MSc in Humanitarian Logistics and Crisis Management

Overview

The M.Sc. in Humanitarian Logistics and Crisis Management is an interinstitutional postgraduate degree programme, which is being offered by the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies of the University of Macedonia and the Department of Science and Technology of the University Center of International Programmes of Studies of the International Hellenic University.

The M.Sc. in Humanitarian Logistics and Crisis Management starts in February 2025.

The postgraduate degree programme combines humanitarian logistics with crisis management, providing high quality theoretical and technological knowledge, as well as analytical and technological tools, to cover the need for professionals in the above scientific fields of government agencies including civil protection, national and international organizations, military, police, coast guard, fire department, NGOs, local authorities, private sector companies, as well as academia.

The recent and ongoing crises in Greece and globally such as the COVID-19 pandemic, refugee crisis, climate related disasters, global financial crisis, as well as the more recent energy crisis, have shown their interconnectedness and the need for an effective management of the phenomena in all stages, such as preparedness, response and recovery, with the contribution of all stakeholders, for the development, disaster risk reduction and resilience building at a local community, national and international level. Importantly, they have led to an even more demanding need for education focused on the provision of technological and theoretical knowledge and development of suitable competencies and skills to obtain integrated knowledge in humanitarian logistics and crisis management.

The M.Sc. in Humanitarian Logistics and Crisis Management provides interdisciplinary education that combines technological, theoretical and managerial knowledge, as well as technological and analytical tools in humanitarian logistics and crisis management. Graduates obtain the necessary knowledge and skills, in the scientific fields of humanitarian logistics, crisis management, emergency management and business continuity for a successful academic and professional career.

Aims

The basic aims of the M.Sc. in Humanitarian Logistics and Crisis Management include:

  • to provide interdisciplinary education in the scientific fields of humanitarian logistics, crisis management, emergency management and business continuity, leading to the development of the corresponding competencies.
  • to provide the technological, institutional, humanitarian and managerial knowledge for a successful professional career in national and international organizations, government agencies, military, NGOs, local authorities and private sector companies (among others) in humanitarian logistics, crisis management, emergency management and business continuity.
  • to provide technological and practical tools needed for humanitarian logistics and for the efficient management of humanitarian crises and emergencies.
  • to provide theoretical knowledge and analytical tools on issues of cultural difference, social relations, policy and institutions for the development of best practices in crisis management and refugee flows, at an operational as well as strategic level.
  • to contribute to the understanding of challenges that relate to policy and international development issues.

The M.Sc. in Humanitarian Logistics and Crisis Management is taught exclusively in English.

Official Government Gazette:

Key facts
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Start date: February 2025

Application deadline: December 15, 2024

Campus: International Hellenic University, Thermi campus, and University of Macedonia

Duration/Mode: 18 months full-time, 36 months part-time / available also in distance learning mode

Taught language: English

Entry requirements: An undergraduate degree from an accredited University

Language requirements:English language knowledge documented with a relevant certificate, corresponding at least to the State Certificate of Language Learning Level B2 or other certificate proving good knowledge of English. Holders of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree at a Foreign University in English are exempt from this obligation.

Fees: 3,200€

How to apply: Admission information

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Who can apply

To be considered for the programme, candidates are required to have:

  • an undergraduate degree from a recognized University. Holders of non Greek University degrees must have their degrees recognized by the Greek authorities (Hellenic National Academic Recognition Information Center “DOATAP”). Please visit the DOATAP website for detailed information.
  • English language knowledge documented with a relevant certificate, corresponding at least to the State Certificate of Language Learning Level B2 or other certificate proving good knowledge of English. Holders of an undergraduate or postgraduate degree at a Foreign University in English are exempt from this obligation.

Course content

During the first term, all students are required to attend three mandatory core courses and a combination of two elective courses. During the second term, all students follow a further three required courses and a combination of two elective courses. Finally, during the third term, students can choose either to work exclusively to the Master’s dissertation or to work to the Master’s dissertation and attend the course Consulting Project.

