South-South Cooperation is making increasingly significant contributions to global and regional development. ICGEB aims to bring about sustainable development, ensuring that the benefits arising from modern biology and biotechnology can also reach our communities in the global south.
In this moment of global crisis the need for South-South and Triangular Scientific cooperation has never been greater. ICGEB has responded with efforts to directly provide rapid assistance to our constituency with diagnostics, surveillance and capacity enhancement for handling the Covid19 crisis, bringing the critical information and technologies to where they are most needed.
We have recently joined with the UN Office for South South Cooperation to make a real impact across the Global South and capitalise upon the wonderful platforms that each Organisation has developed, such as the South South Galaxy, the Coalition of Think Tank Networks, and its flagship publication of Good Practices.
ICGEB hopes to expand joint activities by promoting programmes for reversing brain drain in the Global South, enhancing South-South cooperation and exchange and, of course, using science and scientific diplomacy to promote peace and security. Through this partnership, ICGEB can better fulfil its mandate by strengthening its ability to offer science and scientific capacity building to support sustainable development; offering biotech solutions tailored to the real needs of different countries in the Global South, which range from health to agriculture and clean energy; and generating knowledge sharing and outreach programmes.
Feature story
Dr. Abayomi Baruwa, PhD scholar at Durban University of Technology, South Africa
During his time as ICGEB SMART fellow in the Biotechnology and Applied science laboratory in South Africa, Abayomi published four first-, and five co-author papers in high-impact journals on Cloning of Bacterial Lipase Gene, Lactic acid bacteria metabolism, and Probiotics.
After completing his program at the Durban University of Technology, South Africa, he worked in Nigeria as Senior Research Officer at the Enzyme Technology Division of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO).
As a result of his exceptional performance at Durban University, his host supervisor offered him the opportunity to return for his Post-doctoral studies at the same institution. Abayomi is a proud ICGEB Alumnus and member of the American Society for Microbiology and Society for Applied Microbiology.
“I am immensely grateful for the support, commitment and kindness encountered at ICGEB and from my mentor and colleagues at the host institute. I feel privileged to have been a SMART ICGEB fellow – the experience has produced a conducive environment and resources for me to flourish in my research.”
Map showing awarded and ongoing South-South mobility of ICGEB Fellowships
The ICGEB SMART Fellowships Programme (Scientific Mobility for Advanced Research Training) has been running since 2014, to promote the mobility of researchers between ICGEB Member States as a way of fostering South-South cooperation. This programme has been particularly popular and, from feedback received from the fellows and the host supervisors, has proven extremely useful and beneficial for both parties. The map below shows the 2020 and 2021 mobility of ICGEB SMART fellowship awardees and the South-South mobility of Arturo Falaschi fellowship awardees.
World Science Day for Peace and Development
ICGEB at the 2022 BIO Africa Convention
Italy provides additional support for Science in Africa
ICGEB Flyer on South-South Activities
For more information:
Marianna Maculan, Chief, External Relations
Email: [email protected]