| | | Annual Report 1996 | |
UNU/IIST, in order to secure proper mutual commitment to UNU/IIST's Agenda and its realization, is increasingly relying on institutionalization of its relationship with researchers, technologists and lecturers worldwide. This institutionalization takes the form of increasingly `committing' Memoranda of Understandings.
UNU/IIST currently has Memoranda-of-Understanding with the following institutions and individuals:
Tarbiat Modarres University and Iran Telecommunication Research Centre
State Commission of Science and Technology, Pyongyang (SCST)
Pohang University of Science and Technology,
Center for Advanced Software Technology (POSTECH/CAST)
NIIT
CICA: Chengdu Institute of Computer Applications
Zhuhai Science and Technology Commission (ZSTC)
Vietnamese Ministry of Finance
Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological
Development (CNPq) and Laboratory for Formal Methods, PUC-Rio
Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA)
Centre for Science and Technology, PUC-PR, Curitiba
Changsha Institute of Technology (CIT)
Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI)
The Mathematical Sciences School of Beijing University,
Dept. of Informatics (MSS/DI)
SPIC Science Foundation, School of Mathematics,
Center of Information Technology (CIT), Minsk
Andrei Ershov Foundation, Ershov Institute of Informatics, Novosibirsk
Academy of Sciences -- Russian Federation (RAS)
Institute for System Programming (ISP), Moscow
Academy of Sciences -- Russian Federation (RAS)
Harbin Institute of Technology, Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering)
(Dr. Paritosh K. Pandya,) Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
(Dr. P. Venkat Reddy,) University of Hyderabad
African Institute of Informatics (IAI), Libreville
National University of San Luis
Several of the above listed MoUs call for the establishment of UNU/IIST supported libraries -- while a few call for UNU/IIST support in providing computing equipment.
What is happening here is a concerted effort on behalf of UNU/IIST to create The UNU/IIST Affiliate Network. Members of the network are also referred to as Affiliates.
Aims & Objectives
The purposes of The UNU/IIST Affiliate Network include one or more of the following:24
- Joint Research
To propagate the UNU/IIST Agenda through "south-south" help to self-help initiatives.
Affiliate staff will typically have been UNU/IIST Fellows or visiting scholars -- and will continue research along the lines of UNU/IIST's research. UNU/IIST will provide modest financial support for research.
- Training-the-trainers:
To propagate the UNU/IIST Agenda through "south-south" help to self-help initiatives.
Affiliate staff will typically have been UNU/IIST Fellows or visiting scholars -- and will take over some of UNU/IIST's training activities by providing national and local area training along the lines of UNU/IIST's advanced course programme. UNU/IIST will provide modest financial support local training courses.
- Software Technology Libraries:
For network affiliates to serve as Dissemination focal points: i.e. build up UNU/IIST-supported local Software Technology Libraries.
Affiliate institutions will receive support from UNU/IIST in the form of subscriptions to a rather full complement of ACM and IEEE Computer Society publications, and in the form of receiving major, seminal reference books in Computer Science and Software Engineering.
- Computing and Software Technology Laboratory:
A few affiliates, like NUM (Mongolia) will feature computing equipment. Sun Microsystems has recently agreed to donate this.
At the moment the following institutions are -- or are about to become affiliates:
UNU/IIST expects, in the future, to show a separate budget line item: The UNU/IIST Affiliate Network -- with each such institution annually receiving in the order of from US$2,500-5,000 support.
As was implied by the previous section, UNU/IIST has become increasingly involved in hosting short-term Curriculum Development Fellows, for periods of from two to six months. During this period these Fellows "pick-up" UNU/IIST's course material in specific areas (Formal Software Development (using RAISE), Duration Calculi) while also further developing this material. In some cases UNU/IIST enters into a Memorandum-of-Understanding with these fellows and/or their institutions -- where the aim of the MoU is to secure an active follow-up by the fellows and their institutions with respect to further, local area (including national) courses.
UNU/IIST and TRDDC: Tata Research, Development and Design Centre, Pune, India, are currently discussing a form in which TRDDC can (even further) collaborate in the area of propagation of Formal Methods in Software Engineering.
UNU/IIST intends each year, or each Biennium, to announce a number of topics within the UNU/IIST research and advanced development agenda that it wishes researched and "advanced developed" by institutions in developing countries and in countries whose economies are in transition.
