Croucher Summer Course 2017

With generous support from the Croucher Foundation, CCOUC organsied Croucher Summer Course 2017 on Research Methodology for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response from 3 to 7 July 2017. The five-day residential course was in its third cohort. It is designed to provide intensive training on research methodology for disaster and medical humanitarian response for prospective professionals in disaster risk management.

The course was participated by post-graduates, early career researchers, experienced practitioners and policy-makers with research responsibility. It attracted 37 participants from 22 countries and regions, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Ghana, Fiji, Iran, Nepal, the UK and so on. The academic and cultural diversity among the participants stimulated vibrant exchange of knowledge and experience in disaster management.

Countries and regions the participants come from
Asia	Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, The Philippines, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, South Korea
Americas	Brazil, Canada, USA
Europe	UK
Africa	Ethiopia, Ghana, Zimbabwe
Oceania	Fiji, New Zealand

Instructors of the course comprise professors and experts from world-renowned higher institutes and organisations. The course covers various international agenda on disaster risk reduction ranging from global warming, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and disaster risk management under China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

List of instructor
Instructor	Affiliated institution
Prof. Emily Chan (Course Director)	JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Prof. Mike Clarke	School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queens University Belfast, Northern Ireland
Prof. Andrew Collins	Department of Geography, Northumbria University, England
Dr. Ryoma Kayano	World Health Organization Centre for Health Development (WHO Kobe Centre)
Prof. Virginia Murray	Public Health England
Prof. Elizabeth Newnham	School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, Australia
Dr. Gabriele Rossi	Cambodia project, Médecins Sans Frontières
Prof. Rajib Shaw	Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio University, Japan
Prof. Qian Ye	State Key Lab of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University, China
Prof. Colin Graham, Prof. Kevin Hung	Accident and Emergency Medicine Academic Unit, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Emeritus Prof. Sian Griffiths, Prof. William Goggins, Prof. Tammy Meyers, Prof. Phoenix Mo, Prof. Shelly Tse, Prof. May Yeung	JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
UNISDR Asia Science Technology and Academia Advisory Group (ASTAAG)

Being the course director and one of the instructor, CCOUC Centre Director Prof. Emily Chan kicked off the course by sharing her insights in the impact of disasters on public health and the existing research frontiers in disaster response. The first day of the course was joined by UNISDR Asia Science Technology and Academia Advisory Group members who delivered an open seminar on the latest challenges and research gaps in Disaster Risk Reduction in the course.

The course is an important step in disaster research for the young scientists who had participated. Fijian participant Ravindra Rattan said that the course is a good platform for acquiring and sharing knowledge and promoting the cause of humanitarian response. It enabled him to build a broader netowrk and apply the knowledge gained in his home country.