Venice, Italy

Critical Infrastructure Resilience

At its first edition, the summer school on Critical Infrastructure Resilience (CIR) brings together academics and professional experts to discuss an emerging topic with a pragmatic and scientific approach.
Efforts on critical infrastructure resilience are recent and drawing increasing attention and resources. Some countries initiated their efforts against terrorism (i.e. US, Australia), while others were primarily focused on natural events (i.e. UK, Turkey). Today, almost all countries adopt a multi-hazard approach encompassing a wide variety of events. The topic is also high in the agenda in Europe, with a Council Directive approved in 2008 and became a priority topic of the Slovakia Presidency of the European Commission (July-December 2016). Because it is a key aspect to understand globalization and how this inter-connected, complex system works, it is of high relevance to participants working at different scales and doing interdisciplinary work. This course will provide them tools to analyze a system and its components, prioritize connectivity, assess risk, and develop resilience strategies. These techniques can be applied to various fields and at various scales, from city scale to a global supply chain.

Course leader

Prof. Erdem Ergin, University of Tor Vergata/ World Bank

Target group

Graduate students and working professionals from any university, research institute, or other organization (private companies, government agencies, NGOs) with an interest in critical infrastructure issues and ability to read and write fluently in English. Advanced undergraduates will also be considered

Course aim

The course aims to provide a solid understanding on critical infrastructure and its role for the global, interconnected world we live and to frame it within the concept of resilience. The course consists of a mix of theoretical knowledge, case studies and hands-on exercises. The city of Venice will be used as a laboratory and students will learn first hand how to identify a critical infrastructure, assess its risk, develop resilience strategies and devise ways to apply them. Students will work on their field of interest and contribute to a multi-disciplinary teamwork

Fee info

EUR 300: Students of VIU member-universities: € 300 incl. VAT.
EUR 600: Students of other universities/professionals: € 600incl. VAT
The fees will cover tuition, course materials, accommodation in multiple rooms at the VIU campus, lunches in the VIU cafeteria and Social events