The Academy of Scientific Resarch & Technology
(ASRT)
Areas of activity:
Applied science and technology, Agriculture, forestry and Fisheries, applied
physics, construction, energy, environment, genetic engineering and
biotechnology, health, information and computers, natural resources, remote
sensing and seismology, transport and communications, Humanities and social
sciences: Human settlements, management and employment, planning, public administration and population.
Other areas:
Science and technology policies
Number of staff:
Research professionals: 660
Staff total: 1 ,770
Working Languages: Arabic, English
Library holdings:
number of library volumes: 3,500
Number of library periodicals: 2,500
Other holdings: 2,000
Mission and objectives:
ASRT
is the official and main body for the promotion and coordination of science and
technology activities in Egypt. It's vision is to mobilize and direct the
national scientist and technological capacities towards achieving national
prosperity and development.
ASRT'S mission is to:
- Promote the progress of science and
technology;
- Strengthen linkages between S and T
oodles;
- Integrate science and technology with the fabric Of the Egyptian society,
To achieve its mission, ASRT has undertaken several reform programmes to:
- Improve human, physical and financial resources;
- Redirect the scientific research from a discipline-oriented research into a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional end-users oriented research;
-
Improve the competitiveness (quality and productivity)
of
Egyptian products and services.
In order to contribute to efforts for transforming the Egyptian economy into an
industrializing economy by the year 2017, ASRT undertakes the following main
functions:
- Support scientific research aimed towards solving problems of national interest or priority;
- Encourage the application of modern technology within the areas included in the national programmes of economic and social development;
- Draw policies that ensure strong linkages at the national economic . level between the different scientific and technological organizations;
-
Coordinate the major research projects affecting the national
and social plans that are put forward by the various research institutes or
departments;
-
Encourage basic research as a means of training and developing
human research resources and to support research schools working in modern
fields of science and technology;
-
Disseminate information on the latest technological trends;
-
Participate in the development of science curricula;
-
Supervise scientific publications and the promotion of science;
-
Develop international relations in the fields of science and
technology.
Organizational structure
The
Academy is headed by a president, who is assisted by three vice-presidents and
has the following main organizational bodies:
- The Academy Council: The Academy council is responsible for the
policy-making of the ASRT, Members of the council represent the leading
scientific research bodies and universities in Egypt, together with
representatives from research and development sectors of several ministries.
The council is chaired by the President of the Academy except when the Minister
of State attends its meetings,
- The Scientific Relations Affairs Sector: This sector includes two main divisions: The Scientific Relations and the Scientific and International Unions.
- Technology Development and Scientific Services Sector: This sector has the following subdivisions: Technology Development; National Network for Technology Development; National Information and Documentation Centre (NIDOC); the Egyptian National Scientific and Technological Information Network (ENSTINET); Statistics on Science and Technology; Executive Office for Environmental Information; Patent Office; Innovation and Invention Development Organ (IIDO); Scientific Instruments Centre; The Science Museum; The Regional Development Centres; Sinai Rehabilitation Research and Development Organ.
- The Specialized Research Councils (SRC) Sector: In order to carry out the Academy's functions in planning and coordinating scientific research at the national level, the council of the Academy has established 14 sectoral specialized research councils in the following research areas: Food, Agriculture and Irrigation; Fisheries and Animal Resources; industry; Petroleum; Mineral Resources; Electricity and Energy; Medical Research; Environment; Transport and Communications; Construction, Housing and New Settlements; Economics; Management; Social Sciences and Demography; Basic Sciences, inter-council Committees: These were established to ensure multi-disciplinarily in the following activities: Sinai Development; Rural Development; Food Industries and Nutrition; Potable water and sanitary drainage; Megalopolis.
Research activities/schemes:
Projects are Organized through nine specialized research councils: Foot and
Agriculture, Industry; Petroleum, Energy and Mineral Resources; Hea1th and
Medicine; Environment; Transpod and Communications, Construction and Housing;
New Settlements ASRT research programmes are aimed towards:
- Production increases in agriculture, industry, natural resources, energy,
environment and modern technologies;
- Services support in basic needs particularly nutrition, health and medicine,
housing, transportation, communication and education;
- Progress in the folds of social development, legislation, employment,
developing the civil society and population;
- major national issues which represent the basic gelds of social and economic
development related to the activities of different national institutions, which include desert development,
natural disasters, problems of big cities, rural development, rationalizing
consumption, developing the Nile and water weeds Basic Research Programmes include
top priority programmes for:
- integrating scientist fields of specialization,
- The role of basic research in serving technology and applied research;
- The role of scientific degrees in serving development and the environment.
