New U.N.-Sponsored Initiative Offers African Scientists Training in U.S.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — To strengthen the foundations of science and business development in Africa, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and U.S.-based RTI International have established a program to help promising research reach the commercial market place.

The new initiative, African Science to Business Challenge, will solicit proposals in the biomedical engineering and water quality fields from researchers who are interested in receiving additional training in the United States to commercialize their proposals. The deadline for submitting entries is May 31, 2009.

"The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa is proud to partner with RTI International on this important effort," said Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of UNECA and U.N. Under Secretary General. "This unique collaboration is based on the premise that the African Science to Business Challenge can turn scientific knowledge into viable economic activities and enterprises."

The challenge is designed to balance the need for scientific research that addresses immediate social and economic needs while building Africa's capacities in science and technology.

"We are pleased to support this professional development opportunity for promising researchers seeking to commercialize their discoveries," said Victoria Haynes, Ph.D., President and CEO of RTI International. "Creating the link between science and the commercial marketplace is a key component of our mission to improve the human condition by turning knowledge into practice."

This initiative comes as a result of the Science with Africa conference held in March 2008 in Addis Ababa, which placed emphasis on business development in the scientific fields. Consequently, a major aim of the initiative is to support the African development process based on the notion that science is a key strategy to business and enterprise development, which creates employment and wealth.

Specific aims include

• Providing African scientists and researchers with an understanding of commercialization know-how as well as its technical aspects, such as financial management, intellectual property, project management and market research
• Building strong, ongoing connections between researchers and research institutions with industry and investors who can help to bring ideas, inventions and innovations to market or otherwise into economically productive use
• Bringing research and outputs to the market, or into productive use, in a timely and effective manner to yield tangible benefits from that research and ensure that it contributes to the economy and the broader community

The 2009 inaugural Challenge focuses on two categories: biomedical engineering, which integrates physical, chemical, mathematical, and computational sciences and engineering principles for the study of biology, medicine, behavior and health; and water quality, which is central to the human rights and personal dignity of every person.

A panel of judges composed of prominent African and U.S. scientists will review the proposals and select the winner based on the significance of the research and the potential for the proposed technology's marketability and commercialization.

The winner of the African Science to Business Challenge will be sponsored by RTI to travel to its headquarters in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and receive training in methods of commercializing the research.

For more information, contact Aida Opoku-Mensah, Director, ICT and Science & Technology Division, UNECA, at aopoku-mensah@uneca.org, or visit the African Science to Business Challenge Web site.