Graduates lead the way in crisis

This research was conducted over a five-month period in the Philippines and Australia and examined the effectiveness of the applied learning of graduates and current students of the Humanitarian Leadership Programme—now referred to as the Graduate Certificate of Humanitarian Leadership—who held leadership roles in the humanitarian response to Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) that devastated the central Philippines in November 2013.

The findings from the research indicate that the structure and content of the Graduate Certificate of Humanitarian Leadership is relevant and very effective in building the self-awareness, self-confidence, resilience, reflective practice, strategic thinking and relational leadership skills of graduates and current students. All informants indicated the course had assisted them to become better leaders within their organisation’s response.

Informants’ responses in the report may be summarised accordingly:

1. An increased capacity to deal with pressure and handle difficult situations.
2. Being aware of the need to make decisions quickly or when more time and consultation with colleagues is needed.
3. That the theoretical part of the course was critical in understanding the context and rationale behind humanitarian work.