The GSC will place scientists and engineers from scientifically advanced countries at universities and research institutes in developing countries to share expertise and collaborate with local partners. Originally conceived as a stand-alone program offering year-long fellowships, the GSC will begin as an integral part of the Regional Initiative in Science and Education (RISE). Initially, RISE network institutions will serve as host sites for visiting faculty. As the program develops and additional funds become available, MSI Centers and other centers of scientific activity, research and training that are at a comparable level of excellence will also participate. The objectives of the GSC are to: help the host institution develop its S&T research capacity through interaction with and instruction from the Fellow; provide the GSC Fellow with a unique and valuable research experience; and promote sustained collaboration between the Fellow and the researchers at the host institution even after the formal placement has ended.
Dr. Appolinaire Djikeng with PhD students,
University of Buea, Cameroon, 2008
The concept for the GSC was introduced by SIG board member Harold Varmus at the Nobel Prize Centennial in Stockholm in December 2001. He proposed “establishing an International Corps for Global Science to allow science missionaries, young and old, to help build a global culture of science by working in those parts of the world that are underserved by science now.” (full text)
Dr. Varmus’ concept was further developed and endorsed at a meeting co-sponsored by SIG and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and hosted by the African Academy of Sciences in Nairobi in January 2006. Full presentations and results of that meeting are available here.
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GSC Pilot Activity: As SIG works to incorporate the GSC into RISE and to develop additional resources for an independent GSC, a small balance in the planning grant from UNDP has enabled SIG to support a pilot activity in the spirit of the GSC. Dr. Appolinaire Djikeng, originally from Cameroon and now a staff scientist in the Infectious Disease Group of the J. Craig Venter Institute in Maryland, was appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology of the University of Buea, where he has committed to teach twice per year in 2008, 2009 and 2010. SIG is supporting his travel and some minor equipment for the university; Dr. Djikeng is contributing his time. Through his work and his associations in the U.S. and Africa, Dr. Djikeng is also serving as an informal ambassador for the Global Science Corps. The report of Dr. Djikeng's accomplishments during his first two visits to Buea, in June and November 2008, is here.
