Institute of Crisis Management Studies, Samarpan Academy established with an aim to produce human resources related to Crisis Management. The College currently offers MA in Crisis Management Studies alongwith MA in Counselling Psychology. With an aim to know more about Crisis Management Studies and let the potential students know more about the various aspects of this program, we sat down with Dr. Ram Thapaliya, President of the College board to bring up the factual contents among the students that will help them to make an informed decision while making their career choices.
Dr. Ram Thapaliya, President, ICMS
Dr. Thapaliya an esteemed educationist and the consultant for various international organizations felt an acute shortage of Crisis Managers in Nepal. Thapaliya didn’t found a single application from the student having an academic background in Crisis Management when an organization he was affiliated with called an application for the position of Crisis Managers. All the applicants were from either different dimensions of Social Science (ranging from political science, geography, History etc.) or Management.
Then Dr. Thapaliya, a Ph.D. in Crisis Management from Atlantic International University (USA) made a determination to establish such an institution which will produce Crisis Managers in Nepal.
This led the inception of ICMS to produce the crisis managers by awarding a degree MA in Crisis Management Studies.
ICMS-Samarpan Academy
Today, ICMS offers MA in Counselling Psychology beside MA in Crisis Management Studies which according to Dr. Thapaliya comes under the objective of ICMS. As Counselling Psychology is must for many Crisis victims hence this course will help to achieve the objective of ICMS.
ICMS aims to be a centre of academic excellence in South Asia and moving forward to achieve it. The institute enrolls both the professionals with work experience and fresh graduates after assessing their aptitude, general knowledge and leaning towards the subject matter through entrance test.
The intake capacity of ICMS in MA- Crisis Management is 30 students in each batch. Nepal Army and Armed Police Force send 2 officers each in every batch and the remaining seats are open for all. The portfolio of student since its inception includes fresh graduates, Officers from Nepal Army and Armed Police Force, and students having work experience in NGOs, INGOs, and different bodies of United Nations along with Government of Nepal employees. Class timing, as the class runs after 5 pm, also helps the students to pursue the study of their passion and take their job parallelly.
The Institute had come up with unique idea, of Graduate Assistant and Graduate Research Assistant, in Nepal. Students are also provided with an opportunity to have international exposure in the field.
For this, Students can participate in international field trips and study exchange programs. Through the international programs, students gain a broad perspective on hazard risks and crisis management. Previous programs include trips to Cyprus, Japan and China. Students from the international partner universities also join ICMS students in Nepal to pursue joint research and training projects.
This helps the student to learn and know more about coping techniques, disaster-risk assessment, crisis mapping. Such an opportunity will help the students to learn the practice of various countries which will eventually help them to synthesize their knowledge gathered from various sources and use it in the perspective of Nepal.
ICMS students participating in a workshop in Cyprus
ICMS also provides the unique opportunity of studying in a same class with students of various nationalities under students exchange program which will be a different experience for Nepali students. As students from the international partner universities also join ICMS students in Nepal to pursue joint research and training projects. This opportunity helps the students to explore and inquire about entirely new culture, society, lifestyle within the circle of their classmate.
ICMS faculty and students on an overnight field visit to the Nepal Army Birendra Peace Operation Training Centre in Panchkhal, Nepal
Throughout their time in ICMS, students are provided with numerous opportunities for fieldwork experience. Not only are there a number of field excursions designed to visually expose students to relevant geological landscapes and disaster areas, these excursions give students the opportunity to record and analyze data as they would within a future professional setting. Through institutional partnerships and connections, students are also frequently given the opportunity to work with ICMS INGO partners in field research and professional internships. This is part of ICMS’s commitment to empowering and up-skilling students, giving them professional experience which will assist them in the job market after they graduate.
***The article is based on the conversation with Dr. Ram Thapaliya, President of the College Board, ICMS.
