According to the reporter of the Communications and Information Center in the Vice Presidency of Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, Hossein Afshin, during his speech at the event held on Sunday evening, congratulated the World Science Day and expressed his satisfaction with the coincidence of the ninth edition of "Iran's Scientific Leaders Program" with this day. A science that leads to peace and development, he emphasized and said: such a science has its requirements.

He expressed his happiness at the presence of the scientific leaders of the country - who have been identified based on the articles in the top international magazines - and said that the history of the event of country's scientific leaders goes back to 2015; Every year, we honored 100 to 200 professors, but this year, the number of our chosen professors has reached 57, which is considered an alarm for the scientific authority of the country.

Vice President of Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy described the current situation as yellow and continued: We are witnessing a downward trend in the field of scientific articles in the country, and today, in addition to praise, we will deal with complications.

Emphasizing that this decrease in articles does not go back to universities, he found some approaches such as questioning the articles and contrasting them with the applicability of research effective in this field and said: Scientific authority means moving at the edge of knowledge. and publishing articles in prestigious international journals.

Afshin pointed out the necessity of working in emerging fields such as quantum sciences, artificial intelligence, microelectronics, etc., and warned that failure to pay attention to these fields may lead to the loss of the country's scientific position.

 

He also noted the difficulties in accessing laboratory equipment and necessary infrastructure and said: "We want progressive science, not passive science."

 

Increasing the budget of the Science Foundation to support researchers and professors

The vice president of science, technology and knowledge-based economy announced the determination of this vice presidency to support the research of academic staff members through a threefold increase in the budget of the National Science Foundation of Iran and said: The National Science Foundation supports the research of professors in all scientific fields, including sciences. It supports basic, medical, technical engineering, humanities and arts, and we have emphasized that 30% of the support should be allocated to the fields of humanities and arts. Of course, 80% of the foundation's studies are in line with the foundation's calls and the rest are in the subjects suggested by the professors.

He further pointed to the transparency of the processes and the website of the National Science Foundation and said that complete information about the registered plans and their acceptance is available. Also, the National Science Foundation pays special attention to supporting young professors and postdoctoral researchers.

Afshin also mentioned the support of doctoral theses and said: Our support under the supervision of the foundation will include the entire academic staff.

Expressing his hope to encourage more researchers to conduct scientific research, he added: These programs are very necessary in line with the scientific development of the country and supporting researchers.

 

Preventing the migration of elites by setting up a national laboratory center

Afshin announced the launch of a high-level national research laboratory center soon and said: "This center will be equipped with the aim of improving the level of research in basic sciences, medical sciences, etc., with the financial focus of the vice president's scientific, technology and knowledge-based economy."

He also added: The laboratory of this center will be placed in such a way that it will be among the country's elites. This action will not only harm the equipment of university laboratories but will also help strengthen the country's research infrastructure and respond to one of the important reasons for elite immigration.

 

The vice president of science, technology and knowledge-based economy said: To improve the quality of this center, a scientific council consisting of prominent professors in various fields will be formed and the path of progress will be determined by surveying academicians and experts.

Afshin also mentioned the significant investment foreseen in this project and stated that this action will help to create a sustainable scientific ecosystem in the country.

He pointed out that this project can be an effective step in reducing the migration of elites and strengthening scientific research in the country.

 

A new solution for the lack of university laboratory equipment

Referring to the challenges of providing equipment for universities, the vice president of science, technology and knowledge-based economy said: The number of universities in the country is so large that we cannot provide the necessary equipment for each of them. Currently, we have about 200 to 300 requests for equipping universities' laboratories, which are not operational in any way.

Afshin further emphasized: In the current situation, the only possible solution is to create a national laboratory network; This network allows us to provide the necessary equipment according to the country's basic needs, and if needed, we will add equipment to this network.

 

"Made in Iran" exhibition; A golden opportunity for academics and researchers

Vice President of Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy pointed to the holding of the "Made in Iran" exhibition in the next month and said: This important scientific and industrial event is considered an exceptional opportunity for university faculty colleagues to produce laboratory products and technologies to benefit inside the country.

Afshin stated: This exhibition is a good opportunity to introduce the equipment needed by researchers and academics. Depending on the type of product, between 30 and 40 percent of the equipment purchase costs will be borne by the universities.