Centre for Professional Development and Lifelong Learning

Health, Safety and Biosecurity

Barbados and the OECS face a health care environment that is becoming increasingly complex and costly to maintain.  The challenges presented by the health care environment demand that medical personnel engage in continuous learning, and that average citizens play a greater role in personal and familial and community health management.  As a response to societal needs and concerns, the Centre for Professional Development and Lifelong Learning at the Cave Hill Campus offers a suite of continuing education and professional development courses to doctors, nurses and therapists, while offering beginners’ courses in the management of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the general public. The Centre also offers courses in health and safety, and sustainable building concepts for the building sector, as well as courses in Biosecurity and its relevance in the Caribbean context.

Health

Biosecurity: More than meets the Eye

Biosecurity: More than meets the Eye

Overview

The short course will seek to develop critical competencies in the scientific and practical understanding of biosecurity redefined to the Caribbean context. These competencies will range from: understanding the basic biosecurity terminology, applying suitable tools to analyse varied biosecurity issues, practical application of biosecurity impacts on animal and human health, economy, trade, financial sector, tourism, environment and border security, and the application of potential methods to mitigate against these impacts.
 

What will I Learn?

On successful completion of the course, participants will be able to:

  • Discuss the impact and importance of biosecurity and biological ecosystems.
  • Analyse the public health, financial, economic, and trade implications of these biosecurity risks.
  • Assess existing vulnerabilities and exposures to these biosecurity risks.
  • Implement mitigation strategies utilizing regional and global case studies.

Who Should do this Course

  • Public Health Professionals (doctors, nurses, veterinary services, laboratory & Port Health personnel)
  • Agriculture, Biodiversity & Environment Management Professionals
  • Border Security Professionals (Police Officers, Customs Officers, Immigration Officers, Coast Guard)
  • IT & Data Management Professionals
  • Disaster Management Professionals
  • Financial Sector Professionals (banks, credit unions, asset managers, insurance, securities broker-dealers, credit card issuers, alternate payment systems professional)
  • Logistics & Trade Professionals
  • Legal and Risk Management professionals

Important Information

The goals of this short course/workshop are to:

  1. Facilitate participants’ understanding of biosecurity and its relevance in the Caribbean context with suitable case studies of biosecurity in practice.
  2. Promote participants’ practical exploration of mitigation strategies to minimize the impacts of these activities in their day-to-day professional job execution.

At a Glance

  • Admissions Term: 2021/2022 Semester II
  • Registration: Open
  • Date: 1st, 3rd, 8th, 10th, and 15th March 2022
  • Time: Tuesday and Thursday (6pm-9pm)
  • Duration: 3 weeks (15 hours)
  • Certificate Awarded: Professional Development Certificate of Competence
  • CRN: 12528
  • Course Code: PDLL175
  • Capacity: 25
  • Cost: BDS$1500.00/ US$750.00

The following topics/concepts/theories/issues will be addressed:

  • Biosecurity: Traditional & Adapted Regional Overview
  • Multisectoral impact of biosecurity issues
  • Identifying Biosecurity Risks/Vulnerabilities using a cross-disciplinary approach
  • Global and Regional Case Studies of Biosecurity in Action
  • Regional Mitigation Strategies against Biosecurity Risks

Participants do not need any formal undergraduate and postgraduate educational requirements.  However, participants should be currently operating in the relevant allied biosecurity fields including environment and wildlife management, green energy, disaster management, maritime, digitalisation, cybersecurity, climate change mitigation, animal and public health, border security, agriculture, financial, logistics and trade sectors. 
 

This course will adopt a Hybrid Flexible approach and it will be delivered through interactive lectures, classroom discussions, and cooperative group work.
 

Dr. Kirk Douglas is Director of the Centre for Biosecurity Studies at the University of the West Indies. He has specialised training in conducting research in Caribbean wildlife (rodents and migratory birds), virology, risk assessment, zoonotic disease transmission risk analysis and has over 100 citations from peer reviewed journal articles on biosecurity, public health, infectious diseases, viral haemorrhagic fevers and vector-borne diseases.