TWAS – The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries

For 40 years, The World Academy of Sciences for the advancement of science in developing countries (TWAS) has been a leading force in developing crucial scientific capability in some of the most underdeveloped countries in the world. A global science academy founded in 1983 in Trieste, Italy, TWAS supports sustainable prosperity through research, education, policy, and diplomacy.

With its partners, it has graduated over 1,235 PhDs and offered hundreds of postdoctoral fellowships to developing world scientists.

The Academy also hosts prestigious scientific awards in the global South, has offered more than 2,800 research grants, and supports exchange visits for scientists. TWAS is a programme unit of UNESCO. More information: www.twas.org.

TWAS headquarters are located at the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) and consist of offices for administrative and communications staff. TWAS also hosts the secretariats of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) and the Organization for Women in Science for Developing Countries (OWSD).

TWAS has international collaborations with numerous partners around the world, including the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Elsevier Foundation, Lenovo Group Ltd., and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). A full list of TWAS partners can be found at https://twas.org/network/our-partners.

• Scholarships for Individuals and Groups: These are awarded to equip laboratories and fund sustainability-related projects
• Doctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships: These increase South-South exchanges and collaborations, enabling young talents to acquire new skills
• Scientific Production Awards and Medals: These are awarded to motivate scientists from the global South to pursue scientific excellence
• Visiting Experts: Scientists from developing countries can visit centres in the global South and pass on expertise
• Science Diplomacy Courses: Humanity’s greatest challenges are regional and global. Increasingly, the world calls for effective partnerships between scientists, policymakers and diplomats
• Study Collaborations with Six Centres of Excellence of the Chinese Academy of Sciences: These provide education and training programs for scientists and engineers to conduct research on climate, water, biotechnology and sustainable technologies

Facilities for foreign students and researchers
TWAS has offices exclusively for administrative and communications staff. Scientists visiting for courses or other activities can stay at the guesthouse of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, which also houses the TWAS offices, or be directed to hotels in the city.