World Politics and Humanitarian Education: Challenges for Real-Life-Problem Training

This paper presents findings from a module redesign process to discuss how a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) approach can facilitate competency-based, real-life training in humanitarian education. Humanitarian Action masters programme, like many other applied, multidisciplinary programmes, attracts students from diverse backgrounds with varying level of knowledge, expertise, and appetite for critical thinking. Building student competencies to be able to link state-of-the-art world politics theory to improve contemporary humanitarian practice can be a formidable challenge in university classroom settings. This paper presents step-by-step how the World Politics in Humanitarian Action module in the Network on Humanitarian Action (NOHA) Masters at University College Dublin was redesigned adopting the PBL approach. It then critically analyses the success of this approach and next steps based on student feedback and peer observation of teaching. The findings are relevant not just for humanitarian action modules but also other programmes that seek to impart competence-based education in an applied field of study such as development studies