Elias Zerhouni: 'When we left, Algeria had only 3 or 4 universities'

Elias Zerhouni, a prominent Algerian medical professor based in the United States, was among the first to respond to President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's call to unite diaspora scientists. He coordinates the founding committee of the High Council of the National Scientific Community Abroad, which held its first meeting on June 28 in Algiers with 27 renowned scientists present and 7 via videoconference. In his speech, Zerhouni highlighted Algeria's progress in higher education since he left over 50 years ago, noting that the country had only 3 or 4 universities then, compared to 57 universities and 50 institutes today. He also mentioned Algeria's 1.7 million talented students who have won international competitions in mathematics, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.