A summer school focusing on “Applying Science, Technology and Innovation in Disaster Risk Reduction” was held on July 24-27, 2018, and organized again at Tohoku University in Japan under the Association of Pacific Rim Universities (APRU) Multi-Hazards (MH) Program. This year was the 6th APRU MH Summer School. There were 28 participants attended including students and faculty members from universities and institutions in Afghanistan, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Turkey, and United Kingdom. Two DNGL students belong to University of Kochi, Mr. Hastoro Dwinantoaji (4th grade) and Ms. Megumi Nishigawa (5th grade), also actively participated in the event.

This summer school aimed to learn the lessons learnt and experience from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, the recovery efforts in the affected areas and discuss the contribution of academia in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR). In addition, this summer school was designed to learn from the experience of local government, NGO as well as academia and include the lectures not only from the natural sciences aspect but also the social sciences.　

Gaps between science and practice can only be filled by an integration of disciplinary knowledge and sectoral capacities where real integration is possible only during implementation to achieve a common goal. Therefore, it is crucial as a nurse leader in disaster, to address disaster risk reduction issues as social problems and to develop solutions with a social approach.