Vol. 35 No. 4
July-August 2013

The ACS International Center: The New Way to Discover International Opportunities

by Steven R. Meyers and Julia M. Throop

Global organizations offer a burgeoning number of international opportunities to those seeking funding for scientific research and career advancement, but the individual chemist may find it increasingly difficult to identify the ideal fit among the dizzying quantity of those available. To overcome this difficulty, and to help opportunity-providers connect with opportunity seekers, the American Chemical Society (ACS) has collated a list of scientific research programs and opportunities on the newly established ACS International Center website (www.acs.org/ic). Sponsored by the ACS Committee on International Activities, the International Center is a curated, web-based repository connecting institutions and foundations worldwide with those seeking details about international opportunities by providing information on grants, scholarships, internships, professional training, and more.

So far, the ACS International Center has assembled details on 350 searchable opportunities worldwide over 15 host geographies for scientists and engineers at 6 experience levels: high school teacher/student, undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral fellow, academic faculty, and industrial professional.

To further its mission, the International Center has established a network of global affiliates, including government agencies, institutions, and non-profit organizations, who assist the International Center by contributing new and under-exposed opportunities to the site. So far, affiliations have been established with 10 global entities across 6 different geographies. In turn, the International Center provides a place for those affiliate entities to promote and vocalize new initiatives through web announcements, email newsletters, Twitter feeds, and promotional events, such as webinars and collaborative receptions, to a receptive audience of 163 000 ACS members worldwide.

Future plans for the project indicate a network of such affiliations with entities from all over the globe. Affiliates would be able to use the ACS International Center as a platform for their own initiatives, and to leverage the membership audience, subscription to the International Center newsletter, and website viewership to advance the global chemistry enterprise.

The ACS International Center's global affiliates.

As the International Center builds toward this end goal, seekers and providers are welcome to visit www.acs.org/ic and to contribute missing international opportunities or testimonials on specific programs, or to participate as a personal reference. Contact
[email protected] or follow the IC on Twitter @ACS_IC.