Campus Safety for Lab Managers

AI-Enhanced Decision Making Through Scenario-Based Learning
Co-Developed by Rutgers University and Safer STEM

Duration: 5 hours (asynchronous)

About the Course

Campus laboratories are complex environments where chemistry, biology, engineering, and human behavior intersect and where a Lab Manager’s decisions shape not only safety, but research continuity, compliance, and culture. Campus Safety for Lab Managers is an immersive, AI-enhanced course designed to strengthen your judgment, sharpen your foresight, and elevate your leadership across every dimension of academic laboratory safety.

Co-developed by Rutgers University and Safer STEM, this course blends evidence-based safety frameworks, scenario-based learning, and AI-supported decision practice to mirror the real pressures and micro-decisions Lab Managers face every day. Each module presents dynamic situations drawn from authentic higher-education laboratory environments, allowing you to practice interpreting hazards, responding to near-misses, navigating emergencies, and coaching your teams—while AI provides instant feedback, alternative strategies, and reflective insights to accelerate your growth.

You will explore four interconnected domains of campus laboratory safety:

• Leading Lab Safety in Higher Education—build a mindset grounded in systems thinking, culture shaping, and ethical leadership.
• Recognizing Hazards—learn to detect subtle chemical, biological, and physical risks before they escalate.
• Safer Lab Practices—apply universal precautions, PPE mastery, and exposure-prevention strategies using realistic case studies.
• Chemical & Biological Handling, Storage, and Waste—strengthen your command of compliance, segregation, and sustainable lab systems.
• Emergency Procedures & Exposure Response—practice rapid, confident decision making during multi-hazard events.
• Ethics, Accountability, and Documentation—build a culture where transparency, reporting, and data integrity drive continuous improvement.

Throughout the course, high-fidelity Decision Simulations challenge you to act as the Lab Manager in real-time:

• Scenario: Understanding Lab Hazards
• Scenario: Preventing Near-Misses
• Scenario: Breaking Exposure Pathways
• Scenario: PPE and Safer Lab Practices
• Scenario: Mixed Waste Mistakes
• Scenario: When Hazards Converge
• Scenario: Turning Small Incidents Into Big Improvements

Each scenario adapts to your choices, helping you refine your judgment, anticipate consequences, and strengthen your leadership, before a real-world incident occurs.

By the end of the course, you’ll be able to:

• Identify, interpret, and prioritize campus laboratory hazards with confidence.
• Make fast, ethical, and evidence-based decisions under pressure.
• Use AI-powered tools to enhance hazard recognition, risk assessment, and documentation.
• Build a safer, more transparent, and more resilient laboratory culture.
• Lead with clarity—whether addressing a spilled culture, a flammable vapor flash, a misdirected waste stream, or a near-miss that signals deeper system vulnerabilities.

Campus Safety for Lab Managers prepares you to be more than a safety enforcer—you’ll become a systems thinker, a culture shaper, and a proactive leader who ensures every laboratory on campus operates safely, ethically, and sustainably.

Join us to build the next generation of safer, smarter, AI-enabled campus laboratories.