TEHRAN – During a ceremony in Tehran on Thursday, 49 top researchers and technologists of the country were honored.

The 23rd national festival for honoring exemplary researchers and technologists was held in the presence of science minister Mohammad-Ali Zolfigol, ISNA reported.

The selected individuals were mainly active in the fields of biology and biochemistry, physics, law, mathematics, economy, electronics, watershed management, architecture, sports, and nuclear engineering.

Scientific growth

A review of Scopus global ranking in terms of the normalized citation index over the past 10 years shows that Iran has moved up to 16th place in 2020 from 22nd in 2011.

Studies show that in 2021, the number of Iranian scientific articles indexed by the Scopus International Citation Database has reached 77,351. This figure was equal to 71,971 in 2020 and 64,988 in 2019.

The head of Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization has said 40 science and technology parks will be established across the country over the next five years.The 2021 data have not been yet completed and the mentioned figure will increase again. While scientific articles and the latest research findings of Iranian researchers in 2019 received about 0.08 percent more than the international average citation, in 2020, it has increased to 14 percent.

The head of Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO) has announced the decision for establishing 40 science and technology parks across the country over the next five years, ISNA reported.

Ali Rasoulian said the locations for the mentioned parks have been determined in various provinces and the necessary coordination has been done with related government entities in the target cities.

Over 7,000 knowledge-based and 1,600 creative companies have so far been registered and started operations in the country.

The fields of biotechnology, agriculture, food industries, chemical technologies aircraft maintenance, steel, gas, pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and medicine, oil, electronics and telecommunications, information technology, and computer software are among the sectors in which researchers in technology companies are working.

Today, the country's knowledge-based ecosystem accounts for more than 3 percent of the GDP. And the figure is projected to reach 5 percent, however, the main goal is to step toward a 10 percent share in GDP, the former vice president for science and technology Sourena Sattari said in February.

The share of knowledge-based companies in the country's economy has exceeded 9 quadrillion rials (about $34 billion), and since 2019, it has experienced a growth of more than 450 percent, he stated.

MG