How are Iran’s scientific leaders identified?

According to RCO News Agency, Since 2015, Iran’s Scientific Leaders Program has been held annually as a facilitator to achieve scientific authority and improve the quality of research in the country.

This year, on Sunday, November 20th, a ceremony will be held to introduce and honor the winners of Iran’s Scientific Excellence Program by the National Science Foundation of Iran.

Ali Mohammad Soltani, the head of the National Science Foundation of Iran, called the aim of this program “to support and appreciate faculty members and scientists who have played a role in publishing the results of prestigious scientific research in prestigious publications” and stated: “This program started about 10 years ago in The Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy has been started and now its implementation has been entrusted to the National Science Foundation of Iran.

Appreciation of about 60 top professors

He added: In this period, which is the ninth period of the implementation of the Scientific Excellence Program, with minimal changes compared to previous years, about 60 professors with research dedication will be honored.

Works in reputable journals, a necessary condition in the evaluation process

According to the changes and special conditions of this year, having works published in reputable journals has been determined as a necessary condition for entering the evaluation process at the National Science Foundation of Iran; In this regard, Soltani announced: Considering that this year we had little time to implement and finalize the process of this course, the same guidelines as the previous years with minor differences were approved by the scientific council of the foundation.

He added: To enter this program, faculty members must have quality works in magazines of groups A, B, C and D. The division of magazines from A to D has been done as in the previous periods.

Soltani, while emphasizing that if the researcher has succeeded in publishing one work in the journals of groups A, B and C, and two works in the journals of group D in 2023, he will be eligible to enter the evaluation process, adding: Also, articles that have citations are above, or those published by Iranian professors in collaboration with Nobel Prize winners and other prestigious international awards, also provide the conditions to enter this program.

Soltani also added: The above-mentioned scientific works must have a score in terms of influence in international social media and have won a prominent position in the normalized citation impact index.

New changes in the process of selecting and honoring the chosen ones

The head of Iran’s National Science Foundation pointed out important changes in the recognition program for faculty members and said: unlike the previous courses, no ranking will be done for the final winners in this course. This change has been made in order to create a fairer atmosphere and focus on the scientific quality of people.

He explained the new division of the winners of this course into three different groups and announced: the first group includes people who have published their articles in mainstream magazines, the second group includes people who have published their articles in leading magazines, and the third group includes There are people who have published their articles in selected journals.

From the same studies to the use of a postdoctoral researcher

Soltani informed about the studies and special privileges considered for each of these groups and added: These privileges include the possibility of using a postdoctoral researcher, receiving a plaque and a memorial. The studies of each group are the same for all people in that group, although the scientific points of the people are calculated according to specific guidelines.

Introduction of three leading universities in the country’s scientific reputation

Ali Mohammad Soltani regarding the program of Iran’s scientific leaders, which will be held on Sunday, November 20, 1403, by the National Science Foundation of Iran; He said: In this ceremony, with the presence of the president’s vice president for science, technology and knowledge-based economy, the country’s science and technology directors, university presidents and prominent researchers, a certificate of appreciation and a letter containing how to receive the scholarship will be presented to the selected people of the country’s scientific excellence program.

He pointed to the introduction of top universities in this program and said: In this ceremony, three universities that have gained the most points in the field of scientific credit due to the active presence of their faculty members will be introduced.

Selection based on the quality and quantity of published articles, without asking professors

The president of the National Science Foundation of Iran, regarding the judging process of this program, in which about 60 members of the selected faculty will be introduced; He explained: These selections are based on the publication of high-quality articles in the best scientific journals and include various fields of basic sciences, technical and engineering, and medical sciences.

Soltani also pointed out that, contrary to the usual routines in this program, no requests were received from professors and faculty members and the information was directly extracted from reliable databases such as Web of Science and other databases. He stated: The basis of selection is the quality and quantity of articles published by people.

Selection of the country’s scientific leaders without prejudice and judgment

In the continuation of his speech, he emphasized the transparent and scientific approach of this program and said: no judgments have been made about individuals; Only based on the guidelines of the country’s scientific leaders program, information has been collected from the databases. Of course, the works were evaluated because they were not discredited.

Soltani, in response to the question “In what specialized fields are the country’s scientific leaders selected?” He admitted: The journals that have been introduced in groups A, B, C and D in the past years in the form of the country’s scientific leaders program, have different scientific fields.

He added: Basic science disciplines have been given special attention in this program due to their profound impact on the scientific development of the world. However, the awardees include a variety of disciplines from basic sciences, medical sciences, and technical and engineering.

Good news for PhD students; A new call is coming!

In the end, the president of the National Science Foundation of Iran announced the publication of a call for support for doctoral dissertations in the most important strategic technologies and said: In this call, which will be published soon, doctoral students can benefit from special support. It is expected that this action will help speed up the research process and improve their scientific results.

According to the communication and information center of the vice president’s science, technology and knowledge-based economy, more details of this call will be published next week.

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