Abstract:

Research background: From the very beginning of the establishment of European Mechanism for civil protection in 2001 up today the practice of common Union’s operations in complex crises has been rapidly growing as well as the tools and the means for a fast and efficient response of the rescuers have been significantly developed and upgraded. The collaborative practice in different missions covered by the Mechanism is the subject of deep analysis, monitoring, and sharing of lessons learned, but due to the highly specific information presented and the assessments and reports, follow-up is just limited to the institutions directly involved in the management of emergency situations.

The paper shows how the information on common activities undertaken under the European system for civil protection can be introduced in curricula in bachelor and master’s program in Management of emergency situations, Security and Safety or any other curricula dealing with the management of crises, national security, or social activities. Such approach refers to the familiarization of the practical experience, its dissemination as well as finally reflect in the level of understanding of EU Mechanism and raise its visibility. Last but not least the inclusion of the documented experience and the awareness on developed common systems and means not only increase the information on European efforts in overcoming disasters and man-evoked crises but also increase the level of preparedness of the young specialists dealing with the civil protection issues at the local, national and transnational environment.

The paper presents the joint experience of National Defense College and Ruse University in Bulgaria to convert the collected and well-documented open-accessed European practice in civil protection to the appropriate educational content of a brand-new curriculum, which is adding both knowledge and skills to the students in disaster and crisis management.

Methodology and findings: the paper is based on the experience of the authors in developing evidence-based curricula. The main methods in the paper are diachronic and comparative analysis and case study research.

Keywords:

Civil protection, emergency management, crises management, education.