First Semester

Core Courses

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits
Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Course Description

This course addresses the need to relate the anthropological thought with the Contemporary World in crisis. A series of themes explore how anthropologists engage with the pressing political, social and environmental concerns and crises related to their ethnographic fieldwork. This course examines key debates in public anthropology, as global unequal development and state capitalism modernization, colonial genealogies and technologies of violence, European epistemologies and their encounter with the local knowledges, cosmologies and communities. Particular attention is attributed to the selected ‘hot topics’ in the discipline (i.e. culture and environment, race, gender, class, ethnicity, tribe, patriarchy, borders, migration, politics, religions, publics, counter publics and post-humanism). The module clarifies the relevance of anthropology for the world in crisis beyond the university, and educates students in how to adapt anthropological knowledge and skills to challenge real world issues.  Throughout, a key objective is to support students in developing and consolidating skills in public anthropology and social action for a world in crisis.

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits
Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Course Description

The number of natural and man-made disasters increases continuously, while the impacts are devastating, primarily in human losses and including among others infrastructure and business losses as well as individuals’ assets. Humanitarian logistics involves the efficient and cost-effective flow and storage of goods and information from the point of origin to the destination point in order to meet the needs of the end beneficiaries (people in need). The course examines the fundamental concepts of humanitarian logistics and humanitarian supply chains, the involved parties and the relevant humanitarian network. The course investigates the phases of humanitarian logistics: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. The module focuses on needs assessment, procurement of goods and services, sourcing, storage, transportation and distribution of humanitarian aid. Through case studies, relationship building, coordination and collaboration challenges, as well as the performance evaluation of humanitarian logistics are discussed.

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits
Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Course Description

The course examines the concept of crisis, the differences between crises and disasters as well as the fundamental concepts of risk, vulnerability and resilience in crises and emergencies. The course examines the emergency management phases: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery and the involved parties in crisis and emergency management. The course focuses on the assessment and communication of risks as well as risk management. The module investigates planning and development of crisis and emergency management plans and national action plans. The course focuses on contingency planning as well as early warning systems. The course will discuss the differences between crisis management in the public and private sectors. The course investigates information and communication strategies in crises and emergencies, community engagement in crisis and emergency management and community resilience building. The frameworks of disaster management and disaster risk reduction adopted/developed by UN as well as case studies are discussed in the course.

1st Term Elective Courses

Students choose two elective courses from the course list that follows:

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits
Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Course Description

The course focuses on the epistemological, theoretical and methodological issues related to applying ethnographic research in combination with digital technologies in societies and populations that experience various forms of crises while going through political and humanitarian interventions. ;Ethnographic research, as a methodological tool of Social Anthropology, combines analytical tools in social theory with the observation and design of political discourse, humanitarian or other interventions in the field. Ethnographic field research is considered a basic methodological proposal for qualitative social research, which other social and political sciences also employ. It blends the critical analysis of the dominant discourse with the experiences and perceptions of social subjects, adopting a bottom-up perspective to those affected by policies and interventions and being in a state of crisis, discrimination, and exclusion. The course will train students in data collection techniques and provide skills for the implementation of field research, such as participatory observation, interviews, life stories, storytelling, the documentation of actions and practices in public and private space, analysis of the dominant discourse over rights, and the embodied action against policies of survival, integration, resistance, advocacy, protest. The inclusion of contemporary digital technologies in the methodological tools of ethnographic research (such as digital storytelling, internet and social media research, the exploration of the use of digital media, the parallel lives of real and virtual reality) multiplies and strengthens the research planning and data analysis on issues of humanitarian crises and interventions.

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits
Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Course Description

The course offers a comprehensive introduction to the key aspects of development theory, paradigms, and institutions both national and international. It examines the main theoretical schools of thought from the grand narratives onto more contemporary approaches including attempts to understand development and sustainability as a fundamentally political process. The course turns to the main institutions involved in promoting development including global governance institutions, the developmental state, markets, and civil society. The course turns to understanding, measuring, and analysing poverty in relation to development and environmental sustainability, as well as key strategies, practices and policies to reduce poverty. In addition the role of different actors, including states, international in;stitutions, including the post- 2015 agenda, and social movements in addressing poverty is also discussed. Finally, the course examines the concept of sustainable development, focusing on the interplay between environmental sustainability, eradication of poverty, and reduction of inequality.

