Annual Report 1997

9 Plans for 1998

In 1998 UNU/IIST intends to further consolidate its off-shore and Macau training courses as well as its Research and Advanced Development Project activities. In 1998, the following activities may be highlighted:

1. Africa: UNU/IIST will strive to develop further its activities in Africa:

   • In South Africa, UNU/IIST will co-sponsor the 4th Workshop on Formal and Applied Computer Science (WOFACS 98), offered by IFIP Working Group 2.3 on Programming Methodology. This Conference will be held at the University of Capetown (South Africa) from 6-17 July 1998. Five eminent computer scientists have been invited as course lecturers. UNU/IIST will provide financial support in the form of travel grants for selected participants from South African universities but also from universities in neighbouring countries.

   • In North Africa, UNU/IIST will co-sponsor the Fifth Maghrebian Conference on Software Engineering and Artificial Intelligence (MCSEAI) which will be held from 8-10 December. This is a major biannual international conference in the Maghreb region, focusing on the utilization of software engineering and artificial intelligence techniques. In connection with this conference, UNU/IIST is also organizing a two to three week regional course on Formal Software Development Methods in the Maghreb region. This course will take place at the end of 1998 or beginning of 1999.

   • At the end of 1997, UNU/IIST submitted to the Macau authorities a proposal for a Joint Fellowship Programme for Young Scientists/Researchers from Portuguese-speaking African countries. In addition to providing up to five fellowships per year, this proposal also includes a two-week training course on Formal Methods for Software Development in a Portuguese-speaking country of Africa. It is hoped that this activity can be initiated in April 1998, when a conference for university rectors from Portuguese-speaking countries will take place in Macau.

2. Cooperation with industrialized countries: In its different programmatic activities, UNU/IIST has also established cooperative arrangements with institutions in industrialized countries for the implementation of its activities in developing countries:

   • A joint fellowship Programme with Utrecht University and Danish Technical University whereby fellowships will be provided to young scientists from developing countries to study at these two universities. In the case of Utrecht University fellowships, UNU/IIST will provide initial funding for three fellowships for the first eight months. Utrecht University will provide scholarships of 10-16 months to enable at least two of these fellows to continue their studies through to completion of a Ph.D.

     In the case of the Danish Technical University, it is expected that fellowships, funded by DANIDA, will be provided to allow three fellows from China to study at DTU after an initial one-month training at UNU/IIST.

   • UNU/IIST will be a partner in the Eureka Meeting, being organized by the European Commission in Macau at the end of March 1998. As an outcome of this meeting, it is expected that UNU/IIST will participate in some of the Eureka-funded projects with partners from Europe and Asia.

   • From 25-29 May, UNU/IIST will host a wrap-up meeting for the ProCoS-DeTfoRS KIT project. Participants will include research partners from Europe and from Asia as well as officials of the European Commission. This project was funded by the European Union under the ESPRIT programme.

   • As part of ESSLII-98 Conference to be held in Germany in the summer of 1998, a Workshop focusing solely on Duration Calculus will be organized. UNU/IIST staff and former fellows will be major contributors to this workshop.

   • UNU/IIST has been invited to provide training to staff of the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam as part of EUROTAP, a European Union funded project to provide technical assistance in reforming the national accounting and auditing systems in Vietnam.

   • Institute of Systems and Information Technology (Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan) has invited UNU/IIST to give an advanced Course on RAISE in March 1998. All expenses are covered by ISIT, and they will send a PhD student to be trained in UNU/IIST at their expenses.

3. Cooperation with Macau and China.

   • In the period leading up to the retrocession of Macau to China at the end of 1999, UNU/IIST will participate in an advisory capacity in setting S & T policy for Macau. In this respect, the Director of UNU/IIST has been invited to be a member of the University Senate and of the recently created High Committee on S & T Innovation.

   • A Memorandum of Understanding will probably be signed between UNU/IIST and the State Education Commission of China. This agreement foresees assistance from UNU/IIST to Chinese universities in curriculum development in the fields of computer science and software engineering. Implementation will start in 1998

4. UNU/IIST and Tata Consultancy Services have initiated negotations about the organization of an International Symposium on Software Industry in Developing Countries in 1998. This symposium would be intended for national policy-makers and software industry managers.

5. In conclusion, UNU/IIST is looking forward to moving to its new permanent premises, the Casa Silva Mendes. This building is currently being renovated for UNU/IIST by the Macau authorities. Renovation is expected to be completed by the end of 1998.

Annual Report 1997