In a remarkable moment of global unity, IFS proudly welcomed 51 outstanding grantees from diverse corners of the world into its esteemed community of researchers on the 26th of September 2023.
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IFS 1000 STEM Women Workshop took place during 17-18 August. For the third year in a row IFS collaborated with Dr Ramesh Laungani, founder of the 1000 STEM Women Project, to run an online workshop.
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We’re excited to share the release of our IFS 2022 Annual Report.
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We have reached the end of April and the first third of this year has already passed. So far, we have not seen the positive turn we have hoped for, regarding what is happening around us in the world. Many wars are still going on, the war in Sudan being the most recent one gaining attention in international media. While being aware of the reality, it is also important to keep in mind that many good things are taking place too.
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In our March blog we continue highlighting IFS grantees doing research on topics related to several of this month’s UN International Days. The month of March has a couple of UN days that cover aspects that our grantees are working on. Of these we picked three days that are of particular importance to many of our grantees, who enthusiastically are committed to contribute significantly to scientific advancement worldwide.
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In our first blog post of the year, IFS interim director and chair of the IFS board of trustees, Dr Patrick Van Damme, concisely summarised our past year; both world wise and IFS wise. To turn 2023 into a fruitful and joyous year, we all need to do “one’s share”. For IFS, our “share” is to continue supporting early career researchers so that they can perform their research. Research that, in the longer term, contributes to improving this world.
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Whaw, what a year 2022 was! After having survived and structurally addressed COVID-19, the world was faced with Putin’s war and the crises that started from there. Here in Sweden, foreign policy evolved in the direction of the country’s integration into NATO, but a change in government also put international development cooperation further under pressure. In the midst of this turmoil, IFS continued to ‘provide’ to the best of its capacities thanks to its very committed staff – you will see from the report the figures and numbers that testify of this.
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This year of 2022 marked a milestone in the history of IFS and its support of early-career scientists in the Global South. We turned 50 years old and we celebrated joyfully throughout the year, by highlighting our past achievements and demonstrating the impact of IFS’s work so as to motivate our stakeholders and constituencies to carry the IFS mission even further.
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On 10 November 2022, 46 colleagues and friends gathered to celebrate IFS’s half-century of supporting more than 8,800 early-career researchers in more than 100 countries. Held on the premises of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) in Stockholm – one of IFS’s founding member organisations – the Forum’s participants represented current, former and prospective members of the IFS community, including alumni, Scientific Advisory Committee members, partners, donors, Board of Trustees and Secretariat staff. Several other colleagues were invited to participate in the Forum as keynote and panel speakers on issues related to the decolonization of science and the strengthening of science and impact with indigenous peoples and local community organisations.
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To all of the IFS Family and Our Friends
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Most of our blog posts this year have featured essays drawing on responses to questions posed to a range of IFS stakeholders. In March, we heard from among the 600+ current grantees about their perspectives on IFS. In April, selected members of IFS’s Scientific Advisory Committees (SACs) and external reviewers wrote about their views and their roles as volunteer advisors. For May, 286 IFS alumni (former grantees) shared their perspectives on IFS and its impact on them and their careers. For this month, we report on perspectives offered by 13 present and past members of the IFS Board of Trustees (BOT). As with the others, we began by asking respondents to describe a defining moment in their experience of IFS that exemplifies its role in science.
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In the blog posts of this 50th anniversary year, we have thus far taken a look back at IFS’s founders and also highlighted the survey-based perspectives of current grantees, members of our Scientific Advisory Committees and external reviewers, and alumni.
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February’s blog post concluded by saying that IFS’s four founders made another prediction of sorts that remains true today: that a research grant, capacity-enhancement activities and support do indeed contribute significantly to the work of early career scientists and to positive impacts in their countries. In March’s post, we heard from among the 600+ current grantees about their perspectives on IFS. In April, selected members of IFS’s Scientific Advisory Committees (SACs) and external reviewers wrote about their views and their roles as volunteer advisors. This month we hear from 286 IFS alumni (former grantees) about their perspectives on IFS and the impact that the grant funding had on them and their careers. We began the survey questions by asking respondents to describe a defining moment in their experience of IFS that exemplifies its role in science.
