Crisis Lab by CBI Reviews 

I was greatly impressed that someone with such a wealth of international experience took the time to talk to me about my challenges and future. It is an unprecedented event for me and I am grateful to Mr. King for some genuinely helpful and applicable advice. It is very rare to find professionals that go to such lengths to empower people at the beginning of their careers.

It was impressive that someone with so much experience took the time to guide me in my career. Thank you!

It was really beneficial as it gave me a clarity on how to streamline my job search, encouraged me to make a mind map of my interests and also gave me insight on the hiring process. I would highly suggest CBI's career consultancy and career guides, to all the young jobseekers who are confused about where to start.

I really appreciate the opportunity I got from Kyle to talk about my professional ambition. The way he broke down the process or strategy I should be following greatly impressed me.

Capacity Building International's Kyle King has an impressive dossier of international experience, and many including myself have benefitted from his experience and perspective.

In seeking to launch an international career, talking through the hiring process of many large international organizations with Mr. King proved very helpful in developing a strategy to gain a foothold in the field.

It was a very amazing experience to dialogue with a very high experienced international professional like Kyle King. His advice was very meaningful and applicable since he has the big picture of international organizations' framework and provides you a long-term strategy to undergo the way to reach the goal of an international career.

To my knowledge CBI is the only company I've come across to offer such a service. The insights and advice that Kyle was able to provide were invaluable and I would highly recommend that anyone seeking to branch into the field of international organisations makes the most of this bank of knowledge. The spirit that CBI works with and the sharing of advice to better others are both admirable. Thank you.

Kyle is incredibly insightful about the international emergency management landscape. Really appreciated meeting with him to discuss opportunities for international work and important factors that people getting into the field should be aware of. Highly recommend!

This was definitely one of the most helpful meetings I have had regarding finding international opportunities. I was feeling lost and uncertain about my approach, and Kyle really helped me map out my next steps in working towards the career that I want.

I just got off a helpful call with Kyle King about CBI and career insights. I left with useful nuggets of wisdom about next steps toward building a career in line with my individual goals and values. Thank you!

Kyle was extremely knowledgeable about the field and provided excellent advise for my specific circumstances, career and job searching tips. This consultation service is definitely something all young professionals/ students would benefit from.

The talk was very useful to know how to continue searching for international jobs. Kyle gave me specific recommendations for what I was looking for, thank you very much!

That was a great experience. I have learned more about my career path. And talking with Kyle King was very instructive and helpful.

Very insightful. Hearing from someone who has had the experiences I am seeking was eye opening

Outstanding and very informative consultation with Kyle King. For any early leofesssjonals like myself wanting to learn more about the work done with crises/emergency management internationally, I recommend it without reservation.

The NATO CMDR course was valuable with the instructors doing a fine job with the students. Very interesting and captivating content which makes it wanting more. All assignments and their observations and comments by the instructors were top-notch.

This is an international course which brings together people from around the world to discuss topics in disaster response and crisis management. The instructors interact with the students almost daily to build a better understanding of the topics and exchange ideas and develop a better understanding of how crisis management is conducted in different countries.

Kyle advised me on how to become a resiliency grant writer. His advice to become highly specialized on a few flood related grant programs was very helpful. My next step is to submit a list of grants I can write to Kyle and his public works director colleague.

--Bobby

Kyle is a great personality and provides very helpful career advice.

This summer, I took two courses offered by the Capacity Building Institute, in partnership with the NATO Crisis Management and Disaster Response Center of Excellence (COE) and the University of California, Irvine to earn a NATO Crisis Management and Disaster Response certificate. The courses examine the fundamentals of disaster response and emergency management in the international context, whilst being transparent about the potential difficulties and setbacks professionals within the field may experience when responding to, diffusing, and managing a diverse range of complex issues within a crisis situation.

I strongly recommend this program--it teaches students a wide range of hard and soft skills that are applicable in a wide range of career goals: emergency management, humanitarian assistance, sustainable development, good governance, public policy and research, and many specialties within the military industrial complex.

The first half of this program focuses on developing students' understanding of the NATO criss management system, organizational structure, values, and tools used to manage crises and disasters internationally, as well as within the Euro-Atlantic area. The second half of the program relies heavily upon the organizational insight students gain from the first half of the program, but incorporates current events and additional topics faced win the field of CMDR. Some topics covered in my class included: the need to mitigate the devastating effects of climate change from a security perspective; human capital and sustainable development; and efforts to research and build strong, capable, and resilient communities that are prepared for disasters.

The workload was challenging yet manageable, as students are given a full week to self-pace and learn from lectures and readings ledgy experts within their fields. Then, students take a quiz and participate in discussions to enhance their understanding of the themes and lecture material, as well as engage with different posts from classmates. Finally, students write short weekly summaries to condense lessons learned and reflect on key takeaways in their own words. Towards the second half of the program, a new exercise was introduced and allowed for students to break off into groups to work through crisis scenarios and response options.

My favorite part of the program was our discussion segment, as the discussion questions were some of the best questions I have over come across throughout my academic career. Students could highlight their own personal experience, background, and ideas when answering these questions. Both instructors were student-oriented, actively engaging with each student's discussion post at least once a week. The instructor input greatly improved my knowledge of each week's content, and made me consider different viewpoints within subjects--even the ones I had prior experience in. Moreover, instructors' intentional participation in discussion segments not only gave students individual attention and knowledge tied to instructors' real life and academic experiences, but showed the willingness instructors had to mutually learn from students. As a result, ideas were constantly exchanged within our discussion segment. It was evident that our instructors spent a lot of time and care planning and executing this program.

The only thing I would consider modifying in this amazing program is the delivery of lectures. This program could be enhanced by giving students access to transcriptions from the lectures or subtitles while speakers present, as speakers would discuss dense information and spoke quickly. This would benefit learners who retain information best when reading/seeing the material, as students could spend less time note taking.

Overall, I learned a great deal of information and garnered insightful perspectives that I double I would have had access to elsewhere. I strongly feel that this program is relevant and needed in our current sociopolitical climate, for the ways it engages a wide range of professionals to think critically about problem solving related to the maintenance of international peace and crisis management operations.

The program was engaging, informative, and rewarding. My time in this unique program has helped me identify key areas within the field of crisis management and humanitarian assistance that I am most passionate about, nourishing my desire to pursue those interests further. Learning about NATO's core values, approach to good governance, operations, and partnerships in the field of CMDR has positively influenced my aspirations and career opportunities, solidifying my intent to work in the field.