Atish Dabholkar (left), ICTP Director, and Alexander Rudloff (right), IUGG Secretary General, signing the MoU between ICTP and IUGG (Photo credit: ICTP)

IUGG and the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) have been cooperating in geoscience education since 2011. On 21 May 2024, ICTP Director Atish Dabholkar and IUGG Secretary General Alexander Rudloff signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote educational programs related to geodesy and geophysics for 2024-2027. The agreement encourages collaboration in the organisation of advanced schools/workshops in geodesy and geophysics at ICTP in Trieste, Italy, at ICTP-EAIFR in Kigali, Rwanda, and other low- and middle-income countries.

Founded in 1964 by the late Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam and co-sponsored by UNESCO, IAEA, and the Italian government, the ICTP seeks to accomplish its mandate by providing scientists from developing countries with the continuing education and skills that they need to enjoy long and productive careers. ICTP has been a major force in stemming the scientific brain drain from the Global South. The impact of ICTP extends well beyond the Centre’s facilities to virtually every corner of the Earth. The Earth System Physics (ESP) Section of ICTP studies a wide spectrum of the Earth-system, from its fluid components (oceans and the atmosphere) to the planet’s interior. In 2011, IUGG and ICTP agreed to enhance geophysical and geodetic education and science collaboration and signed the first MoU to promote educational programs related to geodesy and geophysics for 2012-2015. In 2015, 2019, and 2024 further MoU were signed to extend the cooperation between IUGG and ICTP. More information about the IUGG sponsored activities can be found here.