visits to the organizations and the UNHRD where students can see the logistics and information systems supporting ongoing responses around the world.
Professor: Dr. Nathan Morrow
Site: Rome, ITALY
Course Description: According to the 2010 FAO State of the World's Food and Agriculture report, "closing the gender gap in agricultural inputs alone could lift 100-150 million people out of poverty". This one fact is only a small hint at how much an improved understanding of gender could improve food security policy and the design of food security programs. The course makes the most of the location in Italy to draw lessons from local, sustainable agriculture as well as the policy and programs that protect it. Rome-based agencies of the United Nations provide an unparalleled opportunity for students to meet and learn from the professionals who research, create normative guidance, and regularly convene the World's foremost thinkers on food, food security, and food systems. The course will includes visits to the Slow Food Academy, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, and the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development. Speakers from other organizations (University of Turin, World Food Programme, NGOs) will give lectures at the Bolsena Campus.
Professor: Dr. Nathan Morrow
Site: Shanghai, CHINA
Course Description: China's economic development since the 1980s has been phenomenal, at a rate with few comparisons in world history. During the first decade of the 21st Century alone, China sustained double-digit growth. At the same time, some of its large population has been urbanized and dozens of mega-cities have been established in a very short time. This course invites students to consider the implications of China's recent development trend, using Shanghai as the principal case study. Topics covered will include issues such as how development policies are formed in China and the question of whether there is a distinctive "Chinese way of thinking". These questions will be tackled, first, by providing a broad overview of Chinese history, culture, and philosophy. The second portion of the course will then be connected to China's comparatively recent transformation from a collective and domestically focused economy to an industrialized export economy. Focusing on the case of Shanghai, it will also discuss the issues faced by that city in recent years and examine how the central government, regional governments and the municipal government jointly manage the transformation of Shanghai's economy, infrastructure build-up and population growth. In the process, the course will conclude by introducing students to some of the major challenges Shanghai faces today - including environmental protection, education, an aging population, regional integration, and other globalization pressures.
Professor: Dr. Shieh Tsing Hsieh
Site: Bangkok, THAILAND
Course Description: During the late 1980s, Thailand experienced a drastic increase in HIV infection among commercial sex workers and injecting drug users (IDUs) sparking the fear of a major AIDS epidemic. The government of Thailand reacted with a comprehensive strategy to promote safe sex, a program that has let to a sustained and dramatic reduction in HIV infection rates, a major success in the international fight against AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections. This course will study Thailand's HIV/AIDS response and, at the Thai example, provide students with the basic knowledge and skills of concepts, principles, and methodologies in strategic planning, management and evaluation of development programs. The course will focus on HIV/AIDS, however, the introduced methods and principles can be applied to the context of many types of program activities. A special focus of the course will be on the long-term sustainability of the international HIV/AIDS response and programs carried out under PEPFAR. As part of the course, the students will design and execute a feasibility study for a prevention or intervention program addressing a problem of local and international importance. This research exercise will involve the collection of primary data in Bangkok focusing on most at risk populations (MARPs) such as commercial sex workers, men who have sex with men (MSM) and IDUs. As part of the course, the students will visit local and international NGOs working on HIV/AIDS in Thailand as well as the sites of government supported HIV/AIDS prevention and intervention programs, including PEPFAR financed VCT, PMTCT and ARV sites.
Professor: Drs. Elke deBuhr and William Bertrand
Site: Bangkok, THAILAND
Course Description: Based on a four-year activity, which examines evaluation methods for UNAIDS, the Payson Center has developed a special competency in monitoring and evaluating development intervention programs. This course will provide learners with an introduction to the knowledge and skills in the basic concepts, principles, and methodologies pertaining to the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of development interventions. We will study M&E at the case of the large and successful HIV/AIDS response in Thailand and the many lessons that can be learnt from the Thai example. At the end of this course, the learner will be able to assess the ability of a specific M&E method or combination of methods to measure both the process and impact of an intervention and to design and execute an evaluation project with assistance. Participants in the program will learn through lectures supplemented by case studies and practical exercises as well as field visits, guest speakers and involvement with local public health personnel and Thai government officials. As part of the course, we will visit international organizations (including UNAIDS) and local and international NGOs working on HIV/AIDS in Thailand. A visit to the ASEAN Primary Health and Disaster Evaluation Center is also planned.
Professor: Drs. Elke deBuhr and William Bertrand
Site: Nairobi, KENYA
Course Description: This course will introduce students to applied field and operations research in the African context. The course will have a subject focus on sustainable development from an eco- and edu-tourism perspective, using the Kenyan tourist sector as an example. After an introduction to the country and context and an overview of basic research methods, the students will be tasked with collecting field data examining a research problem of their choice. The field data will be collected in the form of a needs assessment. Based on the collected data, the students will propose a development strategy and implementation framework using the logical framework approach. The course will be taught in collaboration with guest speakers and with assistance from local universities and research centers (AMREF and Daystar University). Field trips include visits to UN Agencies (including UNEP), and international and local NGOs working in sustainable development in Kenya. Visits to eco-tourism sites including Nairobi National Park, the Langata Giraffe Centre operated by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW), and Lake Naivasha (Crater Lake Game Sanctuary, Crescent Island and Elsamere Conservation Centre) are included in the course fee.
Professor: Drs. Elke deBuhr and Dauphine Sloan
Site: Nairobi, KENYA
Course Description: This course examines migration, including forced migration, in Kenya and the broader East African region. Based on data provided by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Kenya are hosting more than 350,000 refugees, many of them originating from South-Central Somalia, and the country remains a hub for both human trafficking and smuggling. The two largest refugee camps are Kakuma in the North West and Dadaab in the North East. Urban refugees in Nairobi include Somali, Sudanese and Ethiopian populations. After a general introduction to migration in the Great Lakes Region, the students will visit international organizations (including IOM) and local and international NGOs involved in supporting migrants in Kenya. Field trips also include visits to local refugee centers and to projects operated by the UN and other organizations for famine relief. As part of the course work, based on materials developed by the Sphere Project, the students will work in groups on case studies examining the management of urban migration in Nairobi. This practical exercise will involve the collection of interview and other field data. The course will be taught with assistance from local universities and research centers (AMREF and Daystar University).
Professor: Drs. Elke deBuhr and William Bertrand
