The retreat brought together experts and institutional leaders from across regions to examine how technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality, advanced connectivity, and data platforms are already influencing research – and what practical steps are needed to ensure they serve both science and society in the Global South.
Participants emphasized that the barriers to adopting emerging technologies are not technological in nature. Instead, they reflect the broader structural challenges facing science systems in many parts of the Global South – limited infrastructure, underfunded institutions, fragmented policy environments and inequitable access to resources and opportunity.
To enable technologies to deliver value to science systems and the societies they serve, participants identified multiple areas for action, including:
A. Aligning science and policy: Stronger mechanisms are needed to ensure that research informs policy agendas, and that policies enable robust, forward-looking science systems, particularly in rapidly evolving areas like AI and data governance.
B. Investing in inclusive scientific communities: Advancing gender and intergenerational equity is essential for building resilient, future-ready research ecosystems.
C. Curating and preserving data assets: Equitable access to scientific data is only part of the equation. Attention must also be given to how data – and the tools, metadata, and knowledge they support – are curated, governed, and preserved for long-term public benefit.
D. Building skills for the future: Support is needed for technical and data competencies, scientific literacy, and the ability to assess the broader social and economic implications of new technologies.
E. Creating conditions for knowledge exchange: Fit-for-purpose and equitable approaches to knowledge sharing, are vital to ensure that innovations have local relevance but the potential for global impact.
F. Assessing institutional readiness: Common frameworks can help research institutions evaluate whether they are equipped to engage meaningfully with emerging technologies – and where further support is needed.
Crucially, these efforts must be backed by sustained and strategic investment. Without the necessary financial and capacity-building support, even the most promising technologies will struggle to take root in science systems that remain under-resourced.
The rich discussions at the retreat will now feed into a set of technology profiles – analytical briefs designed to explore the potential impact of selected technologies on science systems in the Global South. These profiles will provide a structured overview of how emerging tools are currently used, the opportunities and risks they present, and the enabling conditions needed for their effective and equitable uptake.
The profiles will serve as a resource for policy-makers, research funders, academic institutions, and private sector actors committed to supporting inclusive and future-oriented science systems.
As this agenda evolves, the ISC’s Centre for Science Futures and its partners will continue to create spaces for reflection, collaboration, and strategic foresight – ensuring that the Global South is not only included in conversations about science and technology futures, but plays a leading role in shaping them.
Read more about Centre for Science Futures 
Read more about Emerging technologies and transformations 
Read more about Emerging trends shaping scientific careers 
Read more about Call for consultants: Technologies that impact science systems | deadline: 28 September 
Read more about Preparing national sciences systems for AI: Perspectives from Muscat 
