Human Factors and Safety

The course "Human Factors and Safety" was taught by Maria Papanikou and consisted of four lectures held in the final month of the honors program. The primary objective of these lessons was to acquire in-depth knowledge of models, theories, and approaches related to safety and human factors, as well as human performance.

The first class served as an introduction to the subject. Subsequently, we were divided into three groups of five, each tasked with preparing a presentation. The following lessons featured these group presentations, followed by additional information on the topic provided by Maria.

Personally, I found Maria's lessons very valuable and interesting to listen to. By assigning us the task of preparing our own presentation, we became actively engaged with the subject and were encouraged to think more deeply. This active learning process contributed to a more profound understanding and better retention of the information. Compared to previous years when we had human factors lessons, I found this series of lessons much more extensive.

What made the lessons particularly valuable was the interactive aspect and the practical examples from Maria's life. By sharing her personal experiences, we not only gained a better understanding of the concepts but also made the topics more vivid and relevant.

These lessons increased my awareness of the fact that human factors play a role in almost all aspects of life. In particular, the course emphasized the crucial role of human factors in the aviation industry, where human interactions pose a constant challenge. Safety, as a central theme, also sparked many discussions, highlighting the complexity of the subject.

Through this course, I have learned that I find human factors and safety particularly interesting. The fact that people can make mistakes, and understanding the reasons behind these mistakes, fascinates me immensely. I am now much more conscious of the human aspects in aviation operations and will certainly consider this in future considerations within this field.