Ousman Bajinka, PACTs fellow from Gambia

Scientific skills and personal engagement alone are not enough to develop a career in science, especially in developing countries. Assets to build high-quality education and achieve meaningful results include learning from experienced researchers to guide scientific growth and creating a collaborative network for long-term support and cooperation.
These and other resources are embedded in a far-reaching collaboration programme endorsed by the UN Technology Bank for the Least Developed Countries, The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB).
The programme agreement called PACTs (ProgrAmme of CollaboraTions with LDCs) offers early-career scientists from the 46 Least Developed Countries (LDCs), who are aged 45 or under, exchange visits of up to 6-months at the ICGEB laboratories in Trieste (Italy), New Delhi (India) and Cape Town (South Africa).
On 1 March 2023, PACTs fellows Ousman Bajinka, Lykeang Muk, Gaelle Ndayizeye and Edrees Rahmatzada, and ICGEB Group Leader Vittorio Venturi, visited TWAS and shared about their experience.