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February’s blog post concluded by saying that IFS’s four founders made another prediction of sorts that remains true today: that a research grant, capacity-enhancement activities and support do indeed contribute significantly to the work of early career scientists and to positive impacts in their countries. In March’s post, we heard from among the 600+ current grantees about their perspectives on IFS. This month we hear from selected members of IFS’s Scientific Advisory Committees (SACs) and external reviewers about their views, their roles as volunteer advisors, and their visions for a future IFS. We began the survey questions by asking them to describe a defining moment in their experience of IFS that exemplifies its role in science.
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Last month’s blog post concluded by saying that IFS’s four founders made another prediction of sorts that remains true today: that a research grant, capacity-enhancement activities and support do indeed contribute significantly to the work of early career scientists and to positive impacts in their countries. This month we hear from among the 600+ current early career scientists about their perspectives on an IFS grant and associated support activities. We began the survey questions by asking them to describe a defining moment in their experience of IFS that exemplifies its role in science.
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In last month’s blog post, we introduced the theme of IFS’s 50th anniversary year of celebration – Supporting Early Career Scientists in the Global South for 50 Years and Counting. This month we will learn more about who our founders were and what motivated them to recognize the need for an organisation such as the International Foundation for Science.
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Supporting Early Career Scientists in the Global South for 50 Years and Counting is the theme for 2022’s year-long commemorative celebration of the 50th anniversary of the International Foundation for Science. This theme recognises the intention and wording in the original Charter of Foundation of IFS, signed on 26 May 1972 by Sven Brohult, Robert E Marshak, Roger Revelle and Abdus Salam.
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In a year of challenges and victories, how reassuring and pleasant it has been to know that we can count on so many dedicated colleagues and friends of IFS. On behalf of the Secretariat, I extend our appreciation to each and every one of you for your valuable contributions to IFS and our present and former grantees. With the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, inadequate progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and climate change, growing societal concerns about inequality and social cohesion, and the opportunities and risks presented by evolving technologies, the need for scientists to be engaged in and with the world is more acute than ever.
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In the wake of the recently-held UN Climate Conference (COP26, or the 26th Conference of Parties), this month’s blog post features a perspective by Dr Malcolm Beveridge, IFS Board of Trustees Vice-Chair and Visiting Professor at the University of Stirling in Scotland.
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We at the IFS Secretariat congratulate Dr Muhammad Afzal, a two-time former IFS grantee, for being shortlisted for the 2021 Nature Research Awards for Driving Global Impact, through which the prestigious journal Nature champions researchers who address global challenges. For this month’s blog post, we have invited Dr Afzal to write about his career, and in particular the important research leading to his being shortlisted with seven other scientists for the award.
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The UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) 2021 took place recently and virtually on 23 September during the UN General Assembly in New York. The Summit was an historic opportunity to leverage the power of food systems to drive our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and to get countries and regions back on track to achieving all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
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Over a two-week period in August, IFS conducted a Workshop on Designing Online Training Events: Preparing a Research Budget. This unique online event blended synchronous and asynchronous activities that offered participants an opportunity to learn about designing and delivering online training experiences as well as the scientific skills needed to prepare a research budget.
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For this month’s blog post, we welcome Dr John Tang Yew Huat from Malaysia, whose two IFS grants in 2012 and 2015 led to the development of a smartphone app called EatSAFE-StopWASTE.
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Our beloved former Board Chair, Prof Olanrewaju Babtunde Smith, died on 8 April 2021. Joining a number of Prof Ola’s friends and family from around the world for a commemoration of his life and times on 8 May 2021 were IFS staff members Nighisty Ghezae, Ingrid Leemans and Ingrid Lindhe.
