New partnership with Tel Aviv University expands opportunities for disaster and emergency management courses

The Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the University of Tel Aviv in Israel to collaborate on teaching and research initiatives through the college’s Academy for International Disaster Preparedness.

“This partnership will give Stempel College the opportunity to engage new faculty and reach new students as we work together on exciting research and field work,” said Tomás R. Guilarte, dean of the Stempel College. “We look forward to exchanging ideas that will ensure both institutions offer the highest level training and experience to our students who will work in fields that change and save lives in times of crisis.”  

The agreement includes plans to explore the current and emerging educational needs of students in both the emergency management and disaster management fields to ensure they are prepared once they are in the field. One aim of the partnership is to offer graduate-level courses to qualified students at both institutions with joint teaching and course development to meet the needs of the global emergency and disaster management communities.

The collaboration will also include the possibility of conducing joint training and teaching opportunities, potentially offering student and professional exchanges.

“The University of Tel Aviv is a world leader in disaster and emergency management, and we are excited to collaborate with them,” said Dulce Suarez, assistant director of the academy. “This is an opportunity for us to expand our terrorism and national security coursework while offering them vital skills in natural and man-made disaster training, which will ultimately lead to a reduction in loss of property and loss of life as our alumni work in these critical fields.” 

Current areas where the two programs plan to coordinate coursework includes disaster medicine and response time as well as paramedic and emergency medical technician (EMT) training.

The collaboration is expected to start in January of 2020 with graduate students from the academy visiting Israel for the International Preparedness and Response to Emergencies and Disasters conference in Tel Aviv.

This MoU is part of a larger, university-wide initiative to partner with Israeli educational institutions in various research areas, which was announced on the heels of a trip to Israel led by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.