mercredi 19 août 2015

e-AGE 2015, Call for Participation, Papers, Presentations and Posters, 7-8 December 2015, Casablanca, Morocco

Photo Credit: e-AGE website

Call for Participation, Papers, Presentations and Posters 

It is our sincere pleasure to invite you to e-AGE 2015 December 7-8, 2015, Casablanca, Morocco.
Integrating Arab e-infrastructure in a Global Environment, e-AGE, is the annual international conference organized by the Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN), moving from one Arab country to another. e-AGE is in line with ASREN’s major objectives related to creating awareness, promoting R&E collaboration and joint activities and establishing human networks in order to facilitate collaboration and cooperation among researchers and academicians in the Arab region and the rest of the world. e-AGE platform had established itself as an important venue for networking among experts and scientists from all over the world.

Topics of interest
- Research collaboration in energy, environment, health, climate, water, agriculture, biology, economy, medicine and other pressing global issues and problems.
- Perspectives on NRENs, including challenges, operation, sustainability, funding, governance, business models, security and services.
- Access to research & education resources, repositories, libraries and contents, clouds, grids and HPCs.
- Connectivity options including technologies, services, cables, circuits and equipment.
- Internet developments and impact on R&E networks.
- e-Services like e-Science, e-Government, e-Libraries, e-Learning, e-*…
- Virtual Research Environments, Science Gateways, Federation of Identities, eduroam, eduGAIN

Purpose of this Call
1. Call for Papers
Researchers and educators are invited to submit papers to be presented in this conference in special sessions for research papers. Paper contributions are accepted in English. Papers should be submitted with no more than 8 to 10 pages, and no more than 8000 words. Each paper should include (1) Abstract with no more than 500 words and 7 keywords that refer to the key subjects and concepts that have been developed in the paper (2) Author(s) biography: First name, Last name, Institution, Full address, Fax, Email, and short CV.
Papers should be submitted in MS-Word. After submission, all contributions will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee to evaluate the pertinence of each submitted paper. 

2. Call for Presentations
Renowned speakers and experts are invited to give presentations and participate in panel discussions on latest developments of e-Infrastructures and applications, different aspects of R&E networks, Telecommunication technologies, Industry and Research, Internet, R&E funding and topics of interest above.

3. Call for Participation
Representation from academia, research, industry, telecom and networking organizations, NRENs, governments and all people interested in the developments of R&E networks and e-Infrastructures are invited to join the conference and to share experience and exchange knowledge in relevant aspects.

4. Call for Posters
Students and researchers are invited to participate in the conference by providing them with a space to show a high quality poster that summarizes their work. Posters will help students and researchers to advertise and promote their work. For those who are interested, please send a summary in MS-Word format including title of the poster, name and affiliation of author(s) and a short abstract of maximum one page.
Submit your Participation HERE
Events and Activities
- e-AGE 2015 Annual Conference
- The 8th Event on Euro-Mediterranean e-Infrastructure
- The 5th annual meeting of ASREN
- AROQA 7th Annual Conference
- EUMEDCONNECT3 and AfricaConnect2 Project Meetings
- Technical Workshops on R&E networking on Clouds, Science Gateways and more (TBA)

Important dates
· Submission deadline: 15 October 2015
· Acceptance Notification: 1 November 2015
· Registration Deadline: 30 November 2015
· Final PDF Posters, Word Papers and Presentation Slides: 1 December 2015
· e-AGE 2015 Conference: 7-8 December 2015


For more information, please visit the conference website: http://asrenorg.net/eage2015/

mercredi 20 mai 2015

4th International Geoscience & Geomatics Conference 23rd - 25th November 2015, Manama, Bahrain

In Collaboration with the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain, the Arab Remote Sensing and GIS Organisation (ARGISO) is pleased to announce the 4th International Geoscience and Geomatics Conference.

 An internationally renowned Keynote speakers in the field of Remote Sensing will be holding discussion on several topics , namely, Professor Alfredo Huete (University of Technology, Sydney), Professor Mazlan Hashim (University of Technology Malaysia).
The Conference provides a platform for professionals, researchers and student from all over the world to exchange new findings and advances in this field.


It aims to cover all aspects on scientific and technical advances in the field of Geoscience and Geomatics ranging from the integration of instruments, methodologies and technologies to their use in environmental sciences, engineering and other natural sciences. in addition, the 2nd International ASD Users meeting will be held alongside the conference.



The Board of Scientific Committee of the 4th International Geoscience and Geomatics Conference:
Head of Scientific Committee
Professor Abderrazak Bannari, Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain

Members of Scientific Committee:
Professor Mazlan Hashim, Institut of Geospatial Science and Technology, Malaysia
Dr Riadh Abdelfattah, Ecole Superieur des Communicatiopns de Tunis, Tunis
Dr Hassan Rhinane, University Hassan-II, Morocco
Dr Sabah Al-Jenaid, Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain
Dr Abdelgadir Abulgasim, United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates
Dr Jan Friesen, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, Germany
Dr Mohammad alsahli, Kuwait University, Kuwait
Dr Abderrahman El-Fouladi, Geo- Planete Solutions Inc., Canada
Dr Wisam Mohammed, University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Dr Yassine Charabi, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Dr Nadeem Hashem, Environmental Studies Center, Qatar
Dr. Mohamed AlFarhan, Head of Remote Sensing Center, KACST, Saudi Arabia


