About the chair
UNESCO Chair for Women in Science and Technology is a regional non-governmental organization whose activities cover Arab and African countries and was established at the initiative of Prof. Fatima Abdul Mahmoud, and approval of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) under the supervision of the vice chancellor of Sudan University for Science and Technology. The establishment ceremony was honored by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO in December 2003. The chair is a regional organization covering the activity of women in Arab and African countries.
Sudan University for Science and Technology (SUST) was established in 1950 under the name "Khartoum Technical Institute" (KTI), and included various departments in engineering, arts and business studies. In 1976, some specialized institutes located in Khartoum at the time were attached to the departments KTI under the name of "Institute of Technological Colleges". In 1990, the university was restructured and given the name "Sudan University of Science and Technology". Since its establishment, the university has been paying increasing attention to women issues in science and technology locally, regionally and internationally.
The Institute for Family and Community Development of Sudan University of Science and Technology was established on April 15, 1997 under the name "Institute for Women's and Children's Health and Development" in response to the growing interest in women's and children's issues and their role locally, regionally and globally.
The Institute has been constantly evolving in accordance with the development of the family and women and the emergence of different visions and concepts expressing various schools of thought, which led to the change of the name of the Institute to (Institute for Family and Community Development) on 29/12/2005.
The first chairholder was Prof. Fatima Abdul Mahmoud followed by Prof. Alshafa Abdulkadir Hassan who served as a chairholder from 2015 to 2019 and then the chair management was changed to the current chairholder Prof. Amal Mohamed Ibrahim Babiker.