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits
Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Course Description

The course explores the dynamics of social transformation that entails the condition of migration. The processes of social transformation that are related to livelihoods, social networks and the environment, are examined in a dynamic, international context, and at different levels, through a comparative perspective, with a focus on cohesion and exclusion processes, equal and unequal access to resources but and inclusion policies. The course deals with the relevance of theories and research approaches coming from different scientific fields and focuses on the experiences of mobile subjects. The intervention policies and strategies are examined through social transformation, as well as the interaction with research, taking into account the views of various stakeholders. The course explores the different roles of different stakeholders and social institutions, as well as the ethical perspective in their decisions and the perspective of the active participation of mobile subjects. Generally, the ways in which migration causes changes both in the host societies and in conjunction to those of origin, are examined at the micro-and macro levels, i.e. the effects on the structure of society from the gradual social integration of mobile subjects in host society.

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits
Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Course Description

The course focuses on the fundamental concepts and principles of project management in the humanitarian sector as well as the design, development and implementation of project management. The course focuses on the methodologies, tools and techniques of project management, human resources management and project finance management as well as the strategies of responding to challenges in project management in the humanitarian sector and under crisis. Using case studies, the course examines issues of quality, reliability and reporting as well as project evaluation indicators, challenges in project management and the skills for project management in the humanitarian sector and under crisis.

Second Semester

Core Courses

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits

 

Course Description

The course examines the synthesis, analysis and solution of complex problems such as the ones associated with humanitarian aid and crisis and emergency management. The course investigates decision making modeling methods, statistical modeling as well as simulation for humanitarian decision making. The course focuses on quantitative and qualitative decision making methods (including multicriteria decision making, machine learning and artificial intelligence methods) in humanitarian logistics, crises, emergencies and disasters. Using case studies, decision making methods in conflicts, proof of evidence in the humanitarian sector, needs assessment and performance evaluation are discussed.

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits
Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Course Description

The course Humanitarian law and Ethics provides an introduction to the international legal framework governing armed conflicts. Humanitarian Law is one of the oldest thematic branches of International Law – it is also known as the Law of Armed Conflict/ Law of War/ Law of Military Operations. The topics to be discussed include: Ethics and War: Can there be just wars? When is the use of force legally permitted at the international level? Attempts at explaining the reasons of war/ Current trends in armed conflicts at the global level: From “classic” interstate wars to contemporary hybrid conflicts/ War and the Law: origin and evolution of the international legal framework on armed conflicts/ Military education and professionalism/ Military operations, bioethics and technology/ Legal and illegal means and methods of warfare/ The four fundamental principles of Humanitarian Law: (a) Distinction (Civilians/ Combatants and civilian/military objects) – (b) Humanism (prohibition of weapons causing superfluous or unnecessary suffering) – (c) Proportionality – (d) Military necessity/ Prohibited weapons (Nuclear/ Chemical/ Biological) – Prohibited conventional weapons/ Armed conflicts and population flows (Refugees/ Migrants)/ The crime of genocide in historical and legal perspective/ Prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits
Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Course Description

By the end of the last century anthropologists have watched and written as the world has crossed into new humanitarian emergency, frontiers of ethical, logistical, legal, and cultural problematics. Humanitarianism, however, has existed in all forms of missionary European and western colonial presence for centuries, and later through the missionary endeavors to „save the soul through the body‟  (International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Since the collapse of Communism in the early 1990‟s, humanitarianism has transformed yet again into a massive institutional apparatus with an array of funding mechanisms, moral, ethical, and legal commitments, governmental and anti-governmental affiliations, and activities. Large scale humanitarian organizations like CARE, the IRC, ARC, Médécins sans Frontiéres, and OXFAM manage large scale water and sanitation projects, feeding programs, hospitals, reproductive health programs, job training, psycho-social rehabilitation for ex-combatants, reconstruction of disaster sites, and the care and housing of internally displaced person (IDP) and refugee populations. In addition, these organizations have developed massive fundraising, propaganda, and political operations. The course is giving an anthropological critical sight to all this body of knowledge, morality, justification and practices that overlap with colonialism, world crisis of inequality, conflicts, poverty and different types of migration. This course introduces the anthropological perspective in ‘humanitarian emergencies’. This approach includes a) the introduction of the native point of view in the identification of a so-called humanitarian emergency, the needs of the displaced populations and their survival strategies as they have been intrenched over time (habitus), b) an analysis of local power relations that are being redefined in the context of an ‘emergency’. These do not merely include changing relations among members of the affected populations (ie redefinition kinship and social obligations), they also entail a new delicate balance among victims, their hosts and the variety of ‘outsiders’ that move in to assist, and c) finally, it addresses the factors that lead to labelling a situation as an ‘emergency’ (Who decides? With what criteria? In whose interests?) and the impact aid programs help on the affected populations.

