Conference Themes

Major Theme

Science, Technology, and Innovation Reform in the Global South

Across the Global South, nations are increasingly recognizing that sustainable development, economic resilience, social progress, and national competitiveness depend on deliberate investment in science, innovation, and technology (SIT). Countries are rethinking institutional, policy, and educational frameworks to strengthen their capacity to generate, adopt, and apply knowledge for development. At the same time, they face shared challenges, including limited research funding, fragmented policy and institutions, brain drain and talent migration, weak innovation ecosystems, and persistent infrastructural and technological gaps.
This transformation is being shaped not only by government-led reforms, but also by rapid technological change, growing public expectations for more responsive and accountable institutions, and a new generation seeking greater opportunities to participate in knowledge creation and innovation. Across the Global South, these pressures are prompting renewed discussions about how science and technology institutions should be structured, how research systems can better serve society, and how countries can retain and empower their scientific and technical talent.


Recent institutional and policy developments across the region reflect this broader process of change, with governments restructuring institutions, developing new innovation and technology policies, strengthening research and higher education systems, and seeking to place science and technology more firmly at the center of national development. Nepal’s recent formation of a dedicated Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation is part of this wider moment of institutional and policy transformation.
This conference brings together policymakers, researchers, educators, innovators, and practitioners from across the Global South to examine what meaningful SIT reform looks like in practice. It will explore how institutional change, homegrown innovation, emerging technologies, education, and research can contribute to more responsive and resilient knowledge systems, advance inclusive and sustainable development, and strengthen the contribution and position of the Global South within the global scientific and technological landscape.

Conference themes


The conference covers a wide range of interdisciplinary themes, including:

  • Agriculture and Agroecology

  • Biodiversity and Ecosystem Conservation

  • Climate Change and Environmental Dynamics

  • Disaster Risk Reduction, Resilience, and Adaptation

  • Drought and Food Security

  • Environmental Pollution and Emerging Contaminants

  • Food Quality and Safety

  • Forest and Natural Resource Management

  • Glaciology and; Cryosphere Dynamics

  • Hydropower and Renewable Energy

  • Natural Products

  • Science-Policy Dialogue

  • Soil, Water, and Atmospheric Research

  • Sustainable Livelihoods and Green Economy