Abstract:

The link between research and education in higher education has been considered as the primary processes of modern education. Starting from this premise, considering that the rapid and unpredictable climatic factors create a major challenge for the protection systems of critical infrastructure, we have initiated within the discipline ”Protection of the critical infrastructure”, a research project in order to improve the management of natural hazards.

The research methodology is based on two approaches: prevention (development of risk matrix that highlights the connection climate vector – infrastructure asset - potential impact and data representation as a graphical user interface) and response (monitoring the event using emerging technologies: integration of sensors on the Arduino platform, operating a robotic air vector).

The architecture of the research project was designed to meet the requirements of users (modular, flexible, scalable) and the needs to overlap with risk management stages. Scenarios model testing in laboratory simulated conditions demonstrated the functionality and highlighted the expected performance.

The project results have had an impact on three main directions: increasing the capacity of stakeholders (students, teachers, end-users) to understand the dynamics of natural risks posed by climate change; optimization of the allocation of resources through multidisciplinary approach and use of emerging technologies; evaluating the effectiveness of current plans in the context of future needs (by simulated decision scenarios and optimized the intervention).

Keywords:

Risk management, critical infrastructure, emerging technology, decision support system.