Regional Webinar: ORCID in the Arab World

On 28 January 2026, ASREN, in collaboration with the Association of Arab Universities (AArU) and ORCID, hosted the regional webinar “ORCID in the Arab World: Strengthening Research Identity and Institutional Integration.” Held in Arabic, the webinar brought together researchers, institutional leaders, and policy stakeholders from across the region to discuss the strategic role of persistent digital identifiers in strengthening research ecosystems and enhancing the global visibility of Arab scholarly output.

The webinar explored how ORCID can help researchers establish and maintain a reliable digital research identity while linking their scholarly contributions across institutions, publications, and other research activities. Discussions also highlighted the importance of institutional adoption and interoperability in building more connected and efficient research systems.

Date: 28 January 2026
Format: Online
Language: Arabic
Organized by: ASREN, AArU & ORCID
Participants: 300+ live attendees

The session featured distinguished speakers:

• Prof. Dr. Anas Ratib Al-S'oud, Executive Director, Association of Arab Universities

• Mr. Yousef Torman, Managing Director, ASREN

• Mr. Nabil Aziz, Community Engagement Lead, ORCID

The speakers highlighted the importance of coordinated regional efforts to promote ORCID adoption, strengthen interoperability between institutions, and support digital transformation across the research lifecycle.

Key themes discussed included:

• The role of ORCID in linking and unifying scholarly outputs

• Institutional approaches and best practices for ORCID adoption

• Strengthening integration between universities, research centres, publishers, and funders

• Enhancing regional collaboration and the global visibility of Arab research

The webinar also reinforced the strategic importance of the ASREN–ORCID Consortium, which supports institutions across the Arab world in implementing persistent identifier services effectively and sustainably. The activity contributes to broader regional efforts to advance Open Science and research infrastructure development, including ASREN's work under the EUMEDplus Project.

Regional Engagement

The webinar generated strong interest across the Arab region, with more than 300 participants attending live. The high level of engagement demonstrated the growing interest among research and higher education stakeholders in strengthening research identity, interoperability, and the international visibility of Arab scholarly output.
By bringing together regional and international stakeholders, the webinar contributed to advancing a more connected, transparent, and globally integrated Arab research ecosystem.

Resources

Watch the Full Webinar

Learn More: ASREN–ORCID Consortium