Dr. Rina Suryani Oktari currently serves as Vice Rector for Student Affairs and Entrepreneurship at Universitas Syiah Kuala (USK) for the 2026–2031 term, making history as the first woman to hold this position since the university's establishment. She is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, where she has contributed extensively to teaching, research, academic leadership, and community engagement in the fields of disaster science, primary health care, and community resilience. Prior to her current appointment as Vice Rector for Student Affairs and Entrepreneurship, she served as: 1) Vice Dean for Student Affairs, Alumni, and Partnerships, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala (2024–2026); 2) Coordinator of the Master's Program in Disaster Science, Universitas Syiah Kuala (2022–2024); 3) Head of the Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala (2016–2022); 4) Coordinator of the University-wide General Course (MKU) on Disaster and Environmental Knowledge (2021–2024); 5) Chair of the Faculty of Medicine's Undergraduate Thesis Management Unit (2022–2024); and 6) Vice Director of Rumah Amal Masjid Jamik USK (2022–2026).

She has held several prominent leadership and professional roles in disaster risk reduction, disaster management, and disaster education at both national and international levels, including: 1) Coordinator for the Disaster Education and Management Research Cluster at Tsunami and Disaster Mitigation Research Center (TDMRC) (2014-2026); 2) Associate Editor of the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (IJDRR), Elsevier (2023-2026); 3) Editor of BMC Public Health, Springer (2025-2026) 4) Editor of the International Journal of Disaster Management (IJDM) (2020-2026); 5) Chairperson of the Sociocultural Working Group of the Indonesian Association of Disaster Experts (IABI) (2024-2026); 6) Head of the Graduate Program in Disaster Science - at USK (2022-2024); 7) Secretary of the Indonesian Disaster Management Society (MPBI) (2021-2024); 8) Country Focal Point (CFP) of the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE)(2022-2024); 9) Head of the Research Division of the Indonesian Higher Education Forum for Disaster Risk Reduction (FPT-PRB) (2024–present); 10) Founding Board Member of the Indonesian Association of Higher Education in Disaster Studies (HIPTI BENCANA) (2024–present); and 11) Member of the Presidium of the Indonesian Consortium for Disaster Education (KPB) (2021–2026).

Dr. Oktari earned her Doctoral Degree in Disaster Science from the Graduate School of Mathematics and Applied Science, Universitas Syiah Kuala. She has participated in several prestigious international fellowship and professional development programs, including the Fellowship of the Royal Society for Public Health (FRSPH), London, United Kingdom; the Pan Asia Risk Reduction (PARR) Fellowship Program at the Kyoto University under the International Environment and Disaster Management (IEDM) Laboratory; and the Croucher Summer Course on Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response, jointly organized by the Collaborating Centre for the University of Oxford and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).

She has received numerous national and international recognitions for her contributions to disaster science, higher education, and community resilience. Her notable awards include: 1) Best Young Scientist in Social Sciences and Humanities awarded by the Indonesian Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Technology (Kemdiktisaintek) in 2025; 2) Second Place Outstanding Lecturer Award (University Level), Universitas Syiah Kuala, in 2025; 3) World Class Professor (WCP) Program Awardee funded by the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology and LPDP in 2021; 4) IRDR Young Scientist Award from Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR), Beijing, China, in 2019; 5) Promising Researcher Award under the JSPS Core-to-Core Program at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University in 2017; and 6) Convenership Award at PROVIA Adaptation Futures 2016, jointly supported by the European Commission and the Government of the Netherlands.

