A university is developing a short online taster course for people interested in dispute resolution and conflict management.

Conflict arises in many contexts – at work, at home, and in personal relationships. Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh plans to run a free online taster course which will provide an insight into how conflict can be resolved. It will cover topics such as ‘understanding conflict, ‘conflict escalation’ and ‘resolving conflict’.

QMU’s Consumer Dispute Resolution Centre has an established reputation as a centre of excellence for research and education in dispute resolution and consumer policy. The centre runs an MSc in Dispute Resolution and the short online session is designed to give people a taste of the subjects covered in the Masters programme, for example, looking at the reasons why conflicts can spiral out of control.

Chris Gill, from QMU’s Consumer Dispute Resolution Centre, explained: “This taster session is ideal for anyone interested in conflict and how it can be resolved. The MSc Dispute Resolution itself can lead to a range of exciting careers in dispute resolution roles such as complaint handlers, mediators, ombudsman staff, and arbitrators. It will also appeal to recent graduates looking to specialise and those whose job involves dealing with and resolving conflict, such as human resource managers. Importantly, it will provide a snapshot of the MSc Dispute Resolution programme and allow people to experience being part of QMU’s online community.”

Chris Gill said, “Embarking on a Master’s degree is a big commitment. This short online taster will run for up to five hours a week, over a four week period and is designed to whet people’s appetite for further learning in the specialist field of conflict and dispute resolution. It will give people an insight into the type of lectures and topics they may experience on the Master’s programme and ultimately, it will help people make an informed choice as to whether they wish to progress to Master’s level.”

The free online session will be delivered between 3 and 28 April 2017. It will involve discussion groups, video presentations and interviews with experts, as well as directed reading.

To find out more about the online session visit: http://www.qmu.ac.uk/research_knowledge/media/82101/intro-conflict-resolution.pdf

To sign up to the course, visit: https://openeducation.blackboard.com/mooc-catalog/courseDetails/view?course_id=_1358_1

For further information on the Masters in Dispute Resolution visit: http://www.qmu.ac.uk/courses/PGCourse.cfm?c_id=272