The first round of the Mustafa Prize will be awarded Dec. 24-29 during the Islamic Unity Week.
The main ceremony on December 24 will introduce and award the winners in various categories on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall.
Instituted by Iran, the prize is a science and technology award, granted biennially to top researchers and scientists from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states, said Mehdi Safarinia, secretary of the Policy Making Council of Mustafa Prize, at a press conference at the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, Mehr News Agency reported.
It seeks to encourage scientific education and research and is set to play a pioneering role in developing regional relations between scientific and technological institutions in the OIC member countries. It also aims to improve scientific relations between academics and researchers in order to facilitate the growth of science in the OIC member states.
The prize is awarded in four categories, namely “Life Science and Medical Sciences,” “Nano Science and Nanotechnologies,” “Information and Communication Science and Technologies” and “Top Scientific Achievement in other fields”.
Laureates in each section will be awarded $500,000, financed through the endowments made to the prize. The winners will also be commended with special medals and certificates.
The Mustafa Prize was launched in 2013 with the establishment of the secretariat. The Policy Making Council held special meetings between April and December 2013, and in February 2014 the call for submissions was announced.
The council, tasked with supervising various procedures of the event is comprised of high-profile universities and academic centers of OIC member states. The prize will be granted to the works which are deemed to have improved human life and made tangible and cutting-edge innovations on the boundaries of science or have presented new scientific methodology.
The OIC is the second largest intergovernmental organization after the United Nations with 60 member countries from across continents.
