It is a basic e-learning course that offers awareness and understanding about natural hazards, helps identify regions with high vulnerability with respect to various hazards (earthquakes, cyclones, landslides, floods, etc.) and specifies district-wise level of damage risks to the existing housing stock. The e-course will be a tool for effective & efficient disaster mitigation & management in the field of Architecture, Civil Engineering, Urban & Regional Planning, Housing & Infrastructure Planning, Construction Engineering & Management and Building & Materials Research. The e-course on Vulnerability Atlas of India has been launched as one of the activities under “Construction Technology Year (2019-20)” which was announced by the Hon’ble Prime Minister during Construction Technology India 2019: Expo-cum-Conference under Global Housing Technology Challenge – India on 2nd March, 2019 at New Delhi. It will be offered jointly by the School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi and Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC), Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.
The aim of the e-Learning Course is to raise the level of awareness and preparedness as well as to enhance skills and professional competencies of key stakeholders. The course is designed specifically to build capacities of (a) Individuals who wish to keep themselves abreast with knowledge about various hazards, vulnerability & disaster mitigation measures, in order to be better prepared, (b) Students/Faculty/Practitioners/Researchers of Urban and Regional Planning, Civil Engineering and Architecture Colleges or any other allied disciplines, (c) Public/Private Professionals working in the area of housing & infrastructure sector e.g. Road, Rail, Aviation, Ports, etc., (d) Defence/Central Armed Police Forces involved in Civil Engineering projects, (e) Officials of National/State Disaster Management Authorities, (f) Central/State/Local Government Officials, (g) Members of Consulting Organisations, and (h) Members of Civil Society Organisations.
Applicants can register and log on to the e-course from anywhere at any time. Course does not require any face to face discussion or physical appearance in the examination. Course is beneficial for those who are not able to attend physically or do not have sufficient time to attend programmes in training centres. The e-Course will help individuals to comprehend and move at their own pace. There are no restrictions on duration of the course. There will be Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) based self-assessment after each module. In case an individual is not able to score satisfactorily in a particular module, applicant is encouraged to re-read the module and go through self-assessment again. At the end of the course, there will be final examination which will again be MCQ based. An applicant will get maximum 3 attempts to complete the final examination. If an applicant fails after 3 attempts, applicant will have to go through the Course again from the beginning. On successful completion of the course, a self-generated digital certificate will be awarded to the applicant. There will be six Contact Programmes for enrolled applicants who have successfully completed the e-course in one year, (one at SPA, New Delhi and five other at designated Incubation Centres of GHTC-I at IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee & NEIST Jorhat/CBRI Roorkee), during which certificate will be delivered in a programme. Candidates will have option to choose any place suiting their convenience.
The Basic Course on Vulnerability Atlas of India is being started initially which is open for all those who are interested in acquiring knowledge on Vulnerability Atlas of India. The other courses for professionals will be offered shortly to those who have either completed the basic course or having requisite qualifications/experiences in their related domains.