Professor Alicia Kowaltowski, from the Instituto de Química at the Universidade de São Paulo (IQ-USP), has accepted an invitation to join the Governing Board of the UNESCO International Institute for STEM Education (IISTEM), based in Shanghai, China.

The Board approves the Institute’s general policy, determines the nature of its activities, and adopts its programme of work and annual budget. Members serve in a personal capacity for a four-year term, renewable once.

Established by UNESCO, IISTEM aims to promote quality education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), with a focus on inclusion, equity, and sustainable development. The Institute also serves as an international platform for collaborative research, capacity-building, and knowledge exchange, with special attention to the participation of girls and women and to strengthening STEM education in Africa, small island developing States, and least developed countries.

Members of the Governing Board are selected based on their competence and recognized expertise in science and education, including academic experience, scientific output, or leadership roles at the national, regional, or international levels.

Kowaltowski is a researcher at the Research Center for Redox Processes in Biomedicine - RIDC Redoxoma, and vice-director of CEPIx Redoxoma and INCT RedoxMed (National Institute of Science and Technology for Quantitative and Precision Methodologies). A full professor in the Department of Biochemistry at USP and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences and the São Paulo State Academy of Sciences, she brings academic experience, scientific output, and institutional leadership aligned with the criteria for membership on the Governing Board.