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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 introduction to computer programming without any prerequisite. Applications of satellite, social media and observational data in humanitarian action are introduced. Practical applications of technologies in humanitarian and development fields are introduced through guest lectures from experts and practitioners (e.g., NGOs and UN Organisations) sharing their experiences and outlining specific challenges on the ground.

On this module, students are taught through a series of lectures, discussions, and computer practical enabling them to apply new knowledge and hands-on experience with humanitarian data and computer programming. Students will become familiar with online sources and applications of digital data used in humanitarian action and development assistance.

Module content includes:

• Introduction to information and communication technology, sources, and application of digital data in humanitarian action
• Introduction to fundamentals of programming languages (e.g., R language for computing and data visualisation) and online data portals
• Introduction to social media, geospatial big data, and artificial intelligence in humanitarian action
• Introduction to digital data analysis, oral presentation and report writing skills