18 September 2013
The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) announces that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam will become its newest member country on 1 November 2013. Vietnam’s leading scientific and technological agency, the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), will serve as Vietnam’s National Member Organization (NMO), joining a group of twenty other national science organizations that fund IIASA and help guide the Institute’s research priorities.
In a statement about its new membership, VAST announced: “Vietnam is a developing country, which has been facing global issues such as climate change, energy, food, water, poverty and equality. Joining IIASA, Vietnam expects to promote research cooperation between IIASA community and Vietnam to find effective solutions to overcome the negative impacts of the above-mentioned issues. Membership of IIASA by Vietnam will provide young researchers of Vietnam opportunities to access the specialized knowledge, global database and the new research methods in order to improve their research capacity and enhance their international cooperation.”
“Vietnam has one of the fastest growing economies in the world and adds a valuable geo-political perspective to IIASA,” said IIASA Director and CEO Prof. Pavel Kabat as he welcomed this further expansion in membership of the Institute. “IIASA membership not only facilitates research collaboration on a global scale between Vietnam and all of IIASA’s member countries from Germany to South Africa, it also facilitates regional scientific cooperation with the members that border the Pacific from Australia to China to Indonesia to Malaysia to Japan to the United States.”
Austrian Minister of Science and Research Prof. Karlheinz Töchterle highly welcomes IIASA’s growth “IIASA’s strength lies in its international orientation, because global issues like climate change and other grand challenges need to be dealt with on an international level. IIASA and its members provide us with a common perspective and important research results on this matter.”
Vietnamese young scientists will also benefit from access to IIASA’s training opportunities, including the Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) and the Postdoctoral Program. As part of the YSSP every summer, over 50 young scientists from more than twenty countries develop their international and interdisciplinary research skills under the supervision of IIASA scientists. The application period for the next YSSP begins on 1 October 2013.
Vietnam’s membership continues IIASA’s growth in Asia with eight countries on the continent represented. While IIASA was founded as an institute linking scientists in Eastern and Western Europe and the USA during the Cold War, it has grown into a uniquely international institute with a global perspective.
About IIASA
IIASA is an international scientific institute that conducts research into the critical issues of global environmental, economic, technological, and social change that we face in the twenty-first century. Our findings provide valuable options to policy makers to shape the future of our changing world. IIASA is independent and funded by scientific institutions in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. previous.iiasa.ac.at
IIASA’s twenty-one National Member Organizations represent the scholarly community in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, Egypt, Finland, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Russian Federation, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine, USA, and Vietnam.
About VAST
VAST is the leading scientific and technological agency in Vietnam with 30 national scientific institutes. It conducts research in the natural sciences and develops technologies to support activities of the State as well as building strategies and policies for socio-economic development, and training high-quality scientific and technological human resources for the country. www.vast.ac.vn/en
National Member Organizations
IIASA is funded and governed by prestigious scientific organizations around the world.
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria
Phone: (+43 2236) 807 0 Fax:(+43 2236) 71 313