- Programmes for strengthening the infrastructure of science and technology include the following:
- Establishing and supporting research and development;
- Supporting and completing specialized research centres affiliated to ministry of industry;
- Completing the network of scientific research and technology centre;
- Constructing and completing science museums.
For scientist activities that fall outside the scope of the specialized
councils, the Academy has established by approval of its council, three
principal committees whose members are nominated by the Academy Presidents
decree
and selected from the expertise in the fields of specialization of each
committee:
- The Principal Committee
on Publication, Information and Scientific Literacy which sets the policy for
publishing scientist journals, spreading scientific awareness, fostering
inter-agency cooperation for raising scientist literacy
especially among the youth;
- The Principal Committee on Scientific Relations, which is charged with fostering the Academy's scientist relations with the world and the interested international agencies;
- The Principal Committee on Technological and Scientist Policies whose main function is to collect data and carry out studies, hold symposia and offer expert opinion on technological policy. Scientific policies and plans continue to remain with the specialized councils. The Academy, by law, is responsible for offering a series of national prizes financed by Egyptian Institutions or individuals as well as by foreign institutions. The national prizes flanged by the Academy itself include 5 merit prizes and 22 encouragement prizes The other prizes administered by the Academy total close to 30 prizes, 8 of them being f nances from the national budget.
Meetings, conferences
and seminars:
ASRT holds two types of general meetings annually; one is convened by each
specialized research council to which it submits its progress report and future
plans and the second is held by the Academy and is attended my scientists and
technologists invited by the Academy as well as all the members of the
Specialized Research Councils. ASRT also holds symposia for discussing special
issues related to national development. Twenty-seven seminars, symposia,
workshops and conferences were held in 1998, targeting vital topics such as: R
and D, new materials, technological capacity-building, intellectual property
rights, technology transfer, environment, energy, water, seismology, quality
management and metrology.
Public services:
ASRT provides scientist and technological services through the following
institutions:
- The Scientific Instruments Centre (SIC) whose objectives include the
repair and maintenance, development, design and manufacture, (at least the
proto-type or teaching aid) of scientific instruments and training on
maintenance and
repair;
- The General Directorate of Statistics on Science and Technology which
classifies all possible aspects of S and T activities, human and financial
resources, research in progress and other research activities in all fields of
S and T according to the standards and criteria adopted by UNESCO (1978),
- The Patent Office responsible for issuing patents for the protection
of Ownership rights of Egyptian inventors, promoting their capabilities, spreading
patent information accumulating in the library and strengthening the operations
leading to transfer and development of indigenous and appropriate technologies;
- Invention and Innovation Agency that promotes inventions, helps the
inventors in registering their patents, promotes the use of innovations and
inventions for the generation of national technology, production of proto-types
and semi- industrial experiments;
- The Science Museum at Giza which is considered an important
institution for scientist literacy. It has strong links with the science clubs
established in the various youth centers, sports clubs and universities and
faculties and colleges;
- The Executive Office for Environmental Information. This is the
national focal point for INFORTERRA, (the Environmental Information Referral
System) of UNEP. It is the channel of communication between INFORTERRA and the
National Scientific and Environmental Research Institutions;
- National Information and Documentation Centre;
- Egyptian National Scientific and Technical Information network;
- National network for Technology Development;
- Library.
Publications;
Non-recurrent: Findings are published in primary journals, books
and proceedings.
Recurrent: NIDOC: Egyptian Journal of Agronomy; Egyptian Journal
of Bilharziasis; Egyptian Journal of Biomedical Engineering; Egyptian Journal
of Botany; Egyptian Journal of Chemistry; Egyptian Journal of Food Science;
Egyptian Journal of Horticulture; Egyptian Journal of Microbiology; Egyptian Journal
of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Egyptian Journal of Physics; Egyptian Journal of
Physiological Sciences; Egyptian Journal of Radiation Sciences; Egyptian
Journal of Soil Sciences; Egyptian Journal of Textile and Polymer Science and
Technology; Egyptian Journal of Veterinary Science; Bulletin of The National
Research Centre; The Desert Institute Bulletin; Proceedings of the
Mathematical and Physical Society of Egypt. ENSTINET: Union list of
periodicals;
Newsletter Bulletin; Technical Abstracts; Promotion Materials.
