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Emergency plans for Fulbright Scholar

ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide Fulbright Scholar Chris Ainsworth outside the South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n Country Fire Service headquarters.
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Monday, 2 June 2008

ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide student Christopher Ainsworth is hoping his to the United States will open up new opportunities for ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ in emergency services education.

Mr Ainsworth is leaving for the US on Wednesday (4 June) to conduct 10 months of research into emergency operations and the use of training for full-time and volunteer emergency management.

He will be based at the Offices of Emergency Management in and , Texas, thanks to a . The scholarship is sponsored by the .

"The lessons learned from my time in the US will be integrated into an Advanced Diploma of Public Safety - Emergency Management, enhancing the program and incorporating 'emerging world practice' standards," says Mr Ainsworth, who is Executive Officer of the (raemec) and a (CFS) volunteer.

"On my return to ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥, I'm also hoping to develop an applied undergraduate degree program in Emergency Management, which represents a major opportunity for ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n universities both for domestic and international students.

"There's a real opportunity to develop an undergraduate pathway for professionals in Emergency Management because the skills and knowledge required in emergency operations are both broad and specialised. For example, managers in this field require skills in human resources, finance, volunteer and emergency management. These are not the kinds of skills you can obtain from any one degree program currently available in ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ today," he says.

Mr Ainsworth is currently completing an with the ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥ of Adelaide's , and has completed two Advanced Diplomas in Public Safety, Emergency Management and Community Safety with and a Diploma of e-Learning at the .

In 2001, he was named an ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n National Training Authority - Flexible Learning Leader, and in 2002 he was awarded a South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n Emergency Services Levi Grant to pilot and implement his Flexible Learning Leaders Research.

As a volunteer with the South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n CFS, Mr Ainsworth has influenced the introduction of the Advanced Diploma of Public Safety - Firefighting Management into the suite of leadership programs in 2008, two years ahead of its scheduled introduction.

Applications are now open for Fulbright Scholarships for 2009. For more information, visit:

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