This hybrid course provides an in-depth exploration of coastal resilience and its vital role in supporting sustainable business practices and protecting communities against climate change-related impacts. Through five interconnected modules and an in-presence hands-on week, participants will learn and implement the principles, technologies, and strategies needed to understand, assess, and bolster resilience within coastal regions, while emphasizing business responsibility and proactive risk management.

Venue

The course will be subdivided into two phases:

An online phase will take place through OTGA e-learning platform.

An in-person phase which will be held in Bertinoro, Italy, at the University Residential Center of Bertinoro (CE.U.B.).

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the participants should be able to:

• Understand Coastal Resilience and its Business Implications
• Utilize Operational Oceanography Products for Hazard Analysis
• Assess Environmental Impact and Manage Coastal Risks
• Apply Enabling Technologies to Coastal Resilience Challenges
• Develop Practical Resilience Solutions for Critical Coastal Infrastructure
• Showcase innovative solutions executing a Real-World Coastal Resilience Project

Target audience

The course is a post-graduate and early-career course for professional development and continuing education. The course is particularly aimed at early-career scientists, young professionals from coastal consulting firms, coastal managers and operators, as well as members of environmental protection agencies and civil protection organizations.                      

Pre-requisites

• Master’s degree in environmental sciences, marine biology, coastal engineering, urban planning, political sciences, international affairs, economics and business.
• 1-5 years of relevant work experience in coastal management, environmental consulting, urban planning, marine conservation, or related fields.
• Basic computer skills and experience in working in a digital learning environment.
• English proficiency.

Course content

1. Overview of Coastal Resilience and its importance for business
2. Understanding coastal hazards from operational oceanography products services
3. Impact Assessment and risk management
4. Enabling technologies 
5. Solutions for coastal resilience

Language of instruction: English

• Nadia Pinardi
• Quillon Harpman
• Renata Archetti

Course Duration

The course will span a total of ten weeks (~90 hours in total) from 27 January to 11 April 2025 in hybrid format, with the structure includes the following:

• Five week-modules of online asynchronous learning (10 hours per week - 50 hours total)
• Five weeks of Webinars (1-2 hours per week - 10 hours total) and tutoring sessions (20 hours)
• One-week in-person workshop, 7-11 April 2025 (30 hours)

Certificate

OTGA Certificate will be awarded to the participants upon completion of assignments, assessment tests, and delivery of a project according to the course planning.

Notes

Application process

A limited number of seats (25) are available. Please fill out the online application form available at this LINK:https://otga.wufoo.com/forms/z3uoa8z1fqqqpu/

The applications start on 15 November 2024. The deadline to submit the application is 15 December 2024 (23:59 CET: Central European Time).

Selection criteria

UNESCO is committed to promoting equal access principles. Applications from minority or underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged.

Costs

Free of charge. There are no tuition fees.

This course is offered with no tuition fees, and all participation costs will be fully covered by the organizers. Full financial coverage for in-person week will be provided by the Decade Collaborative Center for Coastal Resilience (DCC-CR).

Contacts

For any questions, please contact OTGA Secretariat (ioc.training@unesco.org) or DCC-CR secretariat (edwin.espinasandova2@unibo.it) always using the name of the course as e-mail subject.

Cancellation policy

In the event of cancellation of the course by the OTGA or its affiliates, we will provide notification of cancellation at least 7 days prior to the course date. In the event of cancellation by the attendee, we should receive notification of cancellation at least 7 days prior to the course date.