Embry-Riddle Worldwide MOOC on Combating Human Trafficking Draws Global Participation

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Worldwide College of Arts & Sciences concluded its Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) “Combating Human Trafficking: Understanding, Prevention and Action” after enrolling nearly 500 participants from around the world during January’s Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Participants examined human trafficking as a complex process rooted in vulnerability, coercion and context rather than isolated criminal events.

Developed and delivered by the Department of Emergency, Disaster and Global Security Studies, the free three-week course brought together a global learning community committed to strengthening prevention efforts and promoting responsible awareness. The course included collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and featured a webinar with DHS’s Center for Countering Human Trafficking and a human trafficking survivor.

Participants joined from North America, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Professional backgrounds spanned aviation and transportation, law enforcement and the military, healthcare, education, nonprofit work and students preparing for careers in public safety and human security. Participants who were active throughout the course earned a certificate of completion. Those who additionally submitted a human trafficking awareness campaign final project earned a digital badge worth 1.5 CEUs. 

The course reinforced the role of higher education as a meaningful contributor to global counter-trafficking efforts and demonstrated the capacity of a worldwide learning community to engage thoughtfully with one of today’s most pressing human security challenges