UNU/IIST intends with this to further propagate its Agenda while getting more mileage out of its own funds. These (proposed) Off-shore R&D Projects will also be better able to complete in particular development projects -- the completion of which requires more resources than UNU/IIST can pay for in Macau!
Appendix A proposes an outline framework for this new activity.
By dissemination UNU/IIST means: spread of information abroad, diffuse, promulgate, scatter -- without implying action.26
UNU/IIST pursues dissemination through several active channels:
Returning fellows further spread information on methods, scientific and technical results, and software technology. In 1996, UNU/IIST hosted well in excess of 30 Fellows.
Fellows and staff increasingly present accepted papers at tightly reviewed conferences worldwide, conferences (symposia, workshops, etc.) which result in widely disseminated proceedings. With about six to eight active conference participations, UNU/IIST has reached more than 500 motivated professionals in 1996.
In 1996 alone UNU/IIST is co-sponsoring at least three one to two week workshops: Macau, Seoul, Rio de Janeiro, etc. Through these, UNU/IIST reaches an estimated 80 highly motivated professionals.
UNU/IIST, in 1996 alone, is expected to reach an audience of more than 500 highly motivated people at from two-three day, via one to two full week intensive courses: Hanoi, Bangalore, San Luis (Argentina, twice), Ankara, Bucharest, Kiev, Beijing, Harbin, Minsk, Moscow, Libreville (Gabon), Curitiba (Brazil), Macau, etc.
Staff of UNU/IIST are often asked to deliver keynote speeches at major international conferences, research center openings, etc. In 1996 we expect to reach an audience of some 800 people.
Up till now UNU/IIST has established very close, affiliated network contact with some 12 research and development centres worldwide.
Dissemination channels in total reach around 1,100 highly motivated professionals and some 800 other professionals.
During the summer and fall of 1996 UNU/IIST has established a list of some 400 addresses -- to be recipients of a more concerted document dissemination effort. The list includes the 200+ computer science and software technology institutions in industrialized countries which have sent UNU/IIST their reports for the last almost four years. We are initially, for 1997-1990, targeting the institutions from developing countries and countries with economies in transition,
Categories of disseminated material:
We will initially mail list of the UNU/IIST reports, the UNU/IIST Brochure and the 1996 Annual Report.
We will then, around early spring 1997, attempt, if the budget so allows, and possibly with co-funding, to disseminate the document (approx 1700 pages, 5 volumes) mentioned in section 6.6.
UNU/IIST is making our close affiliates aware of LINUX, and is providing license-free RAISE Tool Sets 27 to several Universities. Initially to:
UNU/IIST staff and fellows are in the process of editing a five volume:
Volumes III-V may contain a few reports covering the two most recent research activities: Descartes and Casino.
Three versions have been planned for this compendium:
Some 600 copies are expected to be distributed in this way -- provided co-funding can be found.
The three "editions" are characterized as follows:
Unlike other UNU/IIST RTCs which focus more on book publishing, UNU/IIST, in its publication effort, focuses first on thoroughly refereed conference proceedings and journals.
In the exact sciences, i.e. in UNU/IIST's area, book writing usually represents many years of research and thus takes years.
UNU/IIST off-shore Courses programme, the Fellowship and its R&D Project Programme, both in Macau and off-shore, are woven into one:
UNU/IIST has set the specific Research Agendas: DeTfoRS and Descartes apply these to selected "examples".
UNU/IIST may "narrow" its target group of countries from which it solicits Fellows for research to three to four Asian, maybe one African, one to two Latin American and maybe one or two East European and CIS countries. With three to four long term staff for research UNU/IIST can at most cope with nine to 12 Fellows a year for research -- and prefers to build up long term relations with targets in order to ensure proper penetration.
UNU/IIST basically selects the applications, and the technology and methods to be applied in development.
UNU/IIST will consider fellowships for advanced development projects from as large a circle of African, Asian, Latin American and East European+CIS countries -- as and when appropriate, agenda-consistent, and possibly co-funded infrastructure software technology projects are feasible.
The above characterizes an important mode-of-operation of UNU/IIST. We believe it represents a very effective way of reaching the largest audience.
| | | Annual Report 1996 | |