Number: 2003-041-1-400
Title: Postgraduate course in polymer
science
Task Group
Chairman: Pavel
Kratochvil
Members: Jiri
Brus, Karel Ulbrich,
Miroslava
Duskova-Smrckova, and Hana
Studenovska
Completion Date: 2006 - project completed
Objective:
To enable young university graduates and PhDs from countries with
limited research facilities to acquire knowledge on recent advances
in polymer science and professional skills needed for promotion
of polymer science in their home countries.
> link
to info on previous courses
Description:
The eighth and ninth runs of the Course were held in the academic
years 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 at the Institute of Macromolecular
Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, in Prague.
The Courses are sponsored, mostly without financial assistance,
by UNESCO. The Institute with its staff of 240 including more than
100 scientists and with experience of 38 years in educating young
scientists from emerging countries offers up-to-date facilities
for postgraduate training in polymer science. The number of participants
in each of the runs held so far varied between 5 and 13, depending
on the funds available. The Course lasts 10 months and comprises
about 50 hours of lectures in modern polymer science, including
introduction into the nomenclature and terminology recommended by
IUPAC, experimental work on research projects under the supervision
of senior scientists of the Institute and participation in all educational
activities within the Institute. Young scientists from the following
countries graduated from the Course: Bangladesh; Bulgaria; India;
Kazakhstan; Poland; Romania; Russia; South Africa; Ukraine; Uzbekistan.
The results of their research are published in international technical
journals. The cumulative results of all the runs of the Course are,
as of May 2005: 72 participants; 87 papers in international journals
published; 91 communications at international meetings. (See list
of communications since September 1996 - www.imc.cas.cz/unesco/papersUI.html)
At the end of each run, a public seminar
is organized at which all participants report on their results.
A certificate of graduation, with UNESCO and IUPAC logos, is issued
to the graduates. Follow-up shows that graduation from the Course
has been very helpful to professional promotion of the graduates
in their home countries. Co-operation with a number of them continues
through joint projects with their home laboratories.