Dr. Oktari has been awarded several international research grants as a Co-Principal Investigator, including from Newton Fund Institutional Links - UK, Botnar Foundation - Switzerland, ESRC Global Challenges Research Fund – UK, PEER USAID – US, and World Health Organization – Kobe (Japan). She has also collaborated on research with several world-class universities, such as the University of Pittsburgh, University College London, Griffith University, DIGNITY, Colorado University, and Copenhagen University. She had familiarized herself with the Disaster Management field since she worked for Tsunami 2004 Response and Recovery in Aceh. She has more than ten years of working experience in humanitarian and development issues, including Islamic Relief, the United Nations, and the Australian Government's funded program called Local Governance Innovations for Community in Aceh Phase II (LOGICA2). Her broad research interests include disaster education, disaster health, early warning system, climate change, community preparedness and resilience, knowledge management, and disaster communication. She has published in several reputed international journals, chapter books, and proceedings.

Previous research projects: 1) UKRI: Fostering Resilient Recovery in Displaced Communities via School-based Hubs; 2) APN-START: Exploring the Existing School-Community Network and Enabling Environment for Enhancing Community Resilience to Disaster. On-going research projects: 1) KONEKSI: CORE-STEP Advancing Innovative Knowledge-based Solutions for Inclusive and Climate-Ready Primary Health Care Systems; 2) SATREPS: Building Sustainable System for Resilience and Innovation in Coastal Community (BRICC) project; 3) BOTNAR: Addressing the Wellbeing and Security Needs of Urban Children and Adolescents in Indonesia in the Digital Era: Adapting the Safe Communities Safe Schools (SCSS) Model.

Dr. Oktari has supervised a total of 8 doctoral (PhD), 22 master's, and 43 bachelor's students across the fields of disaster science, public health, and community resilience.

Doctoral (PhD) Students: 1) Ali Abdulqadir Mohammed Alsaeidi; 2) Putri Mayasari; 3) Wildan Seni; 4) Yolanda; 5) Yarmaliza; 6) Brury Apriadi Husaini; 7) Teuku Renaldi; 8) Budi Satria.

Master's Students: 1) Cicelly Nurse; 2) Ifenna Obiwulu; 3) Denni Yansyah Putra; 4) Imam Maulana; 5) Nurul Rahmah Desilia; 6) Nasliati; 7) Risnan Aldino; 8) Tibyan Asyukri; 9) Yolanda; 10) Windi Asnita Sari; 11) Nazirurrahman; 12) Cut Isna Afrillia; 13) Satria Wardhana; 14) Maya Safira; 15) Sayed Al Qaby Akbar; 16) Maisura Adlina; 17) Harry Mulyana Pradipta; 18) Rika Zardini; 19) Signorina Kasvia; 20) Muhammad Prima Syahputra; 21) Fahlida Harnita; 22) Noralina

Bachelor's Students: 1) Khansa Khiara Giatasa Muchsin; 2) Ardiansyah Yolanda Putra; 3) Muhammad Dezha Detiro; 4) Debby Sofiana; 5) Ghazi Maulana; 6) Zihni Janan; 7) Mutia Fathin; 8) Deza Rosiva AR; 9) M. Edwin Mufid; 10) Muhammad Fathan Mubina; 11) Ighra Khalisa; 12) Cut Intan Agustia; 13) Raden Roro Annisa; 14) Izzatun Nisa; 15) Rosa Elyza Putri; 16) Yasarah; 17) Salwa Nabila; 18) Lilla Raswita; 19) Balqis Qanita; 20) Bella Nurhadisah; 21) Chinta Simah Bengi; 22) Muhammad Ichsan; 23) Johansyah; 24) Aliya Salsabila; 25) Riska Tri Ananda; 26) Nanang Fungani Fajar; 27) Sarah Natasya; 28) Endaitha Salsalina; 29) Randy Rolanda; 30) Benjamin; 31) Almira Nooren; 32) Natasya Putri; 33) Rolan Ronaldo; 34) Desrita Kamelia Sari; 35) Syawelleony Rania Zhusto; 36) Dista Ismaridha; 37) Umairana; 38) Yasir Mutthaqin; 39) Popy Maysulastri; 40) Dea Amanda Raisayanti; 41) Bagas Zulkarnain; 42) Kaniya Atsilah; 43) Kastrun Nabila.