We’re very pleased to announce the launch of the WeRobotics Online Training Institute. Training is absolutely central to the work and mission of WeRobotics. To date, we have provided our professional trainings exclusively in person. We’ve given these trainings to a numerous professionals across many organizations including the World Food Program (WFP), UN Development Program (UNDP), UNICEF, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), local universities and many national & local stakeholders including National Disaster Management Organizations (NDMOs) in Peru, Myanmar, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, Dominican Republic, Maldives, Fiji, Seychelles and beyond.
We’re thrilled to be teaming up with our friends at TechChange to provide this training. Their highly dynamic online training platform is second-to-none. Just last year alone, TechChange trained over 7,000 people from 155 countries on their platform. We’ve been huge fans of TechChange and are grateful to finally have the opportunity to work both with their outstanding team and unique approach to online learning.
Drones in Humanitarian Action
While in-person trainings will absolutely remain central to our work and mission, we’ve realized that a substantial component of these trainings can just as well be provided online and scaled more easily this way. The reason for this is simple: technology is at most 10% of the solution in humanitarian emergencies and many other contexts including public health and environmental protection, for example. Technology is certainly an absolutely crucial 10% of the solution—serving as a multiplier effect—but without a strong understanding of the tasks necessary to use this technology safely, responsibly and effectively (the other 90%), you run the danger of multiplying nonsense and becoming part of the problem rather than the solution. As such we’ve decided to invest a considerable amount of time and energy to convert our offline trainings into online courses in order to train more people on how to use drones more responsibly across a range of sectors.
Our very first online course will focus on Drones in Humanitarian Action: From Coordination to Deployments. The course will be identical to the trainings that we’ve provided to new and seasoned humanitarian professionals around the world. Drones in Humanitarian Action will give participants the training they need to be an important part of the solution during future disaster risk management efforts. The training is instrumental for anyone already engaged or expecting to support disaster response efforts. The course will be of equal interest to participants who want to better understand what it takes to lead humanitarian drone missions safely, responsibly and effectively. As such, the training is ideal for existing drone pilots including pilots working in the commercial drone space. That said, no background in disaster response or drones is required for this foundational course.
Overview of Humanitarian Drone Training
Our online training represents the first ever online professional course specifically dedicated to humanitarian applications of drones. The 7-week training comprises 7 key modules, which cover the following important topics:
- Drone Technologies and Mission Planning
- Mapping Drones and Information Products
- Cargo Drones and New Solutions
- Humanitarian Principles and Codes of Conduct
- Survey of Drone Deployments in Humanitarian Aid
- Humanitarian Drone Missions: Lessons Learned & Best Practices
- Drones in Humanitarian Action: Localization and Coordination
- Aerial Data Interpretation and Analysis
- Future Trends in Drone Technologies and Applications
The online training will also include a dedicated module on Technical Basics of Drone Pilot Certification, which will cover the following topics:
- Rules of the Air
- Safety
- Airspace
- Flight Permissions
- Basic Chart Reading
- Meteorology
- Aircraft Knowledge
- Airmanship
The WeRobotics training on Drones in Humanitarian Action are built on the first ever trainings on humanitarian drones provided by the Humanitarian UAV Network (UAViators) between 2015-2016. These professional trainings were given by WeRobotics co-founders Dr. Patrick Meier and Dr. Andrew Schroeder, and included trainees from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN/OCHA), WFP, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Direct Relief,, NetHope, Medair, Global Medic, USAID, FEMA, AAAS, MIT, European Commission, ACF International, Greenpeace and many more.
Trainers and Expertise
The online training on Drones in Humanitarian Action was prepared by the AidRobotics Team at WeRobotics. The team, Joel Kaiser, Dr. Patrick Meier and Dr. Andrew Schroeder, brings together over 40 years of experience in humanitarian aid and emergencies. Patrick will serve as primary lead for the Online Training.
Joel Kaiser: Over 15 years of field experience in humanitarian assistance and disaster response in over a dozen countries and including 4 years pioneering the humanitarian use of drones. Joel has extensive experience in humanitarian coordination, and advanced studies in emergency management. Prior to WeRobotics, Joel worked as an emergency response specialist with several different humanitarian agencies including the Canadian Red Cross, Food for the Hungry and Medair. Has led disaster response teams in many humanitarian crises including Haiti, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Somalia, Iraq and Syria. Since 2013 these responses have involved the use of drones to improve operational decision-making. Holds an MA in International Development with a focus on Complex Emergencies from Simon Fraser University. Was one of the lead experts running the recent humanitarian drones workshop in Malawi with UNICEF and earlier with WFP in Myanmar. Joel is on the core team of the Humanitarian UAV Network (UAViators) and has played a key role in developing the International Humanitarian UAV Code of Conduct.
Dr. Patrick Meier: Over 15 years of experience in humanitarian technology. Spearheaded the coordination of drones in the aftermath of Category 5 Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu and the 8.0 Earthquake in Nepal. Co-directed the WeRobotics workshops on humanitarian drones for UNICEF in Malawi and for WFP in Peru, Myanmar and the DR. Coordinated and evaluated cargo drone field tests in Peru and the DR. Spearheaded the Open AI Challenge with the World Bank to use AI for the automated analysis of aerial imagery and previously directed applied research on related projects including a year-long study for the Red Cross on the use of drones for disaster risk management. Served as long-time consultant to the World Bank’s UAVs for Resilience Program. Founded the Humanitarian UAV Network (UAViators) and previously developed & provided hands-on professional trainings on humanitarian drone missions to a wide range of humanitarian professionals. Also co-authored the most comprehensive report on Drones in Humanitarian Action and played a key role developing the first humanitarian drone trainings and the International Humanitarian UAV Code of Conduct. Received advanced degrees in International Affairs from The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Authored the book, Digital Humanitarians, which has been praised by experts from the UN, Red Cross, World Bank, USAID, DfID, Harvard, MIT, Oxford and more.
Dr. Andrew Schroeder: Over 10 years of experience in humanitarian and public health emergencies, logistics and disaster response, with extensive expertise in data-analytics, geospatial data and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Internationally recognized leader in GIS, data science and applied epidemiology for humanitarian aid and global health. Directly engaged in relief efforts following numerous disasters including Cyclone Nargis (Myanmar), Haiti Earthquake, Japan Earthquake/Tsunami, Typhoon Haiyan (Philippines), Ebola Outbreak (Sierra Leone and Liberia), Nepal Earthquake, Hurricanes Matthew, Maria, Irma and Havey (Caribbean) and Wildfires (California). Founded the Nethope’s UAV Working Group. Co-directed the WeRobotics workshops on humanitarian drone for WFP and co-directed UNDP drones for disaster resilience project in the Maldives. On the core team of the Humanitarian UAV Network (UAViators) and previously provided hands-on professional trainings on humanitarian drone missions to a wide range of humanitarian professionals. Played a key role in developing of the International Humanitarian UAV Code of Conduct. Received advanced degrees in social analysis and public policy from New York University and the University of Michigan.
How To Register and More
The online training on Drones in Humanitarian Action will be given in June and July 2018. Please add your email address here if you are interested in joining this upcoming course:
https://werobotics.org/online-training
When the registration for the course opens on May 1st, you’ll be the first to receive an invitation to register. Certificates of completion will be provided to participants who successfully pass the training. We plan to offer this training several times a year and already plan to introduce other trainings in the future including trainings on the use of Cargo Drones in Public Health and Drones in Environmental Action. In the meantime, big thanks to our friends at TechChange for their partnership.
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