Global Innovation through Science and Technology

Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) is an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of State and implemented by CRDF Global. This initiative works to spur economic advancement through science and technology-based innovation in countries across the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia.
About
GIST is one of the primary outreach initiatives proposed by U.S. President Barack Obama in 2009. It engages experts and stakeholders throughout the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia region to build and sustain S&T excellence, helps young scientists and promotes economic development.
The initiative began with three international meetings in Egypt, Malaysia, and Morocco to determine the direction of capacity building programs to be created through the initiative. At the final meeting in Rabat, Morocco, GIST announced a multinational technology innovation competition called GISTech-i.
The Consultative and Leadership Sessions
The initiative began in December 2010 with a launch event held in Alexandria, Egypt, and achieved the following:
*Achieved consensus on the areas of critical need for STI development
*Generated ideas and recommendations for partnerships and alliances between universities, corporations, NGOs and participating foundations.
*Initiated the consultative process between various stakeholders to address challenges in agriculture, IT, health, and energy via Leadership Circles.
*Identified new mechanisms for financing and implementing capacity-building partnerships and support mechanisms for competitively identified technologies.
Stemming from the meeting in Alexandria, the February 2011 meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia addressed the following:
*discussion on brightening the innovation environment to catalyze technology transfer for commercialization and promote technology entrepreneurship.
*Produced a set of concrete ideas from which GIST will build a structure, including a funding competition, to support a variety of effective and implementable innovation programs.
*Identified the development of creative networks, including usage of digital platforms, between and across innovation partners in the regions to bridge all critical areas: funding; generating; and commercializing of innovation.
The concluding meeting in Rabat, Morocco in June 2011 featured:
*Discussions on sustaining entrepreneurship
*Government policy for fostering innovation
*Announcement of the GISTech-i technology innovation competition
GISTech-i Competition
CRDF Global invites all interested innovators, scientists and entrepreneurs from eligible countries (Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Chad, Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Guinea, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen) to participate in this first-ever multinational technology idea competition. The GIST Technology Idea Competition (GISTech-I) was announced at the GIST Economic Development through Science and Technology Innovation Conference in Rabat, Morocco, June 16-17, 2011.
GISTech-I is open to individual applicants or teams of individuals who have innovative ideas that have potential to become technology solutions to critical problems in sectors such as information and communication technologies (ICTs), energy, health, agriculture or other related areas. The competition will be conducted in two phases:
Phase I. July 1 to October 31, 2011: Eligible applicants submit their technology idea in an approved video format, with a maximum running time of two minutes and a maximum file size of 150MB to www.gistinitiative.org. The video can be submitted either in English or in another language with English subtitles.
From the initial applicants, a total of 25 semi-finalists will be selected based on online peer voting on YouTube by the end of November, 2011.
Phase II. By December 1, 2011 a total of 25 semi-finalists will be notified and asked to submit a written executive summary of their technology idea within two weeks. They will then be invited to participate in a two-day GIST entrepreneurship workshop/business pitch competition/award ceremony event on December 19-20, 2011 in Amman, Jordan, where they will receive one-on-one mentorship from innovation experts on the first day. On day two, they will present their ideas in greater detail in an oral presentation before a panel of three judges. Competition award winners will be selected among the 25 semi-finalists, based on the best combined scores from their oral presentation and previously submitted executive summary. Special consideration will be given to female individuals or female-led teams.
To apply go to http://gist.crdfglobal.org/gist-programs/regional-competitions
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