2nd Term Elective Courses

Students choose two elective courses from the course list that follows:

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits
Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Course Description
What constitutes a humanitarian intervention? Who intervenes, why and how? This course adopts a longitudinal perspective to respond to the above questions and shows why the answers change according to the historical and political context since the 18th century until today. From a period when humanitarian intervention meant mostly a military involvement of a state into another, today we observe a set of complex and even antagonistic relations between a multitude of actors intervening in humanitarian crises, in conflict or disaster: From state to international institutions, from non-governmental organizations (NGOS) to solidarity networks, from private capital and commercial firms to—the extreme of—private armies.

Divided in three sections, the course initially examines the historical emergence of ‘humanitarian intervention’—principally as military intervention—and focuses on the state as the main actor. The students will familiarize themselves with the different dilemmas posed in different historical periods, from the justification of unilateral action to the emergence of an imperative for the responsibility to protect (R2P). The second part turns the attention to the emergence of new actors and new types of intervention during the 20th century and scrutinises the boundary between state vs non-state actors. Students will be led to unravel the convoluted world of INGOS, GONGOs, QUANGOS, and other actors that intervene in humanitarian crises. The last part of the course will actively engage students in the complexities of real-life conditions and tensions between state and non-state actors in the delivery of humanitarian help via the examination and simulation of contemporary case studies (Syrian civil war, refugee crisis and border management, recent earthquake in Turkey, etc.).

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits
Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Course Description

The course examines the tools and technologies used in humanitarian logistics and crisis management focusing on big data analysis in crisis and disaster management for mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery phases as well as assessment. The course investigates the use of Internet of Things, emerging technologies as well as 3d printing and 3d scanning in crisis and disaster management. Applications of tools and technologies for crisis and emergency management are discussed. Using case studies, the impact of tools and technologies on the efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian logistics and crisis management is examined.

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits
Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Course Description

The course examines a variety of environmental hazards and potential impacts, the methodologies, technologies and tools for environmental hazard assessment. In the context of the course, interactions and interrelationships between nature, human agents, social, economic and political factors are examined through theory and case studies. The course provides an understanding of the management of environmental hazards. The course  uses case studies to investigate vulnerability, risks and resilience, for environmental hazard identification planning, environmental hazard management, community participation in environmental hazard management and resilience building for raising awareness and reduction of environmental hazards.

Teaching Hours and Credit Allocation: 30 Hours, 6 Credits
Course Assessment: Exam & Coursework

Course Description

The social and solidarity economy is an interdisciplinary field of approach, with a particular interest in social science programs and social justice policies. Due to the prolonged, chronic and successive economic and financial crises, the health crisis-pandemic and other environmental disasters, alternative models of development and survival are sought around the world that focus on the values ​and practices of cooperation and glocal knowledges of communing and solidarity practices. Through the analysis of case studies the course is looking for the examples of social and solidarity economies that stand in the way of social justice, dignity and equality. It further examines the dynamics of this targeting as an ideology and practice that promotes genuine gender equality, justice and dignity for labor rights, citizenship and good living, beyond capitalist antagonisms, liberal difference and neoliberal precarity.

Third Semester

Students can choose between two choices: either work exclusively on the Dissertation Thesis (or work on the Dissertation Thesis and attend the Consulting Project). Either choice sums up to 30 ECTS.

Choice 1:

  • Dissertation Thesis (20 ECTS)
  • Consulting Project (10 ECTS)

Course Description

The course involves student participation in real projects including the participation in working groups, in the fields of humanitarian logistics, crisis management, migration management and migration issues, business continuity, etc. The consulting project is implemented by students in cooperation with organisations and agencies including humanitarian organisations, NGOs, businesses, public sector agencies, local government/municipality agencies etc.

