Title:	Pandemic Preparedness
Keywords:	Resource management Outbreaks International/Global Health Epidemiology Disease prevention, control and elimination
Country:	Germany
Institution:	Germany - Center for International Health at the Ludwig-Maximilian-Universität München
Course coordinator:	Emily-Sophie Garsleitner Dr. Esayas Kebede Gudina
Date start:	2027-06-07
Date end:	2027-06-11
About duration and dates:	Application deadline: 4 weeks prior to first presence course day Pre-reading materials: will be distributed 2 weeks prior to course commencement Module duration: 5 days Post course assignment: is due 2 weeks after last scheduled course day
Classification:	advanced optional
Mode of delivery:	Face to face
Course location: Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
ECTS credit points:	3 ECTS credits
SIT: Total: 90 hours SIT Pre-course phase (2 weeks prior the course period): 10 hours pre- reading (literature readings) Course week: 45 hours (35 hours of interactive lectures face-to-face, 6 hours of field trip, and 4 hours of tutored group work) Post course assignment: 35 hours (Individual reflection with findings and recommendations for the visited health facility)
Language:	English
Description: At the end of the module the students should be able to: 1. Apply principles of infectious disease epidemiology in outbreak investigations. 2. Analyse national and international health policy frameworks and governance models for pandemic management and engage with primary, secondary, and tertiary health facilities. 3. Critically appraise surveillance systems, data sources, and modelling techniques for effective monitoring of pandemic prone entities. 4. Translate observations made during field assessments into actionable response strategies, focusing on coordination, and resource management. 5. Operate analytical tools for infection prevention and control (IPC) risk assessment and outbreak control.
Assessment Procedures: Written multiple-choice (MCQ) exam, 30 questions (50%) and 1,000-word post-course reflective assignment, based on a field visit to a health care facility (50%). Timeline of assessment: ● MCQ: the exam will be graded immediately after submission, and students will be informed of both the pass/fail result and their percentage score on the same day ● Post-course assignment: the post-course assignment will be graded within two weeks after submission using a rubric, once evaluated students will be informed of their pass/fail result Each component is expected to be passed independently. ● MCQ resit: will take place in form of an oral examination that is taken online after a week ● Post-course assignment resubmission: students revise and resubmit an improved 1,000-word reflection, on the same field visit, incorporating feedback from the first submission. A capped pass mark of 60% is applied to resit/resubmission work. To ensure the authenticity of the post-course assignment, the task was purposefully designed as a personal reflection, since it requires first-hand observation of a specific facility visited by that individual student during the module’s field visit. Students must reference concrete, verifiable details and observations of their own visit, which makes the assignment inherently difficult to outsource or reuse. The use of AI tools for grammatical and language support (e.g. spelling, phrasing, structure) is allowed. However, such tools cannot substitute for the cognitive work the assignment is designed to assess. The task specifically targets the ability to apply theoretical knowledge to a real-world context by observing a facility’s actual preparedness arrangements, critically analyzing its strengths and gaps against recognized standards, and formulating justified, feasible recommendations. Assessment Criteria for the post-course assignment Content (40%): ● Use of evidence from peer-reviewed and grey literature ● Application of course contents in line with learning objectives ● Inclusion of transformational ideas with reference to practical implementation Analysis and Synthesis (40%): ● Development and support of arguments ● Level of synthesis and analysis ● Evidence of original thought ● Degree of critical thinking Presentation (20%): ● Structure of the essay ● Use of appropriate terminology ● Spelling, punctuation, and grammar
Content: Day 1: Introduction to Public Health Emergencies ● Introduction to the Ethiopian Public Health System ● Overview of Public Health Emergencies including emerging and re-emerging diseases ● Global Response to Public Health Emergencies & the Role of Global Stakeholders ● Interactive Session on Lessons Learned from Previous Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC) ● Types and Characteristics of Complex Health Emergencies Day 2: Understanding Infectious Disease Transmission and Epidemiology ● Infectious Disease Transmission ● Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases ● Outbreak Investigation and Surveillance ⮚ Principles and Steps of Outbreak Investigation ⮚ Disease Surveillance Systems and Data sources ⮚ Basic Analysis of Surveillance Data ⮚ Simulation Practice Exercise: Mapping the Spread of an Outbreak Using Real-World Data ● Climate Change,Health and Health Emergencies Day 3: Field Trip ● Field Trip to PHC Facilities or Health Department (Jimma Medical Centre, Shenen Gibe Hospital, Jimma Health Centre, Jimma Health Department – Emergency Centre) Day 4: Management,Control Strategies, and Risk Communication for Public Health Emergencies ● National and International Preparedness Plans ● Public Health Interventions ● Public Health Consequences and Preparedness in Man-Made Disasters (e.g. conflict) ● Ethical Issues in Outbreak Control Day 5: Outlook ● Post-Outbreak Response and Recovery ● “Future Workshop” (student group work): Development of Strategies for Pandemic Preparedness in the future ● Gaps in Current Knowledge: Sketching the Research Agenda for Future Projects
