Alumni survey

We asked our DRMCCA alumni to fill out a survey about their experiences of the programme in relation to subsequent employment, the results of which can be found below.

Learn about the highlights of the survey

Interview with the programme director

"We have created a programme that has synergies between disaster risk management and climate change adaptation because these two areas are strongly interlinked. A growing number of governments and international organisations acknowledge the necessity of increasing their efforts in order to develop safe and sustainable societies. When the climate changes, disasters follow and unfortunately it is a growing trend. So, our programme is heavily focused on proactive approaches in order to make society more resilient."

Read the full interview with the programme director

Student paper publications

During the last semester of the programme, the students write their degree projects. The aim of the degree project is to develop and demonstrate the requisite knowledge to work independently in the main field of the Master's programme. The degree project is an important part of the programme and might open up doors to future employment. To learn more about the topics and to read the thesis, please visit LUP Student Papers.

Student paper publications from the Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation programme – lup.lub.se

The DRMCCA Association

The DRMCCA alumni and students have established the association "Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation Association" (DRMCCAA). DRMCCAA is an organisation dedicated to connecting and engaging students, alumni and faculty affiliated with Lund University's DRMCCA programme, informing each other about news, ideas, knowledge and professional opportunities in the DRMCCA fields around the world. The purpose is to support the ongoing engagement of the DRMCCA community of students, alumni and teachers in lifelong collective learning beyond the Master's programme with continuous feedback and interaction between academia and practice. If you would like to know more about the association, please contact info [dot] drmccaa [at] gmail [dot] com (info[dot]drmccaa[at]gmail[dot]com). 

Voices from organisations supporting DRMCCA

In their letters of support, the network of organisations supporting the Master's programme have emphasised the need for professionals with qualifications in e.g. resilience, risk assessment and management, preparedness/contingency planning and capacity development. These topics are at the core of the programme. Read quotes from supporting organisations below.

UNICEF – United Nations Children’s Fund

“… we see a key need to expand the skill base of humanitarian development workers in terms of DRR, climate change adaptation and emergency risk management, and recognise a shortage of existing good quality academic courses in DRR.”
 

Swedish Red Cross

“… the Swedish Red Cross is actively involved in disaster risk management and climate change adaptation activities, projects and programmes worldwide, all with a strong focus on building and strengthening community safety and resilience. However, the system is facing a serious challenge in terms of finding personnel with appropriate qualifications related to disaster risk management and climate change adaptation.”
 

Save the Children

“Lund has a very well-established reputation, and is already recognised for its expertise in the areas of risk assessment, preparedness and contingency planning. The increased focus from governments and the donor community as well as from international, national and local organisations on how to build resilience to disasters and climate change emphasises the need of qualified human resources that can identify, plan, carry out and evaluate such programmes”.
 

UNDP – United Nations Development Programme

“… there is a chronic shortage of qualified professionals, to the extent that UNDP disaster-reduction related recruitments often have to go two or even three rounds before locating a successful candidate. A Master's programme in the subject would help in creating a cadre of people with the requisite qualifications.”
 

MSB – Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency

“The (…) MSc programme in Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change Adaptation at Lund University corresponds well with MSB’s vision, operations and activities. Furthermore, such an academic programme would assist in meeting the need for qualified individuals within this field at all levels of society. Students graduating from such a programme would be a welcome contribution to various actors ranging from local municipalities, county councils and national authorities up to international organisations.”
 

IFRC – International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

“The donor community is increasingly aware of the necessity of such long-term proactive work in disaster risk management and climate change adaptation. However, there is a great lack of qualified human resources that can design, implement and evaluate such programmes, projects and activities. This is a major bottleneck not only for IFRC and other international organisations, but even more so for our National Societies and their governmental counterparts”.
 

WFP – World Food Programme

“… there is a growing need for professionals who can bridge multiple disciplines and bring specific disaster risk management and climate change adaptation skills to bear on solving real world problems. This need is already being felt as international organisations, including WFP, have increasingly created specialised positions, units and teams dealing with disaster risk management and climate change adaptation. (…) Graduates from the (…) programme would be potential candidates for careers with the UN and other institutions and civil society organisations (…)”
 

UNISDR – United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

”Many of our partners have expressed frustration at not finding professionals with enough skills to address these issues, especially in view of new legislations and mandates given to them. Hence, a Master's Programme (…) may help to address these needs.”
 

CADRI – The Capacity for Disaster Reduction Initiative

“It is today recognised worldwide that development is sustainable if it is risk informed. This entails that risk needs to be better understood and disaster risk reduction measures related to natural hazards need to be well integrated into development planning. However, this is possible only if professionals in governmental and inter-governmental institutions, in the United Nations’ agencies, in NGOs and other international organisations have the right set of skills and competencies to do it. CADRI’s work in more than 20 countries show that there is a clear lack of well-trained professionals that have followed a proper academic curriculum that preferably leads to a diploma such as a Master’s degree. It remains today quite a challenge for CADRI to offer directions towards any such institution, as most of the courses offered are short-term courses with contents that are usually not certified by a recognised panel of practitioners. Lund University is a credible institution with high international reputation. But more important is the fact that Lund University is already recognised by disaster risk reduction practitioners for its expertise and contributions in the areas of capacity development, risk management that include risk assessment and monitoring, risk reduction, and emergency preparedness including contingency planning."