SOIC Professor Börner Co-Organizes Conference on International Collaboration

This week, School of Informatics and Computing Professor Katy Börner will participate in a workshop held in Washington, DC, entitled “Linking International Databases to Build Strategic Academic Partnerships in Science.” The workshop, organized by Börner and Elizabeth (Libby) Lyons, a senior adviser at the Department of State, will discuss strategies for developing a platform to help universities find key international partners in science, technology, and innovation. This nongovernmental platform, currently called PEGASCIS (the Platform for Enhancing Global Academic Strategic Collaboration in Science), would make information on U.S. academic institutions easily available to foreign institutions seeking to collaborate. A key goal of the project is to ensure that PEGASCIS is compatible with and adoptable by many nations, including developing countries, thus enabling U.S. institutions to find appropriate foreign partners.

The partnership of Börner and the U.S. State Department is instrumental in providing PEGASCIS with a strong international component to many ongoing data efforts. This would include expanding institutional profiles beyond research to include data on international engagement, cultural and language collaborations, joint teaching research and centers, as well as student, faculty, and alumni international associations. Aside from providing strategic matchmaking power, PEGASCIS would enhance the understanding of global trends in international STI and provide contextual material on best practices in international partnerships, country profiles, and STI foresight.

Taking place on May 14th and 15th, the workshop will be attended by representatives from major government agencies such as NSF, NIH, and AAAS, and from publishing companies such as Thomson Reuters and Elsevier. Also participating will be experts from Harvard University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Duke University, and elsewhere.