Or

Choice 2:

  • Dissertation Thesis (30 ECTS)

Duration of studies

The duration of the full-time study programme in order to obtain the M.Sc. degree is three (3) academic semesters. For students who so wish, there is also the possibility, upon request, of attending the programme on a part–time basis. In this case, the duration of the M.Sc. will be six (6) academic semesters. Lectures mainly take place on weekday evenings.

The Academic Faculty

Maria Drakaki
mdrakaki@ihu.gr
Foteini Tsimpiridou
ft@uom.edu.gr
Dimitrios Kyrkilis
kyrkilis@uom.edu.gr
Christos Tjortjis
c.tjortjis@ihu.edu.gr
Eftichia Voutira
voutira@uom.edu.gr
Ioannis Manos
imanos@uom.edu.gr
Panayiotis Bozanis
pbozanis@ihu.gr
Nikos Zaikos
nzaikos@uom.edu.gr
Dimitrios Tzetzis
d.tzetzis@ihu.edu.gr
Leonidas Karakatsanis
lkarak@uom.edu.gr
Eleni Sideri
elasideri@uom.edu.gr

Other Research and Teaching Personnel

To be updated

Collaborating Instructors

To be updated

Fees & Financing

The programme fees for the M.Sc. in Humanitarian Logistics and Crisis Management is 3,200€. The amount is payable in four instalments.

Deposits

Scholarships

The postgraduate degree programme offers a number of scholarships, covering a significant proportion of the fees. These scholarships are competitive. Award criteria include the quality of the first degree, the undergraduate grades of the candidate, his/her command of the English language and overall profile. Candidates for scholarships should include a separate letter with their application documents in which they request to be considered for a scholarship, stating the reasons why they think they qualify.

More information will be announced.

Programme announcement – Admissions

Call for applications 2024-2025 is now open.

The Programme of Studies Committee of the interinstitutional postgraduate programme of studies “M.Sc. in Humanitarian Logistics and Crisis Management” between the Departments of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies of the University of Macedonia and Science and Technology of the University Center of International Programmes of Studies of the International Hellenic University invites interested parties to apply for the interinstitutional postgraduate programme of studies “M.Sc. in Humanitarian Logistics and Crisis Management” for the academic year 2024-2025. The courses of the programme are taught exclusively in English.

You can find below the call for applications and the application form. Please follow the instructions in the call for applications in order to submit your application.

Call for applications 2024-2025 dedline: December 15, 2024

Study Guide

Student Handbook

Career

The M.Sc. in Humanitarian Logistics and Crisis Management is an interinstitutional, interdisciplinary postgraduate degree programme that provides high quality theoretical and technological knowledge, as well as analytical and technological tools, to cover the need for professionals in the scientific fields of humanitarian logistics, crisis management, emergency management and business continuity.

Graduates can pursue a successful career in government agencies including civil protection, national and international organizations, military, police, coast guard, fire department, NGOs, diplomatic services, local authorities, private sector companies, as well as academia.

In addition to technical skills gained through study, our students benefit from the excellent Careers Office in order to attain essential soft skills (e.g. communication skills, interview preparation, CV writing etc.) to better prepare for the job market.

Location

The M.Sc. in Humanitarian Logistics and Crisis Management takes place in the facilities of the Department of Science & Technology of the University Center of International Programmes of Studies of the International Hellenic University in Thermi-Thessaloniki, as well as in the facilities of the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies of the University of Macedonia.

It is possible to attend with traditional face-to-face teaching, distance learning or in a combination.

International Hellenic University in Thermi

University of Macedonia

Contact

For more information about the programme, please contact Professor Maria Drakaki (email:mdrakaki@ihu.gr) and the Programme Manager, School of Science & Technology (Tel: +30 2310 807 531, Email: infohlcm@ihu.edu.gr).

Postal address: School of Science & Technology Department of School of Science & Technology University Center of International Programmes of Studies 14th km Thessaloniki – Nea Moudania 570 01 Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece Tel: +30 2310 807 531, Email: infohlcm@ihu.edu.gr.