Scientific societies play a significant role in the advancement of teaching, learning and research in various disciplines. The Academy has undertaken the initiative to catalyze and support the formation of national disciplinary and multidisciplinary scientific societies and clusters in Palestine. This is done in close coordination with all Palestinian universities and expatriate scientists.
Within the first phase of this initiative, supported by Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Palestinian scientific societies in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and Agricultural Sciences were formed. Societies in other sectors are in the pipeline.
The Founding Council for each society consists of representatives from each of the relevant academic departments from all Palestinian universities in Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza. In addition, each council will include a number of expatriate scientists in the given discipline.
The Academy will provide the nascent societies with management, organizational, legal, and technical support, in addition to pump priming seed funding to help them take off. Each council will convene a general assembly, consisting of university faculty in the given discipline. The assembly will endorse the society’s annual plans and reports, and will elect the society’s committees and officers.
Objectives
Scientific societies aim to
- Strengthen the research capacity of scholars in the related field.
- Stimulate collaborative research between scholars across universities and facilitate sharing of research facilities, resources and databases
- Engage expatriate scholars effectively in the advancement of teaching and research in the given discipline.
- Expand international scientific collaborations with peer societies around the world
- Contribute to the advancement of public and university education in the given discipline.
- Contribute to the valorization of science and to raising public awareness and interest especially amongst youth.
Founding Councils
Each Scientific Society Founding Council comprises of representatives from each university in Jerusalem, Gaza and West Bank, in addition to Palestinian expatriate scholars from different regions around the world. The Founding Councils will formulate plans and undertake various scientific and organizational activities, and provide the conditions and requirements for the establishment of fully-fledged societies within a two year period.
Meet the Societies and their Founding Councils:
- Mathematical Society
- Physics Society
- Chemical Society
- Biological Society
- Plant Production and Protection Society
- Communications and Informatics Society
Become a member of a scientific society: Join the Palestinian Scientists and Experts Database