Working Paper

The establishment of TWAS Regional Offices was proposed by the Council and approved by the 13th TWAS General Meeting held in India in 2002. Subsequently five regional offices have been established in:

• Sub-Saharan Africa – c/o African Academy of Sciences
• Arab Countries – c/o Alexandria Library
• Central & South Asia – c/o Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research
• East & Southeast Asia – c/o Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Latin America & Caribbean – c/o Brazilian Academy of Sciences

The Third World Academy of Sciences Regional Office for the Arab Countries (TWAS-ARO) aims to promote scientific capacity and excellence for sustainable development in the region. TWAS Arab members include 46 distinguished scientists residing in 12 different Arab countries and abroad.

The overall objective of the TWAS-ARO is to promote the activities of TWAS and its affiliated organizations ( The Third World Network of Scientific Organizations , The Third World Organization for Women in Science, The Inter Academy Panel and The Inter Academy Medical Panel) in the region, as recommended by the Academy's current and future strategic plans.

The region faces many challenges, including lack of research motivation and funding resulting in brain drain. Lack of competitive award systems leads to less emphasis on research quality. Lack of academic-industrial partnerships, decreased intellectual property creation, and limited involvement of youth in scientific activities are also challenges faced. All these stress the need for capacity building in science and technology, as well as the need to involve academia, industry, civil society, international organizations, and TWAS regional and main offices. In particular, the regional office is expected to:

1. Identify eminent scientists in the region for nomination for TWAS membership and prizes.
2. Implement TWAS activities in the region, including prizes, research grants and fellowships, and the assessing the vitality and effectiveness of these activities in the region.
3. Establish a TWAS regional office award for young scientists in the region in recognition of their scientific achievements.
4. Organize conferences, symposia, exhibitions, workshops in areas of science and technology having critical importance to the region..
5. Organize of annual meetings of TWAS Fellows in the region.
6. Enhance the visibility of TWAS among young and promising scientists, policy-makers and the media through, for example, the organization of public lectures, discussion meetings, television programmes and local newspapers/magazines.
7. Create, inspire and make effective use of talented students among schools and universities in the region.
8. Enhance participation of the under-represented in science and technology in the region (including women and the physically challenged).
9. The regional office will be expected to raise funds from regional and international bodies for certain activities.

The TWAS-ARO aims to achieve these objectives through implementing the following strategy:

A. Awards and Prizes

• TWAS Science Advancement Prizes
  -- Award for outstanding contributions to knowledge in each of: biology, chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics, mathematics, physics, agricultural sciences, earth sciences, engineering sciences, and medical sciences.

• TWAS Prizes to Young Scientists in Developing Countries
  -- TWAS Young Scientist prizes for young scientists (younger than 35 years) in each of: biology, chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics, mathematics, physics, agricultural sciences, earth sciences, engineering sciences, and medical sciences.
• TWAS Medal Lectures
  -- Annual honoring of TWAS Member in the region for his/her achievement in his/her field of research. The recipient will lecture on a main aspect of his/her work, and receive a plaque/medal.

B. Capacity Building for Research

• TWAS Regional Office Research Grants
  -- Research grants will be offered to promising scientists, from the Arab region, for research projects in each of: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics.
• TWAS Research Units
  -- Grants offered to research units located within university departments or other institutions in the region, to strengthen their activities per year for a period of three years.
• Spare Parts for Scientific Equipment
  -- Provision of funds to cover the cost of spare parts for scientific equipment in Arab institutions.
• Provision of Scientific Publications and Lectures
  -- Through the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, books, journals and other scientific publications, will be made available electronically or in hard copy form.
• Advanced Research Fellowships
  -- Provision of travel support to young scientists of up to 40 years of age holding a Ph.D. or equivalent degree to enable them to visit scientific institutions within the Arab Region for a period between at least six and at most twelve months.
• Visiting Scientist Program
  -- This involves supporting the travel (economy round-trip fare) and subsistence costs of a Visiting Scientist from abroad, to institutions and research groups in the region, where he/she will stay for at least one month, and will be expected to interact closely with faculty and students of the host institution with the aim of strengthening its existing activities and/or assisting in the establishment of new lines of research.

C. Science for Industry

Industrial Fellowships
-- Every year Industrial Fellowships will be offered to promote collaboration between researchers in academia and industry by providing funding for individual scientists to carry out basic or applied research in an industrial environment.

Industrial-Academic Partnerships
-- Every three years, a three-year studentship will be offered to fund a top quality graduate in the region, allowing him/her to undertake a three-year program of research (leading to a PhD) on a subject selected and supervised jointly by academic and industrial partners. The aim is to provide excellence and industrial relevance of postgraduate research training in the region.

Technology Exchange Partnerships (TEP)
-- These partnerships serve to transfer knowledge and to develop graduate and postgraduate personnel for industrial careers. High caliber graduates/postgraduates, referred to as TEP Associates, are recruited to innovative projects within industry and are jointly supervised by the participating industrial and academic partners.

D. Scientific Knowledge Dissemination

• Annual Meeting of TWAS Fellows in the Arab Region
  -- To be held in one of the Member countries, to review the status and future prospects of science and technology in the region.
• Support for International Scientific Meetings
  -- Encourage the organization of international scientific meetings in the region, by providing travel grants for principal speakers from abroad and/or participants from the region.
• Interviews and TV Programs
  -- Interviews on several TV channels in the region, to improve visibility of TWAS and public awareness of its goals and activities within the Arab scientific community.
• Website
  -- A website should be established, to be linked to the TWAS homepage.