Tracks:


Researchers can submit their papers on the following topics:
• Remote Sensing Applications In Agriculture
• Remote Sensing Applications In Soil sciences
• Remote Sensing Applications In Geology
• Remote Sensing Applications In Geography
• Remote Sensing Applications In Hydrology
• Image processing
• Remote Sensing Applications In Environmental
• Remote Sensing Applications In Hazard and Natural Disaster Monitoring
• Remote Sensing Applications In Land use and land cover
• Remote Sensing and GIS
• Remote Sensing and Climate Change

Important Dates:
Deadline Submission of Abstracts :May 30, 2015
Notification of acceptance: June 15, 2015
Full papers submission: September 15, 2015
Geoscience and Geomatics  Conference: November 23rd-25th, 2015

For more information please go to the following site: http://arabgeomatics.com/



mercredi 4 mars 2015

2015 Global Development Conference Essay Competition for Young Students from the MENA region



As part of its 16th Annual Global Development Conference, GDN organizes an essay competition with the support of Economic Research Forum (ERF). This competition is dedicated to young students from the MENA region who are between 21 and 29 years old.

It aims at selecting 20 students who will be invited to attend the Conference from 11 to 13 June in Morocco.

Participants have to write an essay of 2000- 2500 words on the following subject: Rural Development Strategies in the MENA Region. Submissions will be judged for both their analytical rigor and their quality of exposition and written expression.

Eligibility
Age: students who are between 21 and 29 years old (on 10 June 2015) are eligible to apply.
Countries: participants must be registered in a university from one of the countries mentioned in the following list: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey,United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Past grantees and individuals that have been awarded a prize by GDN (including the finalists of the 2014 essay competition invited in Accra) are not eligible to apply.
Only individual submissions will be considered.

Benefits:
Travel and accommodation costs will be bear by the organizers.
The selected students will have the opportunity
(i) to attend the Conference and interact with seasoned researchers, civil society representative and policy makers,
(ii) to interact with each other and make new contacts,
(iii) and to attend a specific workshop tailored for them (the day before the Conference) so that they present their ideas to a high level panel.

Application Deadline: 10 April, 2015 http://goo.gl/adLsId

dimanche 15 février 2015

Coup de gueule: "Université : Touche pas à mon stage pratique !"

Il y a quelques jours, un article paru sur le journal El Watan soumis par une collègue en Algérie a fait le buzz. L'article en question dénonce la suppression des stages de terrain au niveau du master par une université dans le pays. 
Cette action de l'université a provoqué la colère et la confusion parmi les étudiants pour qui, les stages de terrain sont une étape indispensable de leur formation, d'autant plus qu'ils sont à un stade de spécialisation.

Il est clair que le cas en Algérie ne diffère pas beaucoup du cas de la géologie dans d'autres pays, notamment le Maroc. Les étudiants en Sciences de la Terre sont LA minorité dans les facultés de science et donc sont les premiers à être affectés par les remaniements budgétaires. Beaucoup de responsables universitaires sous-estiment les Sciences de la Terre, il y en a même certains qui vont jusqu'à la considèrer comme une discipline intruse dans les Sciences exactes et doutent de sa valeur à côté des autres sciences (au profit de la "géologie de l'ingénieur", où la géologie, en fait, n'a qu'une petite place) - ce qui est assez troublant et  dangeureux car provoque une marginalisation encore plus profonde de la communauté géoscientifique dans le pays. 

Il y a donc énormément d'efforts à fournir afin de promouvoir cette discipline et lui rendre sa vraie valeur dans le cursus universitaire. Cela est biensur "recommandable" si on veut pouvoir faire face aux challenges des forces naturelles qui régissent la planète hôte de l'espèce humaine!
La géologie est la science qui nous rapproche le plus de la Terre, à travers elle on comprend et on assimile les composantes biologiques, physiques, chimiques et mathématiques qui font qu'on y vit en équilibre (ou pas). Cette science grâce à laquelle on arrive à vivre décemment (eau, pétrole, minéraux... en d'autres termes vie, transport, haute technologie et j'en passe...), nous rapproche d'une gestion moins bête et excessive des ressources naturelles, nous aide à comprendre comment la planète fonctionne et comment appréhender ses "changements d'humeur" (séismes, tsunamis, éruptions volcaniques, glissements de terrain, etc.)  et puis nous projète vers une vision à échelles temporelle et spaciale multiples et bien plus étendues. Bref, la géologie est à mon avis la science des sages, des sages qui n'ont malheureusement pas leur voie dans les organismes de décision! La preuve, on peut la constater à travers les dégâts des dernières inondations (des routes construites sur des lits de rivières, des ponts effondrés après quelques mois de leur inauguration; la liste est longue et les dégâts humains innombrables et totalement évitables.).

Il faut que les responsables universitaires et gouvernementaux sachent qu'éliminer les stages de terrain pour les étudiants en géologie est éliminer une partie indispensable de leur apprentissage et leur formation, et par conséquent, les empêcher de devenir des géologues capables de donner et produire dans leur propre discipline. On peut donc imaginer les conséquences économiques et sociales d'une telle action.
Octroyer des diplômes de master sans stages de terrain est sans doute une condamnation du système académique et du futur des jeunes géologues aspirant à une carrière un minimum décente dans leur domaine de prédilection.


Je vous laisse avec l'article de la collègue Hanane Semane.

Women in Geoscience Survey