‘Global emergency team’: Rapid response to universal challenges
Director of eiLink Research and Development Center in Azerbaijan, in an interview with the MSTF put forward suggestions on the measures that can be taken within the framework of STEP in times of global crisis.
MSTF Media reports:
Rustam B. Rustamov, Associate Professor at Khazar University, said STEP 7 was an excellent platform through which the scientists came together and shared their COVID-19 findings.
As a part of STEP’s subactivity, he suggested the establishment of “a global emergency team” which deals specifically with emergency cases, predicts the consequences of crises, and provides the necessary information for decision-makers to minimize the impact of any deleterious global issue.
Emphasizing the pivotal role of collaboration among scientists, he stated “there does not exist any border among scientists. We have to come together and share our knowledge and technological capacities” for the sake of improving the quality of human life.
“Doing scientific research separately, in my opinion, is a deficiency,” he added.
He referred to the urgency of adopting different approaches, coming up with practical solutions, and integrating the achievements in the current pandemic, stating “I think COVID-19 demands the integration of our efforts and sharing of our scientific outcomes.”
Rustamov said during the virtual presentations in STEP 7 “we realized that Coronavirus has made different impacts in different countries.” Sharing the data regarding this matter will help the authorities make the right decisions during the current pandemic. “So, interfacing with each other will be a great help,” he continued.
Highlighting the significance of networking once again, he said “we need to speed up” in terms of improving the environment for our cooperation and sharing the needed data in order to curtail the detrimental effects of any issue, not only the Coronavirus pandemic.
“Today we are dealing with COVID-19, but in the future another challenging issue might emerge. So we need to be completely ready in order to confront them,” he added.
Finally, he commended the initiative undertaken by the MSTF to gather the scientists from all around the world to share their COVID-19 experiences and discuss the possible solutions to tackle this infectious disease.
Rustam B. Rustamov has published numerous scientific papers in addition to more than ten books. His chief research interests are space instrumentation, remote sensing, and GIS technology. He made a presentation on the vital role of satellite technology, satellite remote sensing, and Earth Observation in fighting COVID-19 during the 7th Science and Technology Exchange Program (STEP) held in May 2020 virtually.
