Playing Games to Save Lives

Mount Merapi in Central Java is one of the most volatile and dangerous volcanoes in Indonesia, and in 2010, a significant eruption resulted in 277 fatalities.  Following the disaster, research highlighted weaknesses in community evacuation practice, with many communities ignoring official warnings.  Lessons have been learned from this and now there is much better communication […]


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Innovative solution to fresh water scarcity in Sumba Island

Climate change, natural disasters, and water scarcity are big challenges that countries are facing at this time. Indonesia is suffering the consequences of climate change being more prone to the occurrence of natural disasters due to rising temperatures and sea levels. It generates a cascade effect where the main consequences are water scarcity, stress, and […]


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Digital inclusion helps refugee communities respond to pandemic.

Heriot-Watt University researchers have created a mobile phone app to help refugee communities in Malaysia to access advice and resources. The app has been developed in close partnership with Aspire Penang, an NGO based in Penang, Malaysia, which works closely with the refugee community. It has also been supported by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.  Dr Gina Netto, of The Urban Institute, […]


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Research highlights risks for the relocation of the Indonesian capital

The announcement in 2019 about the transfer of the Indonesian capital from Jakarta to Borneo, in the province of East Kalimantan, set off alarms among the scientific community. The location had been identified as an area of potential tsunami risk. In early 2019 a research team from Heriot-Watt University, led by Dr Uisdean Nicholson, started […]


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