CASITA Network in Asia

CASITA (Capacity Building in Asia Using Information Technology Applications) is co-funded by EU Asia IT&C program and started its first phase in 2003. CASITA aims at institutionalizing graduate and postgraduate courses on the application of modern IT&C tools in Disaster Managementrelated curricula at university level. The project was in collaboration with International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (Netherlands) and Bonn University (Germany).

CASITA phase I established a network of 14 universities in Asia, which are:

  1. Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh

  2. Khulna University, Bangladesh

  3. Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, India

  4. Institute of Technology Bandung, Indonesia

  5. Gadja Mada University, Indonesia

  6. Urban Research Institute, Laos

  7. University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka

  8. University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka

  9. Chiang Mai University, Thailand

  10. Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand

  11. Kathmandu University, Nepal

  12. University of Peshawar, Pakistan

  13. University of the Philippines, the Philippines

  14. Hanoi Architectural University, Vietnam

CASITA II focused on support to four university partners, in Thailand, Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka to develop post graduate courses on DM, and was completed in December 2006. Postgraduate courses in four universities were developed with technical support from ITC and ADPC. Those 4 universities are:

  1. Indian Institute of Remote Sensing

  2. Gadjah Mada University

  3. University of Ruhuna

  4. Chiang Mai University

In addition, there were two additional involvements under the project which were not foreseen during project development stage. The Master Programme on Disaster Management at Postgraduate Institute of Science (PGIS) in Peradeniya University, Sri Lanka, had been supported by ADPC and ITC, which was not a planned activity. The support was provision for curriculum review and conduct of Hazard specific courses and resource inputs for the conduct of several sessions. In the same way the Master Programme on Disaster Management conducted by the BRAC University of Bangladesh was supported by ADPC.

Distance-support education was introduced and tested in the project after developing a guidelines for a joint research program. The distance education course was tested in IIRS (India) in July 2006. A course was given together with the National Institute for Disaster Management (NIDM), IIRS and with input from ADPC and ITC.

CASITA is projected to be a permanent network among universities in Asia in building links between universities, research institutes and planning, policy and decision makers. Efforts are Capacity Building Program, Urban Disaster Risk Management Page 11 of 11

continuously done by ADPC, ITC the Netherlands and Bonn University, Germany in widening the linkages towards larger networks by bringing new universities/ institutes in the network such as:

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