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TWAS Research Grants not only provide developing world scientists with needed support. They help to develop the research infrastructure so that these scientists may conduct more research and train more scientists in their home countries. An example of this kind of work that stands out is Nepal.

Since the grant programme’s founding in 1986, the Academy has awarded over 2,800 TWAS Research Grants, which are financially supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). These grants provide researchers with essential financing for specialized equipment, consumable supplies, scientific publications, coverage for publishing fees, funds for conference attendance, and the training of master’s degree students.

By providing this support, these grants lay a foundation for research in countries with scarce resources. Nepal, which is a UN-identified Least Developed Country (LDC), has benefited from the programme in particular. TWAS has awarded 58 of the grants to Nepali scientists since 1991. Since 2012, eight of those grants have gone to researchers at the Research Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology (RIBB).

RIBB has purchased over 20 pieces of scientific equipment through TWAS grants that take up a large portion of the institute's laboratory supplies—examples include an incubator, a refrigerated centrifuge, a plant growth chamber, and a fluorescent microscope. One piece of equipment, a freeze dryer with a vacuum pump acquired by bioorganic chemist Annada Rajbhandary, helped her conduct research on antibacterial hydrogels to control infections.

“The TWAS Research Grant Programme is integral to institutional building in Nepal,” said Prajwal Rajbhandari, the president of RIBB. Rajbhandari said that he helped establish a research campus in Lalitpur, Nepal, in January 2021. The campus now hosts RIBB, as well as other institutions, and the grant programme has helped RIBB in particular grow and solidify its position as a respected research centre.

RIBB has grown enough that it has established a seminar in Europe that is now in its third year about building the research ecosystem in Nepal. The next event will take place 9 December 2024, in Barcelona, Spain, for which TWAS Programmes Coordinator Max Paoli is among the speakers.

Sean Treacy