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Welcome to 2021! As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, we will use the next few months’ blog posts to hear from a range of IFS community members, in response to the questions:
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Welcome to 2021! As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, we will use the next few months’ blog posts to hear from a range of IFS community members, in response to the questions:
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Celebrated annually on 8 March, International Women’s Day was created not only to honor the achievements of women from all walks of life, but also to highlight the inequalities that still exist between women and men, and the much-needed work that remains to be done to attain gender equity. We need a diversity of voices contributing to the discussion to achieve equitable and progressive solutions to current global challenges.
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Welcome to 2021! As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, we will use the next few months’ blog posts to hear from a range of IFS community members, in response to the questions:
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Welcome to 2021! As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, we will use the next few months’ blog posts to hear from a range of IFS community members, in response to the questions:
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What a year it has been: a global pandemic, protests and riots, national and local elections, online learning, remote work, social distancing, Zoom parties and more. Meanwhile, resolute scientists around the world continued working to solve our most urgent problems. Science did not quarantine in 2020, and thus IFS continued its essential work of supporting early career researchers in Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries.
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Our new IFS strategy for 2021-2030 has the theme of Investing in Future Scientists. This year of 2020 is one of transition, where we are continuing with elements of the “old” strategy as we begin incorporating parts of the “new”. To learn from this process, we are reflecting on it in several ways, for example, through these monthly blog posts. I will be highlighting our experiences from the IFS Secretariat and I also invite others in the IFS family to share any reflections they may have. This month, we share with you some reflections from IFS alumni on the impact of an IFS grant.
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Our new IFS strategy for 2021-2030 has the theme of Investing in Future Scientists. This year of 2020 is one of transition, where we are continuing with elements of the “old” strategy as we begin incorporating parts of the “new”. Yet another affirmation of IFS’s role in the capacity enhancing of early career scientists happened yesterday: the 29 September webinar on Transformations within Reach, organised by the International Commission for Science, ICU and the Institute of System Analysis of Vienna, and funded by the Norwegian and South African governments. Our Board member Kjell Havnevik of Norway participated in the webinar and offers these reflections as a “guest blogger”.
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Our new IFS strategy for 2021-2030 has the theme of Investing in Future Scientists. This year of 2020 is one of transition, where we are continuing with elements of the “old” strategy as we begin incorporating parts of the “new”. To learn from this process, we are reflecting on it in several ways, for example, through these monthly blog posts. I will be highlighting our experiences from the IFS Secretariat and I also invite others in the IFS family to share any reflections they may have.
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Our new IFS strategy for 2021-2030 has the theme of Investing in Future Scientists. This year of 2020 is one of transition, where we are continuing with elements of the “old” strategy as we begin incorporating parts of the “new”. To learn from this process, we are reflecting on it in several ways, for example, through these monthly blog posts. I will be highlighting our experiences from the IFS Secretariat and I also invite others in the IFS family to share any reflections they may have.
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We are pleased to announce that after many months of effort by numerous members of the IFS community, our new strategy for 2021-2030 – Investing in Future Scientists – has been published.
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Our new IFS strategy for 2021-2030 has the theme of Investing in Future Scientists. This year of 2020 is one of transition, where we are continuing with elements of the “old” strategy as we begin incorporating parts of the “new”. To learn from this process, we are reflecting on it in several ways, for example, through these monthly blog posts. I will be highlighting our experiences as the IFS Secretariat and I also invite others in the IFS family to share any reflections they may have.
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We at IFS trust that you, your loved ones, colleagues and communities are well and safe during these days and weeks. We are following the request of our health officials for people who can to work remotely so as not to contribute to spreading the virus. This also gives us the flexibility to take care of ourselves and our families, and causes minimum disruption to our work. We continue as before with managing our grants program and relations with reviewers, Scientific Advisory Committees and the Board of Trustees; meet the needs of grantees, applicants and alumni; make plans for capacity-enhancing and mentoring activities; and fulfil our obligations to funders and other strategic partners.
