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allocating more budgets to developing human resources and infrastructure. In the
essay published in European Science Editing in 2006 (Habibzadeh 2006 as cited in
Kharabaf and Abdollahi 2012 ), the author related the growth of science in Iran to
several reasons such as larger allocation of budget to scientific research sector,
increase in the number of graduates and assistant professors over the recent years,
and the requirement of students to complete their study with publication or patent-
ing or creating a product. In addition Kharabaf and Abdollahi ( 2012 ) investigated
that most of Iranian journals are now managed by expert editors who know the
procedures of improving the quality of publications such as indexing, online journal
management systems, peer review, etc., and many of Iranian journals are covered by
Scopus, MedLine/PubMed, and Web of Science. Meanwhile, the number of Iranian
editors who have become member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE),
World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and European Association of
Science Editors (EASE) has increased dramatically. In addition, some of them are
managing the mentioned committees at higher stages. Iranian researchers have
gained international reputations since the 1990s, and some of them are listed among
1% top scientists of the world as reported by ESI. Highly expensive instruments
especially for high-technology researches have been provided in Iranian universities
during the past two decades.
International Scientific Cooperation
Iran annually hosts international science festivals. In 1987, the leading Iranian
Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), affiliated to the
Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, decided to institute an award which
acknowledges the Iranian outstanding achievements in the field of science and tech-
nology. IROST proposed the creation of the Khwarizmi Award in memory of Abu
Jafar Mohammad Ibn Mousa Al-Khwarizmi, the great Iranian mathematician and
astronomer (770–840 C.E) (KIA 2016 ). In addition, the annual Razi Medical
Sciences Research Festival promotes original research in science, technology, and
medicine in Iran (RAZI 2016 ). There is also an ongoing R&D collaboration between
large state-owned companies and the universities in Iran. Iranians welcome scien-
tists from all over the world to Iran for a visit and participation in seminars, scien-
tific associations, or collaborations. Many Nobel laureates and influential scientists
such as Bruce Alberts (American biochemist), F. Sherwood Rowland (American
professor of chemistry), Kurt Wüthrich (Swiss chemist/biophysicist), Stephen
Hawking (English theoretical physicist), and Pierre-Gilles de Gennes (French phys-
icist) visited Iran after the Iranian revolution. Some universities also hosted
American and European scientists as guest lecturers during recent decades. Iran is
also an active member of COMSTECH (a Ministerial Standing Committee on
Scientific and Technological Cooperation established by the Third Summit Islamic
of OIC – Organization of Islamic Cooperation – held at Makkah) and collaborates
in its international projects (COMSTECH 2016 ).
A.M. Arani et al.