Disasters are becoming more frequent and impactful across the globe. Dr Haoran Zhang and his team are harnessing the power of data and algorithms to enhance disaster management and relief responses. The researchers are based at the Center for Spatial Information Science, University of Tokyo, Japan, where they are applying big data and artificial intelligence (AI) to simulate real-world normal and emergency cases. They hope that their results can be used to help inform decision making and policy innovations. Their goal is to bridge the technological gaps when integrating multiple technologies in different fields. Zhang and their team incorporate numerous technologies into their work, including advanced geoanalytical methodologies and a technology called Small World AI that the team developed. Small World AI is a data mining system that is able to simulate real-world human mobility behaviours and produce geospatial data that can help estimate different threats and impacts. As such, it has the potential to support policy management and smart emergency management and has already helped support responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. The researchers were able to achieve accurate prediction on the daily number COVID-19 confirmed cases, with an accuracy of around 4 per cent and also simulated the economic impacts under different lockdown policies. Zhang and the team are also working to construct a real-time and hybrid Crowdsourcing Relief Distribution Optimization Method (CRDOM) and dynamic and static databases.

Physical impairments can have a significant impact on quality of life and, depending on the patient's condition, may require consistent care and rehabilitation. Assistant Professor Asuka Takai, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan, is collaborating with Professor Tadao Kawai to develop a computer model that can aid a patient's recovery and rehabilitation. This novel research relies on the study of human movement assistive engineering and human-robot interaction and seeks to develop a technique that is capable of recognising the support needed by a patient. Engineering approaches that the team is using in its work include visualisation of technique by measurement, mathematical formulation of know-how, result prediction by simulation, and data accumulation through robot interaction. The researchers are also utilising the technique and of doctors and therapists to ensure the technology they are developing is as effective as possible. A key focus at present is on enhancing the functional recovery of patients with impaired motor functions by using robots to assist with their rehabilitation and, in addition to having an academic impact, Takai, Kawai and the team hope their work will help doctors and therapists to plan a patient's neurological and musculoskeletal rehabilitation. Ultimately, the goal is to build a system that can control a robot in order to ensure it provides optimal assistance to the patient in question.

Resistance training is beneficial for elite athletes and the elderly, alike. It plays a key role in healthy ageing, helping retain muscle mass, and it can also help reduce the chances of chronic diseases such as osteoporosis and high blood pressure. In order for resistance exercise to be effective, there is an ongoing need for proven techniques that can assist with their resistance training. Professor Masahiro Goto, Director of the Department of Physical Therapy, Aino University, Japan, works to understand the physiological dynamics at play during resistance exercise with a view to developing novel exercise methods and using new technologies to improve resistance exercise outcomes. A brief intramuscular hypoxic state is key to promoting muscle growth and this has therefore been a target for improving resistance techniques, but a challenge arises in terms of monitoring hypoxia. That is why Goto is looking to establish a method that can accurately, quickly and cheaply test the intramuscular oxygenation state during resistance exercise. Recognising the potential of near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), he performed a study on volunteers who have resistance exercise carrier more than one year over eight weeks to find out whether NIRS can be used as an effective measure of internal muscular oxygenation levels and if cold pack treatment of muscles prior to exercise results in better muscle mass gain. He used electromyograms to measure muscle contraction, ultrasound to monitor changes in muscle mass and arterial oxygen saturation measurements to elucidate oxygenation levels. He found that NIRS was effective for routine monitoring of oxygen levels and that cold pack treatment during resistance exercise causes higher muscle activity and creates a more hypoxic muscular environment than without any cold treatment.

At the third Research and Innovation Day, which took place in June 2021, Mariya Gabriel, EC Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, stated: 'Our ambition is to build a renewed innovation policy that provides smart investments for scaling up companies, new forms of financial instruments and how to best exploit synergies between EU, national and regional funds.' Cross-border cooperation is key to overcoming challenges such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic and, as such, the recently released Communication on Global Approach for Research and Innovation document defines a global strategy for cooperation with other countries and entities. A key focus for Horizon Europe is on improving health, mobility, energy efficiency and food security, as well as tackling climate change and preserving cultural heritage. The programme encompasses diverse instruments for covering a range of projects, an extended duration and an increased budget. In order to be as impactful as possible, Horizon Europe collaborates with other European programmes and Gabriel believes that public-private cooperation is another tool that can be used to maximise the impact of the programme. For example, she said that collaborating with industry is key to overcoming technological challenges such as the development of clean Hydrogen or High Performance Computing. The development of a flexible and collaborative innovation ecosystem that involves the input of diverse stakeholders is a key part of Horizon Europe's strategy. A key word here is synergy and this includes synergies at all levels, between policies, programmes and instruments.

As the world evolves and becomes more globalised and technologically advanced, so too it is necessary for education to evolve. In the 19th and 20th centuries, education focused largely on literacy and numeracy, as well as on accumulating facts across subjects. This was useful at the time but now information is no longer solely stored in analogue and, in fact, there is a huge surplus of information that can be readily accessed. Furthermore, there is a tendency for education to promote patriotic narratives as opposed to a more global view. Although this can help to create a feeling of togetherness, it can distract from deep thinking in subjects like history and literature and lead to misconceptions of a country, which can be damaging in our increasingly globalised world. Therefore, education must adapt to meet the changing needs of the 21st century. Key skills required include communication, problem solving and critical thinking. Education in many countries is still based on 20th century needs although there are courses and qualifications that better fit the 21st century and these are becoming increasingly important. An example of this is the International Baccalaureate (IB). Although this was developed in 1958, it is well suited to the 21st century with its founding principles being focused on communication, exploratory learning and critical thinking. Indeed, it was designed to be an educational programme that could promote global peace. Professor Kenji Tanahashi, Graduate School of Human and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan, is exploring the principles of the IB with a view to incorporating them into a reappraisal of the Japanese education system.

Disaster plans are complex and the role of social workers can become lost amidst plans and processes. Although social workers' skill sets are desperately needed during disasters and recovery, in many disaster management strategies their roles are not acknowledged. In order to maximise their value, specific training for social workers in disaster management needs to be reinvigorated. Associate Professor Timothy Sim, Singapore University of Social Sciences, believes that current social work research in disaster management is underdeveloped, and other professionals are unclear about social workers' roles in it. His project to examine the core competence of social work in various stages of disaster management was funded by the General Research Fund of the Hong Kong SAR Government. He and colleagues from China and around the world devised a new competence framework that is unique from previous attempts. The framework comprises five dimensions: knowledge, values, skills, roles and tasks, in four specific disaster management phases: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. The thinking behind this novel structure is that it will help social work professionals clarify related concepts and comprehend competencies, roles and tasks for each phase of the disaster management cycle. The approach is also more comprehensive and precise than has been seen previously and will improve collaboration between social workers, governments and non-government organisations. Furthermore, the team used rigorous research methods when designing the framework, including an integrative review, in-depth interviews and a Delphi study. In addition, the team is confident the framework will have a long-term impact and could be applied to other countries and contexts.