Methods: Pre-Course Reading: (10 hours) ● Participants receive pre-course readings for self-study (Guidelines etc. in PDF format) ● Pre-readings will be essential for students to follow the course Lectures and group work: (45 hours) ● Interactive lectures, face-to-face: 35 hours ● Tutored group work: 4 hours ● Field trip with group work: 6 hours Lectures on the above topics are conducted by experts in the field (e.g., infectious disease specialists, epidemiologists, planetary health and policy advisors, health systems advisors). They are followed by student-centered approaches, such as discussions and interactions to consolidate course contents. Although concrete learning methods and activities may vary, the interactive part will take the form of group work, discussions, exercises and activities around reading materials, presentations, calculation exercises, case studies, and a field trip. Tutored group work includes activities on: (1) Lessons learned from previous public health emergencies of international concern (PHEICs). Groups are assigned a major PHEIC (COVID-19, Ebola virus, H1N1 influenza, or mpox) and analyze it using a structured public health systems framework covering epidemiological context, preparedness, surveillance and early detection, response, governance, community engagement, outcomes, lessons learned, and recommendations for Ethiopia and other LMICs. (2) Coding an epidemiological outbreak simulation to explore transmission dynamics and the effects of interventions. (3) Applying the Public Health Intervention Wheel to identify and plan appropriate public health interventions. (4) Developing a research proposal, building on the key public health issues observed (per group) during the field trip. Post-course assignment: (35 hours) After the course, participants will turn their observations, findings, collected ideas from post-field visit discussions into an individual reflection in the form of an essay of 1,000 words (1.5 spaced) in self-study. This assignment is supposed to include a brief description of the visited PHC facility, a reflection on its current level of pandemic preparedness (e.g., infection prevention and control, supply chain, communication protocols, health workforce, disease specialists, etc.), and at least two feasible recommendations for improvement, justified with reference to course concepts and/or literature.
Prerequisites: Proof of English language proficiency: tropEd students from an accredited tropEd home institution who have passed a core course in English will be considered sufficiently fluent in the English language. Also, students who can provide proof of academic education at Bachelor’s level passed in English will be considered sufficiently fluent. Applicants not being able to fulfil either of these criteria will be asked to prove fluency by a TOEFL (iBT score >= 79) or IELTS (score >=6.0).
Attendance: Max. number of participants: 25; within this group size up to 10 tropEd Master’s students are admitted. Minimum number of participants would be 5.
Selection: Students are selected on a first-come, first-serve basis
Fees: 100 EUR for international participants and external participants. Participants from Jimma University, Ethiopia and LMU enrolled students are free.
Scholarships: None available. Students are responsible for covering their own travel and accommodation costs. Jimma University has an arrangement with the Central Jimma Hotel that offers discounted room rates, and students are encouraged to stay there.
tropEd accreditation: Accredited in EC Telco in Nov.2026. This accreditation is valid until Nov. 2031
Remarks: Measures taken to avoid language barriers during the field visit: The main contact persons at the PHC facilities and health centers are fluent in English, so communication at the management level takes place directly in English. Interviews with staff members are led by Ethiopian course participants, who conduct them in either Afaan Oromo or Amharic and then translate for other group members. To support this, field visit groups are formed with 2-3 Ethiopian students and 2-3 international students, accompanied by at least one Ethiopian supervisor. The mandatory pre-course-reading-assignments will be issued two weeks prior to course commencement. Examples of readings (will be updated yearly): ● Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework for the sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits, second edition. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2021. Licence: CC BY-NC -SA 3.0 IGO. ● World Health Organization. Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to Draft and Negotiate a WHO Convention, Agreement or Other International Instrument on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response: Report by the Director-General. A78/10. Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly, May 14, 2025. ● Emergency response framework: internal WHO procedures. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2024. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO. ● Guidance for Managing Ethical Issues in Infectious Disease Outbreaks. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2016. ● Rapid Risk Assessment of Acute Public Health Events. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2012. ● Kristine Bærøe, Vilhjálmur Árnason, Maarten Jansen, Alicia Ely Yamin, Ana Lorena Ruano, Austen Peter Davis, Pandemic and Crisis Preparedness and Response: Conceptualizing Cultural, Social and Political Drivers of Trustworthiness and Collective Action, Public Health Ethics, Volume 18, Issue 2, July 2025, phaf004, https://doi.org/10.1093/phe/phaf004 - On site lecturers - WHO specialist - add local
Email Address:	emilysophie.Garsleitner@med.uni-muenchen.de
Date Of Record Creation:	2026-11-11 10:54:36 (W3C-DTF)
Date Of Record Release:	2026-11-11 11:26:28 (W3C-DTF)
Date Record Checked:	2026-11-11 (W3C-DTF)
Date Last Modified:	2026-11-11 11:26:49 (W3C-DTF)