On Sunday, January 9th, the Scientific Council of the Academy sat for its 506th semi-virtual meeting. Prof. Davari Ardakani presided over the meeting in which the heads of the scientific departments, secretary, vice president for research and deputy president, and secretary of the Foresight Council of the Academy were present.
At first, Prof. Davari thanked Prof. Faraji Dana for accepting the responsibility as the new secretary of the Academy and wished him success in this position. He also expressed his gratitude to Prof. Namazi, former secretary, for his efficient services during his term.
Prof. Faraji Dana, in turn, thanked Prof. Davari Ardakni for his appointment and expressed good wishes for Prof. Namazi’s health. Then he focused on the high position of the Academy and referred to the division of "academies" into the East and West Blocks and their most important activities, and stated that in some academies of the world, the middle side has been considered: for example, they are both researching and advising the government on major issues. He added that after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, this idea for the establishment of the Academy was taken into consideration. It means that the Academy would be the observatory of science and technology in the country, report to stakeholders, legislators and decision makers, and look to the future to see where the country should go.
He continued that the work that has been done in the Academy so far is very significant, but in recent years, the status of financial resources has not been appropriate. As a result, the Academy has lagged behind the work that has always been in the forefront. If sufficient credits are allocated to the Academy by the end of the year, we can allocate credit to research activities and projects, and we will see a good leap in the activities of the academy.
Prof. Faraji Dana further emphasized the need for continuous interaction with the Planning and Budget Organization and the Administrative and Recruitment Organization. He also pointed out that the position of the Academy is high and its statute has huge potential capacity that should be activated properly. He added that this can be done with the necessary resources for investment and with the opinion of the Scientific Council and finally the General Assembly. He also considered the sympathetic criticism of the current trends of the country in a confidential manner as one of the important actions of the Academy.
Emphasizing the need for the realization of the organizational chart and the good capacities envisaged in it, Prof. Faraji Dana said that the Scientific Council is the General Council of the Academy, which works in order to implement the macro policies approved by the General Assembly of the Academy. On the other hand, it is expected that all the scientific work of the Academy will be discussed and decided in this council, and if necessary, be submitted to the General Assembly. Therefore, it is necessary that the meetings of this council to be held regularly, and to deal with current scientific issues and major scientific issues of the academy, and the affairs of the academy should proceed unanimously. At the end, he said that the meetings of the board of directors have been formed. The main activities of the Board are policy-making and decision-making.
The meeting continued with the approval of the minutes of the previous meeting. Then, the following topics were discussed and decided upon:
- The nominations of the distinguished engineering professors, prestigious engineers and prominent young scientists in Engineering for 2022 Honoring Ceremony on Engineer's Day
- Collaboration of two guest scholars with the Department of Basic Sciences for a two-year term;
- Membership proposal of an associate fellow by the Department of Basic Sciences and the extension of the associate fellow membership of two professors proposed by the Department of Engineering Sciences of the Academy. These will be referred to the General Assembly for final approval;
At the concluding part of the meeting, it was agreed that the scientific departments would take quick action to prepare and submit the departments’ programs for 2022 in line with the performance-based budgeting system.
