TRIESTE, Italy – The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), a leading voice for science in developing countries, today unveiled a new website design that puts a sharp focus on the fellowships, research grants and other opportunities that it offers to researchers.
The site, www.twas.org, offers an array of upgrades and new features for visitors: A clear picture of the Academy's education, research and policy programmes. Easy, intuitive navigation. Interactive tools to illustrate TWAS's elite international network of elected Fellows and partner organizations. Formatting for tablets. And a bright, forward-looking design that expresses its commitment to innovation.
"TWAS is beginning its fourth decade, and we wanted TWAS.org to reflect our mission and our vision for the future," said TWAS Executive Director Romain Murenzi. "Just as important, when visitors come to the site to learn about a PhD fellowship or our work in science policy, we want to be sure that the site is both interesting and easy to use. Our new design achieves all of those objectives."
TWAS is a global science academy based in Trieste, Italy, working to advance science, engineering and innovation for sustainable prosperity in the developing world. It has more than 1,100 elected Fellows from 90 countries – 15 of them are Nobel laureates – plus hundreds of current and former Young Affiliates and thousands of scientists who have participated in TWAS educational and research programmes. Many are at the top of their research fields or working at the highest levels of government and education.
The website's new look represents the first phase of a two-phase redesign. By mid-2014, plans call for a low-bandwidth website version for smart phones; new digital forms for meeting registration and programme applications; password-protected access allowing TWAS Fellows and Young Affiliates to update biographical data; and a "wizard" tool to help scientists easily sort through TWAS programmes to find opportunities that match their interests.
The TWAS website project is directed by Interfase s.r.l. [http://www.interfase.it], a design and communications strategy firm based in Trieste.
"TWAS is a world-wide organization dealing with thousands of stakeholders, from huge government and non-government agencies to individual scientists and students," said Interfase CEO Maurizio Terpin. "Providing the right person with the right information is a true challenge.
"The new TWAS web resource addresses a variety of different needs, and gives users clear paths to the information they want. This is the first step towards the digitalization of the TWAS communication system, aiming to provide its users with simpler, faster and more effective services."
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About TWAS
TWAS is a global science academy based in Trieste, Italy, working to advance science, engineering and innovation for sustainable prosperity in the developing world. It was founded in 1983 by a distinguished group of scientists from the South, under the leadership of Abdus Salam, the Pakistani physicist and Nobel laureate. They shared a belief that developing nations, by building strength in science and engineering, could more effectively address such challenges as hunger, disease and poverty. From the start, the Academy had essential support from Italian scientists and political leaders.
Today, TWAS has more than 1,100 elected Fellows from 90 countries; 15 of them are Nobel laureates. It is located on the campus of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics. It is a programme unit within the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It receives economic and programme support from a partners across the world, including the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
TWAS and its partners offer nearly 500 fellowships each year to scientists in the developing world who want to pursue PhDs and postdoctoral research. TWAS prizes and awards are among the most prestigious given for scientific work in the developing world. The Academy distributes more than USD1 million per year in research grants to individual scientists and research groups. It supports visiting scientists and provides funding for regional and international science meetings. It has programmes in science diplomacy and other fields, and issues a range of publications on science in the developing world.
For more information:
Edward Lempinen
Office: +39 040 2240-512
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[For queries in Italian or English]
Cristina Serra
Phone: +39 040 2240-429
Mobile: +39 338 430-5210
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