According to the public relations of the university: The Islamic World Science Citation Index (ISC) has ranked universities and higher education institutions officially for the seventh consecutive year. In this ranking, 182 government universities and research institutions were evaluated based on 26 indicators across 5 general criteria: research, education, international reputation, facilities - amenities, and social-economic and industrial activities.
According to the ISC ranking group, in the published ranking, part of the information was gathered through electronic questionnaires provided by universities and institutions, a sample of which is available below. Based on this questionnaire, in the 1396-1395 ranking, the ISC database evaluated and ranked universities based on the information from the three years leading up to 1394 (1391-1392, 1392-1393, and 1393-1394).
Additionally, another part of the statistics and information required for the ranking, which was research-oriented, was extracted by experts from the ISC ranking group from the article statistics of the universities in the years 2013, 2014, and 2015 in the Web of Science (WoS) and ISC databases.
Among the 29 industrial universities present in the ISC ranking, Amir Kabir University, Sharif University, and Science and Industry University ranked as the top three industrial universities in the country, respectively. Isfahan University of Technology and Khatam al-Anbia University also earned the fourth and fifth ranks.
In this regard, Dr. Mojtaba Heydari, Director of Research and Technology at the university, added: "Today, evaluating the performance of universities across various indicators is crucial for identifying strengths and weaknesses, taking them into account in short-term and long-term planning to enhance strengths and mitigate weaknesses by improving existing processes. Accordingly, with the efforts and follow-ups made by the university's management team, Qom University of Technology has participated in the Islamic World Science Citation Index (ISC) ranking for the second consecutive year." He noted that the 1396-1395 ISC ranking was based on the information and statistics of the universities in the years 1392, 1393, and 1394, corresponding to the Western years 2013, 2014, and 2015, and that based on the ranks obtained by the university in various indicators, the potentials and challenges of the university during these years have become clearer. In this ranking, Qom University of Technology ranked 17th among the 29 industrial universities for the education criterion, 7th for the international reputation, 25th for the research criterion, 24th for facilities and amenities, and 14th for social-economic and industrial activities.
Regarding the university's good rank in international reputation, he added: "Qom University of Technology has succeeded in obtaining the 7th position in international reputation among 29 industrial universities in the country, surpassing many renowned universities. The influencing factors in this section include international research collaborations, international conferences, the ratio of international students to total students, the ratio of international faculty members, as well as faculty members holding Ph.D. degrees from foreign universities to the total Ph.D. faculty members."
The Director of Research and Technology also discussed the influencing indicators in the university ranking criterion of research: "The indicators in this section include the quality of research (the share of articles with higher quartiles than total published articles), research efficiency (the number of citations received by published articles), research volume (the number of articles), growth rate of research quality, growth rate of research efficiency, and the number of patents registered."
He pointed out that the research activities considered in the 1396-1395 ISC ranking were based on statistics from the university in the years 2013, 2014, and 2015 in the WoS and Scopus databases, adding: "Looking at the university's research indicator ranking, the need for improvement and enhancement in this indicator is felt. Fortunately, in recent years, structured planning and effective measures have been implemented in this regard, and the outcome of this effort is reflected in the up-to-date statistics of Qom University of Technology in the WoS and Scopus databases. For example, as of now, six months into 2018, 28 articles have been registered under the name of Qom University of Technology in the Scopus database, compared to the total number of articles from the university in 2017, which was 38; this indicates growth and an increase in research volume." Additionally, regarding the quality of articles, Dr. Heydari cited the university's success in enhancing its h-index and noted: "The h-index is an index for evaluating the scientific output of researchers, indicating their impact on the advancement of science. This index is currently regarded as the best metric for assessing the quality of articles published by researchers and is highly significant in university competition in research matters. The h-index of Qom University of Technology, according to the Scopus database over the past year, was 8, which has now improved to 12, indicating a substantial increase in the scientific impact of the published articles by the researchers of Qom University of Technology. Currently, with the year 2018 still ongoing, each scientific paper from the university in the Scopus database has received an average of 2.74 citations, compared to 2.45 in 2017, 1.88 in 2016, 1.62 in 2015, 1.32 in 2014, and 0.94 in 2013, showing an increase in the quality of scientific outputs over recent years."
The Director of Research and Technology emphasized that with the planning undertaken, positive steps have been taken to improve the quality of published articles at the university; this includes financial incentives for articles published in top Q1 and Q2 journals, as well as granting special research incentives to faculty members with high-quality research activities. Other practical programs that have been implemented in this area include revising the grant regulation for faculty members and determining the grant amount based on the volume and quality of their research activities, which is being executed for the first time at the university. Furthermore, the average grant amount for each faculty member at the university increased about threefold over the past year.
Dr. Heydari also referred to the upcoming plans of the Research and Technology Management to further enhance the quality and impact of the research activities of faculty members, stating: "As part of the planned actions, the grant regulation for faculty members will be reviewed again, making the quality of the conducted research by the faculty members more influential in determining their grant amount. Additionally, for the first time, a regulation for 'allocating research credit to enhance research quality' has been prepared in the Research and Technology Management and sent to educational groups for input and feedback. After incorporating the opinions of the esteemed faculty members, it will be put into practice following approval from the Research Council and University Board of Directors."
Dr. Heydari, referencing the improvement of research infrastructure and the purchase of laboratory equipment in recent years, said: "In 1395 and 1396, with the generous support of Dr. Khushnevishan, President of Qom University of Technology, and through the Laboratory Council's follow-ups, the necessary equipment to establish 8 new laboratories has been purchased, most of which are now operational, and the remainder will be operational before the start of the new academic year. Furthermore, other laboratories and workshops at the university have been upgraded and equipped with increased capacity and number of devices."
He mentioned the increase in the budget for purchasing laboratory equipment in 1395 and 1396, stating: "In 1395, approximately 300 million tomans were spent on purchasing laboratory equipment for the university, and in 1396, around 800 million tomans were allocated for this purpose, indicating significant growth compared to previous years. Additionally, with the establishment of new laboratories, the physical space of the university's laboratories and workshops has increased by about 500 square meters."
In conclusion, he stated: "Considering the planning undertaken in various sectors of the university, especially in research and technology, it is hoped that in future ISC rankings, which will be conducted based on more up-to-date university information and statistics, we will witness further elevation of Qom University of Technology."
