Towards an Integrated Master's Program in Risk Management and Climate Change for Cuba

Abstract

Climate change and disaster risk reduction represent deeply intertwined challenges that demand coordinated responses and integrated strategies. To advance in this direction, it is essential to have trained professionals and to promote cooperation among diverse sectors. However, in Cuba, postgraduate programs in disaster risk management with a focus on sustainable development require updating to meet these challenges. While a specialized master's program in this area existed in the country, it is currently inactive. Furthermore, its focus was primarily on professionals from technical and pure science backgrounds, excluding key disciplines such as the social and economic sciences, which limited a comprehensive view of the issue. Given this scenario, this work aims to obtain the preliminary design of a new master's program that coherently integrates disaster risk management, sustainable development, and climate change mitigation. The preliminary design is based on an analysis of national and international programs, with the goal of creating an academic proposal that combines technical, socioeconomic, and environmental perspectives, adapted to the current challenges faced by Cuban professionals. It concludes with a design for a 24-month master's degree, with a common multidisciplinary core and two complementary lines of specialization, as a rigorous and contextualized curricular response to the unmet need for advanced training in disaster risk management in Cuba, with the potential to strengthen national capacities and serve as a benchmark in the region.