NAIROBI, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The African Academy of Sciences (AAS) on Wednesday launched a platform to help showcase cutting edge research that is addressing endemic challenges in the continent like diseases, hunger and climatic shocks.
Officials said the AAS open access platform will enable African scientists to publish their research findings that could inform policy interventions in areas that promote the continent's socio-economic development.
"AAS Open Research represents the cutting edge of science communication by offering the option to communicate research in a manner that is immediate, accessible, transparent, dynamic and peer reviewed," said Nelson Torto, the Executive Director of AAS.
"It is designed to serve authors and is author driven from beginning to the end, from participating in peer review process, to ownership and copyright of their work," he added.
Researchers affiliated with African Academy of Sciences and partnering agencies will be able to publish their findings at the inaugural open access platform.
"The publication platform will bring the results of African research to the world stage and help create capacity by supporting early career researchers," AAS said.
"The initial appearance of AAS Open Research, powered by F1000, features thirteen articles covering topics ranging from bioinformatics to climate change," it added.
AAS disclosed that researchers from prestigious academic institutions in South Africa, Ghana and Uganda submitted articles to be published in the new platform.
Scientists based in African institutions of higher learning hailed launch of an open access platform where their works will be read by a wider audience and create impact.
Jantita De Vries, an Assistant Professor of Bioethics at the University of Cape Town, said the AAS open research platform will enable African scientists to protect their intellectual property amid rise in copyright infringement.
"AAS Open Research is a wonderful new initiative that will allow African researchers to reclaim ownership over their intellectual work," said De Vries.
The articles published in the AAS maiden open access platform covers diverse topics like infectious diseases, genomics, cloud computing, anti-biotics resistance and climate change.
