The 2012 IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Safety, Security, and Rescue Robotics Summer School was held from the 9th to the 15th of September in Alanya, Turkey, and brought together a select group of students, researchers, responders, manufacturers, and standards organization representatives for a week of learning, dissemination of challenges and best-in-class solutions, and networking. This event builds on a series of summer schools that started in Rome in 2004 and were significant in their combination of lectures, hands-on practicals, and networking opportunities, all carried out in one all-inclusive venue. In this paper, we report on the outcomes and novel aspects of the latest incarnation of this event.