User:Filippo Morsiani/Open access in Kuwait

Open Access in Kuwait; As of June 2015, The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) indexes four OA journals: Kuwait Radiology Journal that is published by Jaber Al Ahmad Armed Forces Hospital, Kuwait.; Kuwait Journal of Science; Medical Principles and Practice and Journal of Engineering Research.

Researchers from Kuwait publish articles in international OA periodicals. For instance, in 2013, there have been 79 research articles published with BioMed Central – an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine), pioneer in the OA publishing model, and among them most viewed articles published by researchers from Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Dasman Diabetes Institute, department of Ophthalmology, and Al Bahar Ophthalmology Center, Ibn Sina Hospital and Faculty of Science; University of Kuwait, Kuwait.

There are currently no OA policies registered in ROARMAP.

Enabling Environment
Kuwait is one of the “fastest-growing ICT markets in the region” and continues to grow. However, its attempts to strengthen its ICT sector witnessed a setback in September 2007. In Kuwait, national and regional research, academic, and educational institutions have started to support Open Access to scientific knowledge through ICT use. Although the publication of research, scientific papers, and research projects results remains limited, interest in this aspect is on the rise. Kuwait ranks the 2nd of the highest countries in internet usage in the Arab region and is higher than the world average. According to ITU (International Telecommunication Union), Internet users grew from 150,000 in 2000 to 2,349,000 users as of June 2011, 42.4% penetration rate.

Kuwait University dedicates top priority to scientific research and the generation of scientific publications based on outstanding research results and accomplishments in basic and applied sciences and humanities.

Major Projects/Initiatives
In June 2008, Kuwait launched an annual competition to encourage its youth to create local content on the Internet. The presidential initiative aims to narrow the digital divide between Kuwait and the developed world.

Kuwait Radiology Journal that is published by Jaber Al Ahmad Armed Forces Hospital, Kuwait is an open access, peer reviewed, indexed and frees to publish journal. It is the Official Journal of the Department of Radio diagnosis, Jaber Al Ahmad Armed Forces Hospital, Kuwait.

Details of Key Organizations
Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), its mission to ppromote scientific and applied research, particularly in matters related to industry, natural and food resources and other primary constituents of national economy.

Communication address: Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR)

Senior Information Specialist - PL Kuwait Digital Repository at KISR

Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science (KFAS),. KAFS is initiated by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in 1976, in an attempt to encourage and support scientific research and playing a major role in financing scientific research project, cooperating with similar organizations on the Arab and international levels. The Foundation also makes large-scale contributions in the field of publishing, it has published a large number of books disseminating scientific knowledge and has also provided films and recordings on biographies of Arab and foreign scientists with the aim of highlighting their scientific contributions. Among its publications AL-Taqaddum AL-Ilmi Magazine (The Scientific Advancement), Majallat Al-Oloom: The Arabic Language Edition of Scientific American, Technical Reports, Scientific Books, Technical Reports.. etc.


 * Allamki, Z (2013), "The readiness of open access policy implementation: A case study within a Kuwaiti higher education institute", PhD thesis, University of Salford.