Refugee Logistics and Management

Both undergraduate and graduate students of various backgrounds can attend the course.

Contact details

Professor Maria Drakaki

Department of Science and Technology

University Center of International Programmes of Studies

International Hellenic University

Email: mdrakaki@ihu.gr

Tel.: +302310807524

Instructors

Dr. Maria Drakaki is Professor in Humanitarian Engineering in the Department of Science and Technology, at the University Center of International Programmes of Studies of the International Hellenic University (IHU). She received her Ph. D. degree from the University of Texas at Austin, Physics Department, an M. Sc. degree from the University of Westminster in VLSI System Design and a B. Sc. degree from the Physics Department of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Previously, she was Associate Professor in Flexible Manufacturing and Supply Systems in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management of IHU and a faculty member of the Department of Automation Engineering of the Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki. She is the Director of the IHU Institute of Management of Migration Flows and Crises. She is Deputy Dean of the School of Science and Technology. Prof. Drakaki is the Director of the interinstitutional Master’s degree programme in Humanitarian Logistics and Crisis Management. She is the Director of the Master’s degree programme in Environmental Management and Sustainability in the Department of Science and Technology. Prof. Drakaki holds the Fulbright scholarship. She has published several papers in various leading international peer-reviewed journals and conferences as well as book chapters in international peer-reviewed engineering books. in topics such as humanitarian logistics, disaster management, sustainability, supply chain management, intelligent manufacturing systems and decision support systems. She participates in European projects including on refugee education and development of relevant policies.  She is IHU delegate for the International Academic Partnership Programme between Greek and US universities (IAPP Greece 2020), organised by IIE in collaboration with the Greek Ministry of Education. She is IHU delegate for the UK Strategic Partnership in Education programme, organised by the Greek Ministry of Education in partnership with the UK Department for Education, the British Embassy and the British Council Greece. She has extensive higher education teaching experience in Greece and abroad including in the subjects of humanitarian logistics. 

Dr. Panagiotis Tzionas is a Professor of Computer and Control Engineering in the Department of Production Engineering and Management, International Hellenic University, Greece. He has served as the Vice-Rector of Research of the International Hellenic University and as Rector, Vice-Rector of Academic Affairs and Vice-Rector of Research of the Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece, in consecutive terms, since 2008. Professor Panagiotis Tzionas holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Democritus University of Thrace, Greece, an M.Sc. in Digital Electronics from Kings College, University of London, and a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Imperial College, University of London. Additionally, he holds a B.Sc. in Teaching from Pedagogical Academy of Florina, Greece. He has more than 30 years of experience in research and development programs in Greece and in Europe in the area of Intelligent systems and industrial systems engineering, and more than 25 years of teaching experience at Universities, both at undergraduate and post graduate level. He has published more than 110 articles in international refereed journals and in proceedings of international conferences, in various disciplines including industrial systems, humanitarian logistics, disaster management and higher education policies and has more than 800 citations to his work. He is a reviewer for several scientific journals. He has served as chair and member of the organizing committees in several international conferences.

Mr. Nicholas Connolly Rangos studied Visual Communication Design at Middlesex University in London and upon completion of his studies was recruited by the shipping company Maersk to work as an assistant manager. In 2015 during the height of the humanitarian crisis in Europe, Nicholas and a group of friends seeing the situation unfolding with refugees and migrants passing through the northern borders, decided to act and mobilized a volunteer movement that later became international with people arriving from all over the world. He later cofounded an NGO named InterVolve and assisted in Eidomeni (northern Greek borders) and other camps in Greece, by providing refugees and migrants with in kind assistance. In 2016, he was recruited by the Ministry for the Interior and tasked to serve as Regional Coordinator for Northern Greece. He maintained this government position until September of 2019. By October 2019 he joined the ranks of Solidarity Now NGO as the program coordinator for a national integration project aimed at assisting recognized refugees in Greece to adapt to Greek society and plan ahead their livelihoods so as to become independent and integral members of society. Nicholas is a member of a parliamentary committee tasked with monitoring the Greek government’s policies on migration, he is on the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) roster of external experts, a trainer at the UN Multinational Peace Support Operations Training Center for NATO and takes part in many different events as a speaker on migration.

