According to the Public Relations & Information Office of the Academy of Sciences, Mohammad‑Reza Aref said at the Academy’s General Assembly that the Fourteenth Government needs consultation, deliberation and guidance from the country’s distinguished professors in the academies. He thanked the efforts of all scientists, researchers and professors of the country over more than four decades and said: “The higher education system and the country’s scientific sector have been among the parts which, since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, and in the design of scientific indicators, have always succeeded.” The First Vice-President pointed out the early weaknesses in the higher education system after the Revolution — including a small number of students and professors available to meet the country’s needs — and noted that, with the actions taken, we have today become a country that claims position among those advanced in science and technology, one of whose outcomes was the drafting of the 20-year vision document. He said that we concluded that, for longer-term strategies and the scientific orientation of the country, in addition to legal documents and five-year development plans, a 20-year document and plan should be prepared. Dr. Aref, referring to the scientific and technological strategy of the Vision document and that other sectors are also influenced by this scientific and technological development, added: “In the Vision document the first position in science and technology in the region was envisaged and it was raised as a pact for all governmental and non-governmental sectors. But despite the actions taken, we have not been able to reach the first position in the region. The growth of science and technology in our country was linear and mild, but the world moved forward with a very high growth rate.” He continued: “Today we are in a condition where these scientific achievements serve as an experience for the future and beyond the goal-setting of the Vision document, and the basis for the country’s movement in this field is clear and in line with the Second Step of the Revolution document.” The First Vice-President said: “The Supreme Leader has always emphasized the development of technologies, and the definitive mandate is directed at universities or, indirectly, universities must enter into this field.” He added: “The trend of the divorce rate in the country is worrying,” and that the academies must enter to solve critical mismatches (imbalances) such as the water issue: “Last year the extraction from the reservoirs exceeded the stored volume.” He emphasized: “The solution to the water crisis is scientific, and our view is directed at the academies, which host the country’s top professors. Each of these professors has a background of distinguished and young scientists, and the government has made special reliance on the academies to solve problems.” Referring to the 12-day war, he said: “We were not warmongers, but the start of the Fourteenth Government coincided with war and the terrorist attack of this government’s dear guest. The strategy of the Fourteenth Government was based on not transmitting the sense of war to the society, and from this correct strategy we received a response and the society was at peace, though the government was in a war-like stance.” He reflected on one of the achievements and capacities of the regime in that war: “The replacement of martyred commanders in less than 10 hours on the first day of the 12-day war, and the people also in the popular front created a lasting epic, but unfortunately the country’s political space means this presence of people is not well analysed.” Describing the “12-day war” as “a war of science and technology, software against software,” he said: “In whichever sector we focused on science and technology we had full supremacy, and the shortfall must also be compensated with the entry of academics.” He went on: “We are in a situation now that, during the cease-fire with an enemy that abides by no standard, a negotiation was proposed by the U.S., and we were in the middle of dialogues that in their view were principled and logical, but were met by an attack from the U.S., which claims freedom and human rights. The U.S. has used these claims for decades as a tool against rivals and other countries.” The First Vice-President emphasized: “We believe that all mismatches and economic problems can be solved through the backing and skill of scientists and elites. Our scientific belief after evaluations from the day after the 12-day war is that the solution to problems is clear and is in the universities, where professors must resolve the issue. For national sovereignty, responding to demands and securing the livelihood and people’s demands we should go to universities.” Dr. Aref added: “The remuneration that elites receive in the public sector is not comparable with neighbouring countries and even with the private sector inside the country, but these young energetic driven people are ready to help the country. Today we are seeking to show our real power in other sectors also, so that attack on Iran never even occurs to the minds of enemies.” Talking about compensating the technological lag with support for universities, he stressed: “Scientific actions have begun; our researchers and elites must become systematic. The 20-year Vision document is a national pact and the strategy of higher education and the science and technology sector of the Fourteenth Government is investment, allocation of budget to universities and support for innovation funds, so that within the next three years the backlog of the Vision document — especially in advanced technologies — will be compensated.” He emphasized: “Artificial intelligence is not just a technology but a tool that must be in service of technologies, and today the development of artificial intelligence technologies in the country has become an obligation, not a choice. The experience of the past three decades shows that whenever we made a serious decision such as nanotechnology we reached our targets, and today we have a single-digit (i.e., in the top ten) global rank in nanotechnology, which the Leader also emphasized regarding artificial intelligence: we must be among the top ten countries in the world, and this is an excellent and attainable goal.” Dr. Aref said: “We regard the academies as institutions which must take responsibility for scientific and technological guidance and for mapping the country’s scientific future. The priority for solving the country’s problems—from the smallest to the most advanced issues in political and social sectors—should be prepared by the academies, and they should take the lead. If the distinguished professors of the academies are well managed and given a platform, we will succeed in solving the country’s problems.” He continued: “The academies are the axis of scientific and technological guidance and problem-solving for the country.” He described the government’s expectations of the academies: “In the highest place in the country’s scientific progress and governance, the academies must serve as the nerve centre for producing science, futurology and providing solutions for the country’s major challenges.” Dr. Aref called education system reform essential and said: “Our universities should not be a large high school or a major governmental admin. University is a scientific and public institution and the government has no right to intervene in university affairs except in policy and general strategy. If a university cannot manage its own affairs, how can we expect it to help govern the country? The Fourteenth Government’s viewpoint is reforming the education system from elementary school through highest levels of postgraduate education.” He listed