ALGIERS – The President of the Algerian Academy of Science and Technology (AAST), Prof. Mohamed Hichem Kara, announced on Tuesday in Algiers the opening of membership applications to the Academy, for the advantage of Algerian researchers and scholars both inside and outside Algeria.
During an information day held at the National Library of Algeria ( NLA), attended by the Minister of Knowledge Economy, Start-ups and Micro-enterprises, Yacine El-Mahdi Oualid, the President of the National Agency for Health Security , Prof. Kamel Sanhadji, the Commissioner for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency, Noureddine Yassaa, and the President of the Algerian Academy of the Arabic Language (AALA), Cher Cher, Prof. Kamel Sanhadji, the Commissioner for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency, Noureddine Yassaa, and the President of the Algerian Academy of the Arabic Language (AALA), Cherif Meribai, along with representatives of a number of official bodies and institutions, Mr. Kara announced that the Algerian government had decided to launch a new initiative to promote the use of renewable energies and energy efficiency. Mr. Kara announced that registration “will open on Thursday July 11 and close on September 10” via the electronic website www.aast.dz.
This call for applications in its first edition, for the selection of 25 new members, follows the Academy’s completion of all the legal stages and procedures required for its formation, its introduction into the country’s Constitution as a consultative body, and the recent adoption of its rules of procedure and administrative organization, indicated the speaker.
He explains that “all these achievements were made possible under the guidance of the President of the Republic, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who relaunched our recovery after a freeze of several years”.
This acknowledgement of our institution will contribute to the implementation of the program of the President of the Republic, for the realization of projects aiming at the diversification of the national economy, while taking into consideration scientific and technological developments, and promoting innovation”.
Recalling the basic principles and voting procedures within the AAST, the Academy’s President specified that “ applications for membership of the AAST are systematically made for open positions. The choice of a new member is based on a codified procedure which commences with a presentation, followed by debate and vote”.
Created in March 2015 by presidential decree and placed under the President of the Republic, “AAST is an independent reference body in the domains of science and technology composed of respectable Algerian personalities established in Algeria and abroad, along with other personalities from abroad”, pointed out Mr. Kara.
This scientific entity is currently composed of 43 founding members (after the death of 3 members) selected by an international jury, including 11 women and 6 members established abroad”, he explained, adding that ‘the total number of academicians should reach 250 members, including 50 associate members of various nationalities’.
Underlining that “membership of the Academy is an honor, as well as a heavy responsibility”, Mr. Kara indicated that “the elected member must take part in the collective activities of the ASST through the missions assigned to him, namely reflection, analysis and proposal (…). The function consists of delivering opinions and reports, while making recommendations to the scientific community and decision-makers, as likewise to all our compatriots, via the dissemination and generalization of scientific and technical culture”.
The President of AAST added that from July 11, a call for applications will be launched from Constantine for participation in the “Grand Prize of the Academy”, entitled the “Young Researcher’s Prize”, dedicated to young Algerian researchers specializing in different scientific and technological fields.
For his part, the Minister for the Knowledge Economy, Start-ups and Micro-enterprises stressed that the Academy “plays an important role in guiding government policies towards the best measures for developing science, disseminating knowledge and digital technology, and encouraging scientific and technological research”.
It also ”’allows a large number of researchers and teachers to participate in this national effort to develop our country’s scientific and technological research”, he continued.
The Minister noted that his sector constituted “a link between the world of scientific and technological research and that of the economy, by enabling technologies developed in universities and research centers to be marketed on Algerian and global markets”.
He also recalled Algeria’s efforts in this field through various support and incentive mechanisms, notably the draft law on the knowledge economy and startups (currently under review), which is designed to “improve support mechanisms for startups and innovative companies, optimizing research and development spending by 3% over the next five years, and promoting cooperation frameworks between the various players, including research centers, universities and economic establishments, as well as strengthening technology transfer”.
The day was marked by a range of presentations by Academy members on the Academy’s missions and objectives over the ten years since its creation, as well as exhaustive explanations of the application process for Academy members and the different conditions and criteria required.
APS