1, Robynn Rockstad-Rex1 and Monica di Luca2.

Kathy-Ann Koralek
(1) IBRO; (2) Department of Pharmacology, University of Milan, Italy
During the past decade, IBRO has devoted a considerable effort to develop Neuroscience Schools throughout the world, organized by Regional Committees, either independently or as a joint venture with supranational Federations. These very successful Schools have brought into place a network of teaching staff and Alumni in different world Regions. The time is now ripe, in our increasingly globalized neuroscience community, for the development of an Inter-Regional Activities Program with the specific goal of promoting the creation of personal and scientific ties between the new generations of scientists from countries with financial asymmetries.

IBRO Inter-Regional Activities Initiative

Examples of Schools that have involved two or more Regional Committees:

IBRO advanced Neuroscience School held in Runion First UAE-IBRO Neuroscience School in the Middle East, January 2007, Island in November 2010, involving Asia-Pacific, involving the Africa and Asia-Pacific Regional Committees Western Europe, and Africa Regional Committees

Second UAE-IBRO Neuroscience School in the Middle East, January 2011, involving the Africa and Asia-Pacific Regional Committees.

Inter-Regional Activities
The idea of an Inter-Regional Activities Initiative stems from the agreement signed by IBRO with the Kemali Foundation, aimed at fostering scientific ties between prospective neuroscientists from African, European and Asian Mediterranean countries. It rapidly became concrete with the creation of the Kemali-IBRO Mediterranean School of Neuroscience, held every two years since 2009. In the Governing Council meeting of IBRO (2010), the President presented for approval, the proposal of an Inter-Regional Initiative Program, coordinated by IBROs Secretary General.

Dargut Kemali and Carlos Belmonte, presidents of the Dargut and Milena Foundation for Neuroscience and of IBRO, respectively, signing the agreement in front of Sabatino Santangelo, notary of the city of Naples, on 16 April 2008.

First Kemali-IBRO Mediterranean School of Neuroscience, Naples, group photo taken on 21 September 2009 at the opening of the School.

Some students of the first Kemali-IBRO Mediterranean School of Neuroscience.

Second Kemali-IBRO Mediterranean School of Neuroscience, Naples, group photo taken on 6 July 2011 at the opening of the School.

Fernando Calahorro, alumnus of the first Kemali-IBRO School, with Kathy-Ann Koralek, IBRO Inter-regional Activities Program Administrator, during the second Kemali-IBRO School, to which he was invited as instructor, on 9 July 2011.

Some faculty members of the second Kemali-IBRO School: Abdul Mohammed, Lindy Holden-Dye, Martin Giurfa, Jochen Pflger, Ron Davis.

The IBRO Inter-Regional Activities Initiative distinguishes itself from the regular Schools in its principal objective: to promote personal knowledge, scientific ties and collaboration in the future, among prospective scientific leaders of the high income and the less favored countries of the world. This is being achieved via:

1-Inter-regional Schools
The Schools take place during 7-10 days in a specific location, living in the premises, receiving theoretical and practical state-of-the-art training on a specific topic of neuroscience, with team work for papers review and short presentations by students of their own work. Students (10-15) from less favored countries finishing or with a recent PhD degree are selected among the most brilliant students of IBRO Specialized Schools, preferably with possibilities of a research career in his/her home institution, and are matched by approximately the same number of students with a similar profile from consolidated research institutions in high income countries of other Regions. The faculty are young, fully active scientists, expert in the topic, with a limited age difference with the students.

2- Programmed laboratory visits

Short-term visits of students from a less favored country or area to established and prestigious laboratories in countries of a different Region, with the aim of putting in contact PhD students of less favored countries with centers in which intensive and high quality brain research is performed, to offer them a broad view of research possibilities and contacts for a potential post-doctoral training.

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