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Our new IFS strategy for 2021-2030 has the theme of Investing in Future Scientists. This year of 2020 will be one of transition, where we are continuing with elements of the “old” strategy as we begin incorporating parts of the “new”. To learn from this process, we are reflecting on it in several ways, for example, through these monthly blog posts. I will be highlighting our experiences as the IFS Secretariat and I also invite others in the IFS family to share any reflections they may have.
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Our new IFS strategy for 2021-2030 has the theme of Investing in Future Scientists. This year of 2020 will be one of transition, where we are continuing with elements of the “old” strategy as we begin incorporating parts of the “new”. To learn from this process, we are reflecting on it in several ways, for example, through these monthly blog posts. I will be highlighting our experiences as the IFS Secretariat and I also invite others in the IFS family to share any reflections they may have.
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As we come to the end of 2019, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for everything you have done to make this year successful. In a few words, 2019 can be summarized as “in the face of significant challenges, we made significant progress”. I thank you for your continued commitment and for all that you do to deliver on our purpose – to support early career researchers to enhance their scientific capacity.
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During 2019, our blog posts will primarily feature a range of countries in which IFS has awarded grants to early career scientists, drawing on responses to a 15-item survey with mostly open-ended questions that we are sending to former and present grantees in selected countries, as an element of this year’s process culminating in our new 2021-2030 strategy. This month we highlight Cameroon, where 231 people (46 women and 185 men) have been awarded grants by IFS since it was founded in 1974. Of the 231 grantees, 77 went on to receive a second grant, and 24 a third grant.
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During 2019, our blog posts will primarily feature a range of countries in which IFS has awarded grants to early career scientists, drawing on responses to a 15-item survey with mostly open-ended questions that we are sending to former and present grantees in selected countries, as an element of this year’s process culminating in our new 2021-2030 strategy. This month we highlight Burkina Faso, where 175 people (38 women and 137 men) have been awarded grants by IFS since it was founded in 1974. Of the 175 grantees, 46 went on to receive a second grant, and seven a third grant.
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In this feature of the blog IFS Honors the Life of Professor Gunnar Jacks, a long-time friend of IFS.
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During 2019, our blog posts will primarily feature a range of countries in which IFS has awarded grants to early career scientists, drawing on responses to a 15-item survey with mostly open-ended questions that we are sending to former and present grantees in selected countries, as an element of this year’s process culminating in our new 2021-2030 strategy. This month we highlight Tanzania, where 117 people (22 women and 95 men) have been awarded grants by IFS since it was founded in 1974. Of the 117 grantees, 31 went on to receive a second grant, and five a third grant.
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During 2019, our blog posts will primarily feature a range of countries in which IFS has awarded grants to early-career scientists, drawing on responses to a 15-item survey with mostly open-ended questions that we are sending to former and present grantees in selected countries, as an element of this year’s process culminating in our new 2021-2030 strategy. This month we highlight Bolivia, where 44 people (18 women and 26 men) have been awarded grants by IFS since it was founded in 1974. Of the 44 grantees, nine went on to receive a second grant, and one a third grant. As one survey respondent noted, “… food security, conservation of biodiversity and health are continuously demanding new local knowledge from researchers.”
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During 2019, our blog posts will primarily feature a range of countries in which IFS has awarded grants to early-career scientists, drawing on responses to a 15-item survey with mostly open-ended questions that we are sending to former and present grantees in selected countries, as an element of this year’s process culminating in our new 2021-2030 strategy. This month we highlight Sri Lanka, where 113 people (40 women and 73 men) have been awarded grants by IFS since it was founded in 1974. Of the 113 grantees, 14 went on to receive a second grant, and three a third grant. As one survey respondent noted, “… the situation for science in Sri Lanka is improving”.
