SESRIC participated in the “Innovate Together: International Science and Innovation Forum”, held on 28 October 2026 in Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan, as part of the International Week of Innovative Ideas, InnoWeek.Uz 2026. The Forum brought together representatives of higher education and research institutions, public authorities, scientists, researchers and international experts to exchange experiences and explore opportunities for international scientific cooperation and joint research.

The Forum aimed to strengthen cooperation between researchers and institutions, facilitate knowledge and experience exchange, and support the development of prospective research initiatives. Its programme addressed international scientific cooperation, research projects and grant programmes, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, commercialisation of innovative technologies, and stronger links among science, education and industry.

During the session entitled “Global Science: International Scientists & Research”, Dr. Atilla KARAMAN, Director of Training and Capacity Building at SESRIC, delivered a presentation titled “From Scientific Cooperation to Institutional Capability: Turning Partnerships into Sustainable Research Results in OIC Countries”. The presentation examined how international partnerships, knowledge exchange and capacity-development activities can contribute to stronger researchers, more capable institutions, competitive joint projects, retained knowledge and sustained research collaboration.

The presentation introduced a seven-stage Cooperation-to-Capability Model, beginning with the establishment of an international connection and the joint identification of a capability gap. The model then moves through the co-design of the cooperative activity, production of a concrete joint output, institutional adoption, continuity of collaboration, and achievement of measurable scientific or developmental results. It identified mutuality, institutionalisation and post-activity follow-up as important conditions for moving from individual exchanges to lasting institutional capability.

Drawing on selected experiences from OIC countries, the presentation illustrated different pathways through which cooperation can strengthen institutional capacity. The examples covered an integrated platform connecting research and biomanufacturing in Senegal, competitive research-funding mechanisms in Egypt, and the development of specialised allergology diagnostics and monitoring capability within a national institutional setting in Uzbekistan. The presentation stressed that cooperation models must be adapted to the different financial, infrastructural and institutional circumstances of participating countries.

A dedicated part of the presentation addressed opportunities available to researchers through international mobility and fellowship programmes, joint research projects and grants, thematic research networks, and shared scientific infrastructure. Researchers were encouraged to begin with a clearly defined shared problem, identify partners with complementary expertise, agree on a concrete initial output, and use that output as the foundation for a subsequent proposal or collaborative project.

The presentation also outlined the contribution that SESRIC makes through comparative evidence, institutional matching, and outcome learning. Reference was made to the Centre’s statistical and socioeconomic research capabilities, its needs-and-capacities matching approach, and its experience in facilitating South-South cooperation among the national institutions in OIC countries. The presentation underlined that these assets could help identify gaps in capacities, connect institutions with complementary experience, and document whether cooperation generates institutional adoption, follow-on proposals, and sustained relationships.

Three areas for future action were also proposed in the presentation. Governments and research authorities were encouraged to incorporate capability-development and sustainability plans into publicly supported scientific partnerships. Universities and research institutions were invited to establish or reinforce coordinated support functions for international projects. Intergovernmental and regional organisations were encouraged to develop practical approaches for assessing whether cooperation programmes generate lasting institutional capabilities and follow-on collaborative results.

The presentation concluded that international cooperation should ultimately be assessed by what participating institutions are able to do afterwards: apply new knowledge, develop joint projects and sustain collaboration beyond the initial activity.

For more information on the Forum and InnoWeek 2026, please visit: https://innoweek.uz/en/news/250

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