Interdisziplinäre Lehre: Meeting Global Challenges
Multi Hazards
Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Dealing with Crises
Registration
Registration takes place via RWTHonline and is possible from 01.09.2026 to 04.10.2026. Further information on the registration process can be found in the FAQs.
All students can register for one course. You can specify two preferences. To do so, please use the ‘high’ priority and the one directly below it. For instructions, please click here. If you have not been allocated a place at the end of the allocation process and are still interested in participating in a course, please contact sibel.yildirim@ipw.rwth-aachen.de.
(If you have any problems with registration, please contact Ms Sibel Yildirim (IPW) at sibel.yildirim@ipw.rwth-aachen.de, stating your matriculation number. If you have any general questions about the course, please contact the person listed below.)
We welcome your questions and comments. You can contact us here! (The ‘Leonardo’ project is also on Facebook and Instagram).
Academic Responsibility
Research Group Gender and Diversity in Engineering, RWTH Aachen
Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management, RWTH Aachen
Contact Person
Alina Meyer, B.A.
Schedule
Start
20.10.2026
Time
Tuesday, 18:30 – 20:00 h
Place
ST 5 (1665|005)
Schinkelstr. 15, 52062 Aachen
Description
With regard to increasing natural hazards, such as floods and earthquakes, innovative, sustainable and resilient approaches to solutions are required that strengthen the adaptability of socio-technical systems and infrastructures. In order to develop such approaches, competencies are necessary that enable students as future “change agents” to deal with uncertainty and complexity. This requires cooperative and interdisciplinary approaches and skills. Therefore, this course aims to sensitize students to dealing with natural hazards from their respective disciplinary perspectives.
By presenting theoretical concepts and foundations from the fields of risk research and disaster management, among others, students will gain an insight into current scientific and interdisciplinary discourses. Based on this, they will work in multidisciplinary teams on a crisis-specific case study with a focus on “learning from failure” regarding various failure and adaptation mechanisms in order to develop creative solutions.
Learning Outcomes
After completing the course, you are able to:
- Explain theoretical concepts in the context of disaster management.
- Explain the relevance of disaster management for your own professional training.
- Identify and analyze failure mechanisms and actors involved in selected disaster scenarios.
- Derive implications for future disaster events.
- Present your findings convincingly to people from other disciplines.
Program
20.10.2026
Introduction and Motivation I (only for seminar participants)
Dr. Ann-Kristin Winkens,
Department of Gender and Diversity in Engineering (GDI), RWTH Aachen University
Jens Reinert,
Chair and Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management (IWW), RWTH Aachen University
27.10.2026
Introduction and Motivation II (group work – only for seminar participants)
Dr. Ann-Kristin Winkens, GDI, RWTH Aachen
Jens Reinert, IWW, RWTH Aachen
03.11.2026
The Perspective and Role of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia in Disaster and Civil Protection
Bernd Geßmann
State Agency for Civil Protection,
Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia
10.11.2026
Civil Protection in Municipal Practice—Structures, Leadership, and Capacity to Act in Complex Situations
Stefan Siehoff
Civil Protection and Property Management, Aachen City Region
17.11.2026
Social-Psychological Perspectives on Preparedness and Crisis Communication
Prof. Dr. Anna Sieben
Social Psychology in Civil Safety Research, University of Wuppertal
24.11.2026
Multi Hazards in the Context of Geohazards
Prof. Dr. Klaus Reicherter
Teaching and Research Area Neotectonics and Natural Hazards,
RWTH Aachen
01.12.2026
Lessons Learned: Flooding 2021
Dr. Benni Thiebes
German Committee for Disaster Reduction e.V.
08.12.2026
It’s Complexity, Stupid – Why It’s So Difficult to Warn the Population About Dangers
Dr. Benjamin Scharte
International Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (IZEW)
15.12.2026
Pitches (only for seminar participants)
Dr. Ann-Kristin Winkens, GDI, RWTH Aachen
Jens Reinert, IWW, RWTH Aachen
02.02.2027
Feedback and Conclusion (only for seminar participants)
Dr. Ann-Kristin Winkens, GDI, RWTH Aachen
Jens Reinert, IWW, RWTH Aachen
Procedure/Working method
Depending on the course of studies, module and examination, credit points can be achieved through participation. If you would like to take an exam, please make sure beforehand how you can get credit for it in your degree program. Of course, you can also take exams without receiving curricular credit for them. Visit our FAQs for more information.
Certificate
Group presentation + individual reflection report (4 CP, graded)
