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25 Gambians excel in Taiwan

Friday, June 13, 2008

The first batch of 25 Gambian students, who left Banjul four years ago to undertake a programme in petro-chemical engineering, have graduated with degrees at a convocation ceremony held at the National Taipei University of Technology, Taiwan. It is the first time that such a good number of Gambian students benefitted from such a package, with the backing of the Taiwanese government.

The 48-month long programme seeks to improve the industrial technology and upgrade the management professionals of The Gambia.

Ebrima Camara, a permanent secretary at the Office of the President and Momodou Badjie, the head of the Gambia National Petroleum Company (GNPC), returned from Taiwan on Wednesday night, where they attended the graduation ceremony. At the ceremony, Mr Camara delivered a speech on behalf of Crispin Grey-Johnson, the secretary of state for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology, who was indisposed.

All the students were said to have excelled in the programme. As a result of their solid performance, the government of Taiwan extended another olive branch to another group of 25 Gambian students who have since left the country to undertake a programme in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) at various universities in Taiwan.

Speaking in an interview with the Daily Observer, the GNPC boss described the mood in Taiwan as a joyous one, as according to him, all the students were beaming up with happiness having completed the programme successfully.

Mr Badjie lauded the reception accorded to them, saying “we were well received by the officials of the Taiwanese government and those from the university. A lunch was also hosted for the graduates by the Gambian ambassador to Taiwan. All of them did well and they were really happy about returning home”.

Pressed on the plans for the students upon their return, Mr Badjie said they would be absorbed by the GNPC and relevant state departments, who functions would have a bearing on the petroleum industry and related operations. “All their requests have been fulfilled and we had a meeting with them while we were there,” he said, adding that they are expected in Banjul on June 22.

Author: by Ebrima Jaw Manneh

UAE launches national authority for scientific research

Sunday, March 30, 2008

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced its first national authority for scientific research (NASR) to coordinate and fund scientific research in the country.
The national authority for scientific research was announced on March 7 by Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE minister for higher education and scientific research. NASR will begin with an annual budget of AED100 million (approximately US$27.2 million). The authority hopes to receive additional contributions from the public and the private sector.

NASR will look to fund research projects in various fields, including engineering, technology, medicine, water and agriculture, proposing specific projects to be competed for by researchers at universities and private research institutes.
"Projects are going to be selected to help promote scientific research and the growth of UAE society and we will compare them with international scientific research criteria," Gulf News quoted Al Nahyan as saying at the launch.

NASR will also train scientists and develop programmes for promoting public science awareness. It will also coordinate with government authorities on the issue of intellectual property rights, by providing advice on how companies and research centres should go about protecting their discoveries in the form of patents or licenses. It will also provide scholarships for researchers in the UAE to work on international research programmes, and organise national scientific conferences. NASR forms part of the UAE's strategic plan to improve higher education and scientific research.

Zakaria Maamar, associate professor at the College of Information Technology at Zayed University, UAE, told Science and Development Network (SciDev.Net) that, "This initiative is another boost to the research and development activities that are carried out in the UAE. It will definitely provide researchers with the appropriate funds to sustain such activities and promote best practices in the community."

Said Elnaffar, assistant professor at the college of information technology at the United Arab Emirates University, told SciDev.Net that, with this initiative, the UAE is taking the lead and setting a good example by building a strong development infrastructure founded on knowledge discovery and research.