University to aid training for disasters

China has officially established the University of Emergency Management, the country's first university dedicated to emergency management education and training, a move expected to help ease a nationwide shortage of professionals in the field.

Vice-Premier Zhang Guoqing, speaking at the recent inauguration ceremony in Langfang, a city in North China's Hebei province, said the university's establishment represents the realization of a major decision aimed at strengthening talent cultivation and academic development in emergency management, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.

Zhang added that this move advances the modernization of the country's emergency management system and capabilities.

He called on the university to conduct specialized research across the full chain of emergency management work and build clusters of disciplines and majors that serve key areas such as workplace safety, natural disaster prevention and control, and emergency rescue and relief operations.

Zhang also urged the university to develop more "emergency management plus" training models, with a strong focus on practical skills and real-world drills, and to cultivate more interdisciplinary professionals "who understand the industry, master technical expertise, value safety, and can respond effectively in emergencies".

Yang Saini, a professor of disaster reduction at Beijing Normal University, said the "emergency management plus" approach refers to integrating knowledge and technologies from other fields into emergency scenarios, such as artificial intelligence, big data technology, equipment research and development, and engineering and construction.

She also noted that while many comprehensive universities in the country already have established emergency management schools or related programs, they often lack sufficient hands-on training opportunities.

The new university is expected to provide richer practical platforms, improving students' operational readiness for real emergency situations.

Zhang stressed that the university should focus on major disaster and accident risk prevention and emergency response, strengthen fundamental theoretical research, and accelerate breakthroughs in key core technologies and common enabling technologies.

The Ministry of Education released a public notice earlier this month indicating its plans to merge the North China Institute of Science and Technology and the Institute of Disaster Prevention and establish the University of Emergency Management.

According to the website of the North China institute, it is affiliated with the Ministry of Emergency Management and has long provided training programs for coal industry management officials as well as coal mine safety technicians.

It has 15 schools, covering areas such as emergency technology and management, mine safety, chemical safety, and emergency equipment.

The Institute of Disaster Prevention is affiliated with the China Earthquake Administration. Its website said about 70 percent of frontline earthquake monitoring personnel in China's earthquake system and 80 percent of heads of seismic stations graduated from the institute.

According to a blue paper on safety and emergency management talent in China, released in January 2025, the country's total demand for safety and emergency management professionals is estimated at 16 million.

With an existing workforce of about 10.5 million nationwide, the talent gap stands at around 5.5 million.

Yang said the establishment of the new university is designed to address the shortage of interdisciplinary talent in the emergency management sector.

Drawing on past experience, responding to major emergencies and large-scale disasters often requires extensive cross-sector and cross-department coordination, which is closely interconnected and demands systemic thinking, she said.

"For example, a prolonged heavy rainfall event in a region may trigger flash floods in mountainous areas, leading to landslides and mudslides. It may also cause flooding in major rivers," Yang said.

"Floods can breach dams in some places, and may then create safety risks for mines and industrial production. All these factors are linked to each other."

Because of this interconnected nature, emergency management authorities need to coordinate data and operations across multiple sectors and departments during disaster prevention and response efforts, the professor said, adding that many resources, including personnel, funding, and equipment, can also be shared and redeployed across different scenarios.

Thus, future emergency management professionals cannot rely on expertise in just one field, according to Yang.

jiangchenglong@chinadaily.com.cn