MOOC: International Humanitarian Law in Theory and Practice 

As of March 2018, the KGF together with the Center for Innovation started developing a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on “International Humanitarian Law in Theory and Practice”. The MOOC was launched on 12 November 2018, and is currently open for enrollment. With the IHL MOOC the KGF wants to take dissemination of IHL to the next level, by spreading knowledge of IHL to thousands of eager students and practitioners, all over the world.

Prof. Robert Heinsch, Dr. Giulia Pinzauti and Dr. Emma Irving from the Forum are teaching in this MOOC, through numerous short knowledge clips. The topics that they cover include: Introduction to IHL; Conflict Classification; The Conduct of Hostilities; The Protection of Persons; and, Implementation and Enforcement of IHL. Like other MOOCs, the knowledge clips are accompanied by critical readings and engaging discussions. There is also a recurring case study on the fictitious country Arfula where participants can apply their IHL knowledge to practice. On top of that, podcast interviews with knowledgeable experts in the field are available for in-depth discussions on both the challenges and successes of applying IHL on the battlefield.

Who can enroll in our course? The target audience includes students with a law background and practitioners in the humanitarian field. But, the course is accessible for free in English on the Coursera platform, so everyone with an interest in IHL can enroll. Are you already excited to participate in the course, or do you want to know more about the IHL MOOC? Go to the Coursera page https://www.coursera.org/learn/international-humanitarian-law to enroll, or have a look at the official course description which can be found on the Coursera page. Do you want to know what motivated us to develop an online course on international humanitarian law? Have a look at this interview with Prof. Robert Heinsch.

Dr. Pinzauti teaching in the MOOC.