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During 2019, our blog posts will primarily feature a range of countries in which IFS has awarded grants to early-career scientists, drawing on responses to a 15-item survey with mostly open-ended questions that we are sending to former and present grantees in selected countries, as an element of this year’s process culminating in our new 2021-2030 strategy. This month we highlight Morocco, where 181 people (29 to women and 152 to men) have been awarded grants by IFS since it was founded in 1974. Of the 181 grantees, 67 went on to receive a second grant, and 20 a third grant. As one survey respondent noted, “Many sectors in Morocco have been developed because of related scientific research results and advances”.
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During 2019, our blog posts will primarily feature a range of countries in which IFS has awarded grants to early-career scientists, drawing on responses to a 15-item survey with mostly open-ended questions that we are sending to former and present grantees in selected countries, as an element of this year’s process culminating in our new 2021-2030 strategy. This month we highlight Nigeria, where 309 grantees (69 to women and 240 to men) have been awarded by IFS since it was founded in 1974. As one respondent noted, “Science opens up the human mind to the realm of possibilities”.
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This month’s post celebrates women scientists – and International Women’s Day – by focusing on two-time IFS grantee (2006 and 2011) Dr Phuong Thi Mai Nguyen of Vietnam’s Institute of Biotechnology.She was a participant at a recent workshop co-organized by IFS in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where IFS Director, Nighisty Ghezae, gave an opening address. Nighisty took the opportunity to ask Dr Phuong to consider the questions IFS is sending to former and present grantees in selected countries, as an element of this year’s strategy development. Dr Phuong noted that, “…a continuing challenge for early-career scientists is getting research funding”.
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During 2019, our blog posts will primarily feature a range of countries in which IFS has awarded grants to early-career scientists, drawing on responses to a 15-item survey with mostly open-ended questions that we are sending to former and present grantees in selected countries, as an element of this year’s process culminating in our new 2021-2030 strategy. This month we highlight Pakistan, where 105 grants (30 to women and 75 to men) have been awarded by IFS since it was founded in 1974. As one respondent noted, “A knowledge-based economy of a country is more stable, more robust and more flexible than an oil-based or industry-based one. Thus, science plays the foremost role in national development.”
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During this new year of 2019, our blog posts will feature a range of countries in which IFS has awarded grants to early-career scientists. We are pleased that this first post comes to us from Professor Amaret Bhumiratana of Thailand, who himself has been involved with IFS as a grantee and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Food Science. We hope you enjoy this feature of our website.
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As the end of 2018 approaches and we anticipate the arrival of the new year of 2019, I want to pause in reflection at how grateful I am for the many people who selflessly and tirelessly offer their time, energy, intellect and excitement to ensure that the International Foundation for Science continues to thrive.
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In this feature of the blog, IFS celebrates a Published Contribution to the SDGs.
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In this feature of the blog IFS Honors the Life of Professor Rune Liminga, a long-time friend of IFS.
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In January 2018’s blog post, we announced that this year’s posts will be devoted to showcasing scientific achievements in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. This month we turn to Prof Edith Taleisnik, a Fellow of the Argentine National Research Council (CONICET), former IFS grantee and current IFS Board member. In her post Prof Taleisnik writes that, “The history of IFS support to Argentina is a success story, with several inputs … [and a] tangible output is the substantial contribution to the consolidation of the country’s scientific human capital”. We hope you enjoy this feature of our website.
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In January 2018’s blog post, we announced that this year’s posts will be devoted to showcasing scientific achievements in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. This month we turn to IFS Trustee and Professor Emeritus Kjell Havnevik, as below. We hope you enjoy this feature of our website.
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In January 2018’s blog post, we announced that this year’s posts will be devoted to showcasing scientific achievements in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America, as IFS is determined to be stronger than ever in its support of early-career researchers in these regions. This month we turn to Dr Bishnu Raj Upreti, an IFS Trustee and Senior Researcher / Executive Director of Nepal Center for Contemporary Research in Kathmandu. As he writes below, he anticipates “greater scope for South Asian scientists to research, lead and achieve scientific breakthroughs, especially in the fields of climate change, human security, migration and mobility, regional economic integration, and transnational water conflicts and tensions.” We hope you enjoy this feature of our website.
