Biotechnology Research Exchange and Policy Training

In February 2021 the Biotechnology programme was launched in collaboration with the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) and the World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) to promote networking among researchers and research institutions while strengthening biotechnology capacity in the LDCs.

About the Programme

The call for thirteen exchange visits of up to six months at the ICGEB laboratories in Trieste (Italy), New Delhi (India) and Cape Town (South Africa) South was launched in May 2021 and has attracted 114 applications from 18 LDCs. Scientists will be working in the fields of biomedicine, biotechnology and agriculture. The programme also includes a third scheme to provide training in biotechnology policy and regulatory science by ICGEB experts.

The call for training in regulatory science and biotechnology policy workshops was launched in August 2021 and it is expected that 110 users from LDCs will benefit from the eLearning modules and a minimum of 33 trainees from the ‘hybrid’ workshop. The outcome of autonomous, robust and structured regulation is the availability of healthier and safer food and products from fewer resources while reducing pressure on natural ecosystems. It also supports value-added commodity trade which supports sustainable development especially SDGs 2, 3, 9, 12, 15, and 17.