Links to other
organizations:
ASRT maintains linkages with local governorates and several governmental
departments. Liaison committees are of two types; The first type is
external-oriented to S and T international NGO's. National Committees for
International Scientific Unions in Egypt date back to 1924. Since then, Egypt
has been keen to join unions, agencies and establishments as well as
international scientific organizations.
The second type of liaison committees is internally oriented, aiming to strengthen the linkages between the Academy and the institutions concerned with R and D, technology development, production and services. There are three liaison groups:
- The Committee for University Linkages: To-date, this Committee
represents another think-tank of experts drawn from the universities including
the AUC and the Military Medical Academy. This link fulfills the Academy's
function Of collaboration with the universities, Among the other links the
Academy has established several information centers as branches of ENSTINET in
the universities supplementary to the system. A third link comes through the
SIC of the Academy which established several maintenance and repair units in
the universities Where staff were available and need warranted. In other cases
the SIC shoulders the responsibility by contract,
- Linkages with local administrative units (governorates):
Egypt's 26 governorates are grouped into seven economic regions. Links with the
governorates have teen scaled up after this grouping through the establishment
of regional research centers, to cater for the solution of local and regional
problems on the spot.
- Linkages with other government departments (production and/or services
sector): To-date. These linkages represent the ongoing and continued
work of the specialized councils and 26 other policy-making bodies whose
meetings and
deliberations help achieve the academy's goals in assisting in the solution of
problems of development and of establishing plans for future development. ln
addition, the Academy is a member of the following international unions:
International Council of Scientific Unions; Scientific Committee on Oceanic
Research; Biological Sciences; Crystallography; History and Philosophy of
Science; Nutrition Studies; Geological Sciences; Radio-science; Mathematics;
Conservation of Nature; Geophysics and Geodesy; Pharmacology; Physiological
Sciences; Astronomy; Pure and Applied Physics; Microbiological Sciences; Pure
and Applied Biophysics; Pure and Applied Chemistry; Biochemistry; International
Foundation for Science; Museums; Scientific Committee on Problems of the
Environment; Theoretical and Applied Mechanics; Nephrology Diseases. Finally, a
Council of Scientific Societies and National Committees was established whose
terms of reference are the following: Liaising between the Academy and its
various departments on one hand and the national committees on the other;
forecasting the future scientific and technological achievements and rendering
the contribution of both the national committees and scientific societies in
the efforts
geared to solve national problems and major research ones.
Parent
body/affiliations:
ASRT is an integral part of the State Ministry for Scientific Research and is
affiliated to several institutions including:
- National Network for Technology and Development;
- Egyptian National Scientific and Technological Information Network;
- General Directorate of Statistics on Science and Technology;
- Scientific Instruments Centre,
- Science Museum;
- National Research Centre (NRCI)
- Central Metallurgical R and D institute (CMRDI);
- National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF);
- National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG);
- National Institute of Standards;
- Petroleum Research Institute;
- Remote Sensing Centre (RSC);
- National Information and Documentation Centre.
Major achievements,
scientific results and patents:
Through the implementation of ASRT programmes over the last five-year plans
(1882-1997), a profound eject on the socio-economic aspects of the Egyptian
society is clearly felt, especially in the following:
- Augmenting the science and technology infrastructure,
- Supporting basic and applied scientist research;
- Enhancing end-users oriented research;
- Technology development;
- Contributing to local and regional development;
- improving science and technology services;
- Popularization of science and technology culture'.
- Fostering international cooperation in science and technology.
The major reform step undertaken is the preparation of the fourth five-year plan covering the years 1597-2002 within the framework of the National S and T Policy Document.
Future development
plans and Programmes:
The current five-year plan identifies the following programmes;
- Six in the area of strengthening the science and technology structure;
- Nine in the area of resource development (human, physical and financial);
- Twelve in the area of enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of R and D
institutes;
- Six in the area of innovation and competitiveness as a basis
for an export strategy;
- Two in lh: area of technology transfer;
- One in the area of advanced technology,
- One in the area of international cooperation;
- Two in the area of integration of science and technology
within the fabric of Egyptian life;
- One in the area of harmonization of the legal environment,