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In January 2018’s blog post, we announced that this year’s posts will be devoted to showcasing scientific achievements in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America, as IFS is determined to be stronger than ever in its support of early-career researchers in these regions. This month we turn to Martin Bienvenu Somda, a two-time IFS grantee, who is a junior lecturer at Nazi Boni University of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. His research aims to address what he sees as one of the pressing issues in agricultural health science: diagnosing problems and researching new vaccines and drugs in the integrated fight against vector-borne diseases. We hope you enjoy this feature of our website.
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In anticipation of the imminent release of the IFS Annual Report 2017, this month’s blog post includes several excerpts of its Foreword by myself and our Board of Trustees Chair Malcolm Beveridge.
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In January 2018’s blog post, we announced that this year’s posts will be devoted to showcasing scientific achievements in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. This month we turn to Prof José Alberto Delgadillo, a three-time IFS grantee and current scientific advisor to IFS, who is a researcher at the Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro in Mexico. In his post about goat reproduction research, Prof Delgadillo writes that his team’s “results open new and non-pharmaceutical ways for controlling out-of-season reproduction in agricultural species.” We hope you enjoy this feature of our website.
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In January 2018's blog post, we announced that this year's posts will be devoted to showcasing scientific achievements in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America. This month, we turn to Prof Berhanu Abegaz, a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Department of Chemistry, University of Johannesburg, and also a Member of the African Union High Panel on Emerging Technologies. In his post, Prof Berhanu mentions some of the best researchers in Africa who are examples of scientific excellence and leadership. He says, "It is somewhat risky when one attempts to select a few of the best scientists because excellence is the basis for which all of them are recognized." However, he embarks on such an almost-impossible task by highlighting three African scientists. We hope you enjoy this feature of our website
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In this feature of the blog IFS joins hands with the Nairobi-based African Academy of Sciences (AAS), in condemning [US President Donald] Trump’s display of overt racism towards Africans, Haitians and El Salvadorians.
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In this feature of the blog IFS joins hands with the Nairobi-based African Academy of Sciences (AAS), in condemning [US President Donald] Trump’s display of overt racism towards Africans, Haitians and El Salvadorians.
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With the approach of yet another year, as the Director of IFS, I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your interest and involvement in our collaborative work. It has been quite a year! Fortunately, our passion for supporting young researchers in developing countries – and their unrelenting drive to help their own countries and to solve local problems – have kept us inspired and dedicated. We know that the road is long and often hard, but we are making progress and we cannot, and will not, stop.
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As a recurring feature of our IFS blogs, we periodically turn the spotlight on our alumni. This month we highlight two of our former grantees: Prof Brice Sinsin and Prof Achille Ephrem Assogbadjo. The two were recently awarded top prizes in their respective fields for their research work which has transformed their communities and institutions and has gained recognition at country, regional, African and even global levels. We hope you enjoy this feature on our website.
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As a recurring feature of our IFS blog, we are periodically turning the spotlight on one of our alumni. When IFS staff members travel, they are meeting and interviewing our former grantees to discover more about the impact they are having in their countries. However, for this Alumni Spotlight, we were able to speak with Kathelyn Paredes Villanueva when she visited the IFS office in August 2017, to give a presentation on her research. She says that the IFS-supported field and lab activities “… exposed [her] to great opportunities for learning new techniques in tracing timber and also for strengthening [her] network which will be vital for the long-term research [she] would like to do in [her] country.” We hope you enjoy this feature of our website.
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As a recurring feature of our IFS blog, we are periodically turning the spotlight on one of our alumni. When IFS staff members travel, they are meeting and interviewing our former grantees to discover more about the impact they are having in their countries. Our present Alumni Spotlight is on Dr Phoutthasone Sibounnavong, interviewed by Nathalie Persson in March 2017. She says, “I keep reminding early-career scientists to use their capacity for observation, think about the issues to be addressed from their observations, and try to find answers.” We hope you enjoy this feature of our website.
