Hungarian Academy of Sciences to be member of Governing Board of ANSO for two more years

At present, scientific organisations from 37 countries are the members of ANSO. The founding institutions include national academies of sciences – including the Hungarian, the Brazilian, the Polish, the Romanian, the Moroccan and the Russian academies; universities – such as the Universidad de Chile, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, China, and the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology; research institutes – e.g. the National Research Centre, Egypt; R&D Agencies – including the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and National Science and the Technology Development Agency, Thailand (NSTDA); and international scientific organisations like UNESCO or TWAS.

According to ANSO’s constitution, the organisation is managed by the nine-strong Governing Board. Its members include the president and two vice-presidents, and six of the member organisations. The first president of ANSO was the president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), which initiated the founding of the organisation. When laying down the foundations of ANSO’s organisational framework, the president requested the Hungarian Academy of Sciences to become a member of the Governing Board.

The president, vice-presidents and members stay in office for two years and can be reelected for an additional term. The new members of the Governing Board are to be elected by the General Assembly in May or autumn of 2021. As was revealed during the online meeting of the Governing Board in the beginning of November, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences is expected to be reelected for two years. Consequently, MTA may play a decisive role in the final formulation of this young international scientific organisation.

ANSO’s main role is to provide scientific advice in order to achieve sustainable development at the regional and global level; to initiate and organise comprehensive international programmes in research fields of key importance for sustainable development; to organise scientific and technological programmes and initiatives, trainings, education programs on the topic of ensuring human well-being (e.g. clean drinking water, sustainable agriculture, protection of the environment, fight against poverty, public health systems); and to award prizes and honours.

The organisation has already started to prepare for their first programmes. From the topics suggested by the member states, the Chinese partners supported eight programmes, including the project submitted by Balázs Rózsa, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Experimental Medicine (KOKI, MTA Excellence Research Site). Within this project, the leader of the Neural Network and Dendritic Activity Research Group, KOKI was able to continue his research on the 3D two-photon microscopic procedures, which opens up new possibilities in brain research.