The Ministry of Science, Research and Technology has released a report detailing the latest statistics related to the fields of science, research and technology in Iran.
The report, which includes extensive information on scientific developments, has been prepared by the ministry’s Research and Technology Bureau, IRNA reported.
Statistics indicate that in the last Iranian year (ended March 19, 2016) 800 innovative products were created at Iran’s science and technology parks and incubators all of which were subsequently marketed.
During the same period, over 750 innovative ideas submitted by universities have been used to create products, 600 of which were commercialized and offered on the market.
The ministry signed 15 memorandums of understanding with other Iranian ministries and organizations to help promote a more productive relationship between universities and industries.
The report states that the management of research and technology development phases of 20 of the country’s oilfields were assigned to nine universities and research centers.
Research Papers
While Iran’s population accounts for only 1% of the global population, 1.9% of all scientific papers published in 2016 have been produced by Iranian researchers and scientists.
In 2000, Iranians had produced 0.14% of all scientific papers published worldwide, which rose to 1.5% from 2011-15.
The report states that 14 Iranian universities were listed by the Leiden Ranking database and eight Iranian universities by US News rankings of top universities worldwide. By 2013, no Iranian university had been included.
The report adds that eight Iranian universities were also listed by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings while the same list included only one Iranian university in 2012.
The quality of research carried out by Iranians has also been mentioned in the report, which states that the number of reliable Iranian papers frequently referred to showed a noticeable improvement and more than doubled in a year.
By the end of 2012, the number of these research documents—referred to as the world’s 1% top research papers—was 111, which figure reached 229 by the end of 2013.
In line with the principles of Resistance Economy, 120 central science labs were set up since President Hassan Rouhani took office in 2013. Prior to 2013, the country had only 20 such laboratories.
Resistance Economy is a set of policies proposed by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to boost the economy based on domestic production and capabilities.
University Rankings
According to data provided by Scopus, Iran ranked 22nd in terms of scientific documents produced in 2014.
Scopus is a bibliographic database containing abstracts and citations for academic journal articles. It covers nearly 22,000 titles from over 5,000 publishers, of which 20,000 are peer-reviewed journals in the scientific, technical, medical and social sciences, including arts and humanities.
In 2000, Iran ranked 46th in terms of scientific documents produced. The country’s ranking rose and was reportedly 28th in 2010.
Data provided by Scopus also show that 23% of Iran’s scientific developments were achieved through science diplomacy in 2015. The same figure was reportedly 19% and 21% for 2001 and 2014 respectively.
Science diplomacy is the use of scientific collaborations among nations to address common problems and to build constructive international partnerships.
Science diplomacy had a 22% share of all global scientific developments in 2015.
