Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) - Virtual Campus

Introduction
Moderate El Niño conditions have developed in the tropical Pacific, setting the stage for a surge in temperatures and disruptive weather and climate patterns across the Americas. With these conditions, health impacts are anticipated to result from changes in vector borne and zoonotic diseases, food and water insecurity and instability, exposure to extreme heat and air pollution and an increased risk for meteorological extreme events. Health systems are on the frontlines, and must respond in a timely and proactive fashion to protect human health.

Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Describe the anticipated meteorological impacts of ENSO in their region, and likely resulting health impacts.
• Explain how ENSO conditions may impact health through extreme temperatures, changes in vector-borne and zoonotic diseases, impacts on food and water security, poor air quality, and meteorological extreme events including flooding, landslides, drought and hurricanes.
• Develop an initial plan for local/regional/national response using available risk management and decision making tools and recommendations from authoritative health partners.

Course Modality
This is a self-paced course that participants can complete at their own pace. There are no specific deadlines for completing the course. It is recommended to dedicate 24 hours to review the course material.

Main Objective
This self-managed course aims to improve the capacity of professionals and institutions in the Americas to communicate science to different audiences and show the impact of science on socio-political decision-making. It also aims to allow the use of techniques and tools for writing and content production that reach a wide non-specialist audience, without losing scientific rigour, that are attractive and engage the public, explaining science in a pedagogical and more understandable way.

Another of its objectives is to develop communication strategies that produce greater citizen participation and political advocacy on issues related to global change and climate change.

Course Modality
This is a self-paced course that participants can complete at their own pace. There are no specific deadlines for completing the course. It is recommended to dedicate 12 hours to review the course material.

This course is currently available only to previously selected participants.

Introduction to the Course:
This curriculum utilizes multiple learning resources to introduce participants to solutions-oriented, transdisciplinary (TD) research in the context of global environmental change in Latin America and the Caribbean. In designing this course, we consider transdisciplinary research collaboration as a complex social practice heavily shaped by local contexts and their diverse political, economic, cultural, and ecological conditions. Unlike other training programs, we draw upon ground-level fieldwork and country-case evidence, which makes this learning design applicable to individuals and teams interested in tackling global environmental challenges across local, regional and national scales.

Each module invites learners to review, reflect, and contribute to lessons by highlighting theoretical approaches, experiential accounts, and calls to action for transformative global environmental change research.

Main Objective
This training initiative aims to enhance the capacity of professionals and institutions across the Americas to address challenges at the intersection of climate, environment and health through a transdisciplinary approach. Participants will develop skills in communication and engagement with diverse stakeholders, with a focus on the science-policy interface and the genuine participation of communities.

Course Modality
This is a self-paced course that participants can complete at their own pace. There are no specific deadlines for completing the course. It is recommended to dedicate 15 hours to review the course material.

Te damos la bienvenida a nuestro curso en línea, dinámico e inmersivo, diseñado para brindar a los participantes una comprensión introductoria de temas clave en Diplomacia Científica, Diplomacia de la Innovación, Desarrollo Sostenible y Conceptos de Negociación, específicamente adaptados al contexto de América Latina y el Caribe (ALC). 

Modalidad del curso: El curso en línea se hace a su propio ritmo tiene una duración estimada de 20 horas de actividades, incluyendo videos cortos, materiales de lectura y ejercicios. El curso permite a los participantes utilizar los materiales de manera flexible. El curso incluye cuatro (4) módulos con diez (10) lecciones dentro de cada módulo: 1) Diplomacia Científica, 2) Diplomacia de la Innovación con una perspectiva del Sur Global, 3) Negociación aplicada al Desarrollo Sostenible, y 4) Diplomacia Científica y Cambio Ambiental Global en América Latina y el Caribe. La finalización con éxito de este curso en línea otorga a los participantes un certificado electrónico de la Universidad de São Paulo (USP). El público objetivo sugerido para este curso incluye, pero no se limita a, investigadores en el inicio o la mitad de su carrera, funcionarios públicos en el inicio o la mitad de su carrera y cualquier actor interesado o que trabaje en el cambio ambiental global. 

Welcome! This collaborative space inside the IAI Virtual Campus is created exclusively for the current cohorts of STeP Inter-American Fellows and Expert Trainers. 

The Collab space is a central repository for all STeP resources, learning materials, bibliography, and session recordings.   It is built to be interactive with asynchronous discussion forums, surveys, announcements, and calendar to connect to workshops, webinars, or other events of interest.

This is an important tool for the Professional Development Program to exchange lessons learned and share experiences and best practices in science to policy and policy to science in and across the Americas.