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As a recurring feature of our IFS blog, we are periodically turning the spotlight on one of our alumni. When IFS staff members travel, they are meeting and interviewing our former grantees to discover more about the impact they are having in their countries. Our present Alumni Spotlight is on Dr Babita Paudel-Bhattarai, interviewed by Nathalie Persson in March 2017. She says, “It was not only receiving the grant that made me happy but it motivated and inspired me to return to my home country and conduct natural product research. It was the turning point of my career. We hope you enjoy this new feature of our website.
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As a recurring feature of our IFS blog, we will regularly turn the spotlight on one of our alumni. When IFS staff members travel, they are meeting and interviewing our former grantees to discover more about the impact they are having in their countries. Our first Alumni Spotlight is on Associate Professor Kornkanok Ingkaninan, interviewed by Nathalie Persson in March 2017. She says, “Based on my IFS results, people started to know me as a scientist working in the field of medicinal plants and especially with a potential drug for Alzheimer’s disease. This paved the way for more collaboration with others in the field of natural products and medicinal plants.” We hope you enjoy this new feature of our website.
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Twelve teams – comprising 21 women and 20 men – are currently carrying out their collaborative research on climate change adaptation and mitigation under IFS’s partnership with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). Two of the teams are being funded by the Carolina MacGillavry Award. They are Team AQUASafe with members from Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, and Team CHANGE, whose members are from Thailand and Vietnam.
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Dear Members of the IFS Family On the occasion of our 45th anniversary as an international community that has supported early-career scientists across the globe, we at the IFS Secretariat want to say THANK YOU to all current and former grantees, staff, advisers, board members, partner organizations and funders, and especially to our founders. They first came together at the Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs in Venice in 1965, where one of their recommendations was to establish the International Foundation for Science “in order to address the stultifying conditions under which younger faculty members in the universities of developing countries are attempting to do research.”
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On 22 April, Earth Day 2017, in more than 600 locations around the planet, multitudes of concerned global citizens took to the streets and join rallies in support of the first-ever March for Science.
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Following the resignation of president Rajkeswur Purryag in June this year, the parliament of Mauritius confirmed the appointment of the incoming president of Mauritius, the renowned scientist Ameenah Gurib-Fakim. Professor Gurib-Fakim, who is the first female president of Mauritius, has been an IFS Adviser since 2006, and a key contributor to IFS activities.
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No one - no scientist, no research council, no international foundation for science, no organisation with an interest in biological and water resources, and the way in which they are used in development, no-one who advises such an organisation, can escape the enduring challenge of serving sustainable development. As the internationally known scholar and environmentalist, GARRY D. BREWER, whilst at University of California in Berkley pointed out, the long-term evolution of knowledge has undoubtedly been one of human-kind's most distinctive achievements. However, as he also pointed out, and many of us realize, disciplinary specialization has costs, too, not the least of these being more fragmented knowledge and knowledge which informs realistic problems - only with great difficulty. Or, as a number of cynics have stated it: `The world has problems, but universities have departments'.
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Professor Achille Assogbadjo is a leading figure within the Faculty of Agronomic Sciences at the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin. Today he is an eminent scientist and a world authority on Baobab. In an interview conducted by Brian Porter of IFS in December 2014 he remembers how difficult it was to break into a career in scientific research in sub Saharan Africa.
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Promoting research on the most pressing environmental challenges of our day
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How you can access a huge resource of knowledge
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This month IFS launches a new prize, which recognizes the top ranked application to an IFS call for collaborative research.
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IFS mourns Nelson Mandela's passing and acknowledges a great man's contribution to humanity.
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IFS expands support for mutual collaborative linkages as the Belgian Science Policy Office renews Belgian funding to IFS.
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IFS together with the Carnegie Corporation begins piloting a Collaborative Research Approach
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Addressing equipment challenges in development-related scientific research in Africa
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