The secretary of Mustafa Prize, named after Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said a database of 550 eminent scientists in the Islamic world has been established, as part of the activities of the prize secretariat, in the past eight months.
Mehdi Saffari, speaking at the 3rd meeting of the Policy Making Council of Mustafa (meaning the chosen one in Arabic) Prize, said recognizing over 200 institutions, introducing candidates from Islamic countries and organizations, establishing 10 scientific workgroups, holding 23 jury meetings and also interacting with the media within and outside the country to collaborate on finding sponsors for the award, are among other activities of the secretariat.
The Secretariat of the Mustafa Prize, which is based in Pardis Technology Park in Tehran, is in charge of executive affairs of the event, including the call for submission of works, applications, organizing the final ceremony and managing information activities on the prize. The Pardis tech park is affiliated to the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology.
The Policy Making Council, comprising of high-profile institutions, universities and major academic centers from Iran and the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) member states, supervises the procedure of awarding the prize. The council also features some of the organizations active in the OIC and a number of top academic institutions of member states; such as Islamic World Academy of Sciences, Islamic Development Bank, Academy of Sciences of Iran, University of Tehran, Sharif University of Technology, University of Malaya, University of Karachi and some other significant academic institutions.
Award Welcomed
Islamic countries have welcomed the award and 20 nations have introduced their scientific experts to participate in different categories such as biology and medical science and technology, IT and telecommunication, Nanotechnology, and also the general science section, Saffari said quoted by IRNA.
He further said 20 to 30 academic centers from non-Islamic countries have also voiced their interest to attend the event.
There are over 300 scientific awards and prizes in the world to honor and appreciate scientists and encourage their efforts. The Mustafa Prize has also been designed for the same purpose for the first time in the Islamic world, he said.
Earlier, in a teleconference, Dr. Muhammad Qaiser, vice chancellor of University of Karachi, and Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Ali Al-Madani, president of the Islamic Development Bank from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, also expressed their opinion on the award policies and agenda.
The Jury
The 24 jury for ICT and Nanotechnology section were approved at the meeting.
Saeed Sohrabpour, also council member said the final jury for biotechnology, medical, and general science sections is to be introduced soon.
The juries include Iranian and non-Iranian experts and scientists from various countries such as the US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Sweden.
The Mustafa Prize will be conferred on a Muslim scientist from an Islamic country as the top science and technology award. The winner will be selected from among researchers and scientists of the OIC member states biennially.
The award seeks to encourage education and research and is set to play a pioneering role in developing regional relations between science and technology institutions working in the OIC member countries.
The event is due to be held on January 8, 2015 for the first time.
