At the end of September 2024, the Indian National Young Academy of Science (INYAS) was celebrating its 10th anniversary at its mid-year meeting.
As part of this three-day INYAS Meeting, the Young Academies from Asia also met. This hybrid networking session was titled “Role of Neighbouring National Young Academies to Build Scientific Temperament among Asian Countries” and brought together representatives from the Global Young Academy (GYA), the International Science Council (ISC), and representatives from the National Young Academies of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and New Zealand.
In his introduction to the session, GYA Co-Chair, and Former INYAS Chair, Chandra Shekhar Sharma (IIT Hyderabad, India) reflected on the early initiatives undertaken by INYAS to unite the region’s Young Academies across Asia and emphasized the significance of enhancing collaboration among the Young Academies in Asia to maximize global impact and further develop the young scientific community worldwide.
This was followed by presentations from the Young Academies present, highlighting their Academy’s achievements and future aspirations for cross-border and cross-cultural scientific cooperation.
The Sri Lanka Academy of Young Scientists (SLAYS) spotlighted its robust international connections and contributions to various organizations like NASSL and NSF.
The Royal Society Te Apārangi Early Career Researcher Forum from New Zealand then elucidated its structure of three-year terms and broad membership across disciplines.
The National Young Academy of Bangladesh (NYAB) informed about their ongoing joint activities with INYAS and SLAYS, including work on a project funded by the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) which focusses on predatory publishing.
Thereafter, the National Young Academy of Nepal (NAYAN) emphasized its role in proliferating interdisciplinary dialogue exchange, while the National Academy of Young Scientists Pakistan outlined its outreach programmes.
GYA member Veda Krishnan (IARI, India) presented on the GYA’s international role as an independent academy connecting 200 members and over 450 alumni worldwide. The academy also works with the world’s national young academies, and supports the creation of new young academies in a number of countries.
The ISC’s presentation informed about 17 young academies having joined the ISC as affiliate members since membership was opened to them in 2023. The ISC General Assembly in Muscat, Oman, in January 2025 would also see these young academies attending the meeting.
In the following discussion, the participants explored strategies to strengthen the network among Asian Young Academies and identified shared aspirations to foster collaboration among the young research community. Drawing successful comparisons to other networks, such as the European Young Academies (EYNA), the panellists discussed and deliberated upon the lessons learned. The importance of building connections among Young Academies, facilitated by the GYA or the ISC, was emphasised.
Given the diverse nature of the Young Academies, starting to build collaborative relationships might be more successful through bilateral or programme-based collaborations at first. Nevertheless, consistency and patience in establishing such networks was key, as the examples of ENYA and YASAS (the Young Academies Science Advice Structure, a network of Young Academies in Europe to bring science into European Commission decision-making) from Europe show.
The challenge of limited funding for international collaborative meetings and programmes was also discussed; it was suggested that online meetings could provide a solution.
In his conclusion, Nishant Chakravorty, INYAS Chair, encouraged the Asian Young Academies to start collaborating and initiating joint activities such as capacity-building workshops or research collaborations, and also to continue meeting online and looking into the feasibility of an in-person meeting.
Overall, the need for an Asian National Young Academy network as a platform for interaction and to address regional challenges collectively became clear.