Dr. Styliani G. Letsiou received her graduate degree from the Department of Balkan Studies of the University of Western Macedonia (Florina). She has two master degrees, the first one in Political Science from the Institut d’ Études Politiques de Strasbourg (Université Robert Schuman) and another one in History and Social Anthropology from the Department of Social Anthropology and History of the Aegean University (Mytilene). She obtained a Ph.D. in Economic and Political Studies in Contemporary Eastern and Southeastern Europe from the Department of Balkan, Slavic and Oriental Studies of the University of Macedonia (2011). She is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Macedonia and during the last years, she has been teaching in the University of Macedonia.

Teaching modules and duration

Detailed description of teaching modules

Humanitarian Logistics for Refugees

Refugee logistics is an emerging scientific field, focused on humanitarian logistics for refugees. Humanitarian logistics involves the efficient and cost-effective flow and storage of goods and information from the point of origin to the destination point in order to meet the needs of the end beneficiaries.  The course introduces an overview of the global situation of disasters and crises with a  focus on their impact on displacement, focusing in Europe. The course provides an introduction to humanitarian logistics and humanitarian supply chains, including the humanitarian supply network; Sphere standards, demand and supply management and refugee camp design issues focused in Greece. The course also examines coordination and collaboration challenges of humanitarian logistics operations.
 

Refugee Logistics in the Field (in Greece)

The course includes:

-With reference to the Greek context and the complex political issue of migration in Europe, a presentation and discussion of how the Refugee crisis of 2015-2016 evolved in Greece and what developments were made on a political, technical and social level to cope with the strain of a humanitarian crisis.

· Discussion on the need to have an emergency humanitarian response, and the benefits of the capacity that is built through these mechanisms in terms of supporting human life and dignity. Reference to civil protection mechanisms, the European network of RescEU and the responses to natural and manmade disasters that are always human core-based strategies.

· A discussion on the principals of supporting persons in need and how to setup mechanisms to mitigate and manage basic human needs. Reference to UN modules and standards, the Camp Coordination and Camp Management cluster. Link to the history of camp development for refugees in Greece since 2015 and to this day.

The International Humanitarian System and the Recent EU Refugee Crisis

The international humanitarian system continues to evolve and comprises a network of interconnected institutional and operational entities through which humanitarian action is undertaken when local and national resources are, on their own, insufficient to meet the needs of a population in crisis. As the number of people globally forced to flee their homes due to violence and conflict continues to rise, the public debate on the issue is intensifying. It is true, therefore, that issues concerning refugees are now at the forefront of the Mass Media, while ordinary citizens make efforts to understand the phenomenon of forced displacement on the one hand and its complexity on the other. This presentation also focuses on the study of the new reality that has been revealed after the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war on 24 February 2022. The immediate positive response to Ukrainian refugees showed that the EU has all the necessary tools to aid and protect people seeking safety.

EU Policies on Refugee Issues

Since the arrival of massive migration flows in Europe in 2015, the EU has focused on efforts to establish humanitarian and safe European migration policies. The European Counci lis setting the strategic priorities. The EU has adopted various sets of rules and frameworks to manage legal migration flows, particularly for highly skilled workers, students and researchers, seasonal workers, and people seeking family reunification. Moreover, the EU has common rules for processing asylum requests, relocation and resettlement. A successful integration and inclusion policy is an essential part of a well-managed and effective migration and asylum policy. The EU plays a key role in supporting social policies of EU countriesmainly through funding. The common European asylum system (CEAS) sets minimum standards for the treatment of all asylum seekers and asylum applications across the EU. The migration crisis highlighted the need to reform the EU’s migration and asylum policies, providing a common European framework for migration and asylum management.