TEHRAN – Armenian Ambassador to Iran Arsen Avagyan met with Iranian deputy science minister Vahid Haddadi Asl, discussing ways to broaden ties in the fields of science and technology.

The meeting was held in Tehran on Sunday, IRNA reported, citing the two sides expressed readiness to exchange university students, transfer technology, and create joint research centers.

An Iranian delegation will visit Yerevan to evaluate the situation of Armenian universities. Moreover, Avagyan said that the Armenian science minister was ready to travel to Iran.

Houses of innovation

An Iranian House of Innovation and Technology (IHIT) is to be established in Armenia with the aim of developing the export of Iranian knowledge-based products.

Over the few past years, with the support of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, the Iranian house of innovation has been set up in several countries to develop the global market for knowledge-based products.

These centers have already been set up in countries such as Russia, Turkey, China, Syria, and Kenya, and Iraq will soon join them.

By supporting innovative ideas, and holding technological and innovative events, the centers will be a platform for the development and promotion of Iranian knowledge-based companies, startups, and creative industries.

Science diplomacy

One of the indicators of the growth of science diplomacy is conducting joint research between two or more countries, Iran has written more than a third of its articles in Scopus in 2020 with international participation, which is about 30.7 percent.

Iran is to establish a house of innovation and technology in Armenia with the aim of developing the export of its knowledge-based products.

In 2019, the articles with international participation reached 27.4 percent, so compared to 2019, Iranian researchers increased their international scientific contributions by 3.3 percent. It should be noted that in 2020 more articles were published internationally by Iranian researchers, but nevertheless, the amount of international participation has increased.

Scientific growth 

Studies show that Iran entered the year 2022 with the 15th rank in science production worldwide and it is expected to make progress over the next years as the coronavirus pandemic is going to ease.

In reviewing scientific products, various indicators such as publication of articles in prestigious international journals, citations, validity of journals, the level of productivity, and scientific impact of scientists are considered quantitatively and qualitatively.

According to the latest information on science production, Iran is ranked 15th in the world in the international system of Web of Science in 2021, with an h-index of 383, which indicates the quality of Iranian articles registered.

Iran’s scientific position in the Web of Science over the last 5 years shows that the production of conference papers has been on a downward trend during 2020 and 2021 due to the outbreak.

Health technology

Based on innovative indicators of health technology development in 2021, Iran was ranked 60th among 132 countries, which shows an improvement of 60 steps compared to 2014, the deputy health minister for research and technology, said in April.

A total of 1,670 knowledge-based firms are operating in the health sector, ISNA quoted Younes Panahi as saying.

He added that there are 13 science and technology parks and 95 technology growth centers in the field of health, while 343 technological products have so far been licensed, and 335 inventions in medical sciences have been patented.

FB/MG