resource management reform among other expectations for universities and said: “Even with limited resources we do not use them optimally, and many of the capacities of admissions to special universities remain unused; yet in one city of a few thousand people multiple large universities have been built. Of course, reforming resource management is a hard measure that requires surgery. We have told universities that the freed resources should be placed at the disposal of the university itself for advancing structural reform.” He identified scientific direction of development programmes and acting as a think-tank as other demands from the academies: “The academies are the highest think tank for the government and the governance system.” With respect to the importance of the academies entering to achieve the goals of the 20-year Vision document, he said: “In some areas even the indicators of the early 2000s we have fallen behind, and the academies should regard themselves as owners of a long-term vision and programmes. Because the expectations of the system are higher than attaining the first place in the region; it is achieving scientific reference and global influence.” On drafting the Eighth Development Plan: “I ask the Academy of Sciences to put the implementation of the Second Step of the Revolution statement on its agenda. The academies must from today begin the key preparation of the country’s next development programmes and prepare the strategies for the Eighth Development Plan as soon as possible. The academies worked on the Sixth and Seventh plans and drafts in the academies were prepared, but afterwards we encountered the reality of their approval. The Eighth Development Plan must be drafted based on the academies’ scientific thinking.” He stressed the importance of solving mismatches with the help of the academies and said: “Professors and prominent economic figures in the Academy of Sciences must help resolve economic imbalances. The country’s resources and expenditures are clear. On that basis we must respond to the people’s economic demands because today livelihood is the government's first priority.” Dr. Aref declared: “The intrinsic duty of the academies is the scientific and technological advancement of the country,” and with the statement that “the academies must lead spiritual guidance of government, university and industry,” he added: “Today the relationship between industry and university is good and appropriate. In one session with the board of trustees of a university it was raised that the university’s independent income is only 15 per cent. This is a disaster for the scientific community of the country given the high number of distinguished professors in the country, and shows we have not succeeded in this field; as a result industry is forced to meet its needs from outside.” On emerging technologies: “The academies must focus on emerging technologies,” he said. “The question is: why must technologies originate outside Iran and then we use them instead of being pioneers? We especially ask the Academy of Sciences to concentrate on emerging technologies.” Dr. Aref emphasized the necessity of being at the forefront of Persian language and national cultural identity in the production of global science: “In the statements of the Supreme Leader it has been repeatedly declared that Persian must become a scientific language of the world — and this cannot be achieved via circular alone.” He also called for synergy, interaction, and institutionalized communications between the academies, referring to their intrinsic role in monitoring and scientific surveillance of the country: “The academies can, through scientific monitoring and surveillance, propose corrections.” He named raising scientific ethics, social responsibility of elites, and scientific and technological governance among other government expectations of the academies: “In the statements of the Supreme Leader there has been clear emphasis on technologies; if we have scientific and technological governance at all levels, many problems and challenges will be solved — and this requires new structures.” On structural reforms: “Structural reform must begin from within. Government and Parliament have a traditional and classical structure that we only appear to have reformed; whenever structural reform is discussed, people calculate what their place will be, and at the outset they accept this reform but when their turn comes, they oppose it. The Fourteenth Government has begun structural reform from the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad. Surgery is needed — patience and perseverance are required.” He added: “The government of the Fourteenth term has declared that no individual’s salary will be reduced and positions will be turned into starred posts and then replacements will not occur. Structural reforms are included in every development programme but every government that came to power added hundreds of thousands of employees to the government apparatus.” He also described governmental expectation of the academies in promoting Iran’s cultural and civilizational policies in the new global system: “Recent developments in the region showed that the trick of ‘Iranophobia’ no longer works and in this new global and regional space we must adopt new policies too, and we must see what role the civilisation we proudly claim will have in the new world.” The First Vice-President asked for scientific justice support, balanced regional development and the expansion of international scientific interactions and said: “Our scientific relations with international scientific institutions are almost cut off, and the remuneration and benefits of professors to participate in scientific conferences are not adequate, so in this area we cleared the issue such that professors either do not participate in scientific conferences or if a conference is held inside the country, no one is invited because maybe they are spies.” He posed the question: “In today’s world is it possible to not have relations with the global scientific world and have Iranian professors not connected with professors from other countries? The country suffers from this severance of scientific ties with the world.” On guiding the young generation and elites: “We have a teenage and youthful community full of enthusiasm and motivation, who in the national women’s futsal team reach championship in the Asian Games. In the technology olympiad of the Pardis Science & Technology Park with about 12,000 participants domestic and foreign, close to 10,000 young Iranians were present — which makes us proud — but on the other hand we must see whether our actions have been such that we can respond to this generation or not.” He continued: “I am in contact with motivated and vibrant young people who say they can solve all the country’s problems, and we must ask what measures we have taken for this young and teenage generation. Our only art in these years has been to appreciate the elites but the philosophy of establishing the Foundation for Elites is to discover the elite; if we look after a teenager or child in a village, he could become a distinguished scientist.” On environmental issues: “The academies have always been pioneers in solving environmental issues, but today the country’s environmental indicators are not in good shape because under the excuse of water shortage we set aside the environmental water share and on the other hand irrigation in our agriculture is still flood-based and we immediately dig wells — illegal well-digging at the cost of destroying water and soil. If in the past we were faced only with land subsidence in parts of the country, today we are confronted with this phenomenon in all areas, which is irreversible.” He emphasized: “The Fourteenth Government is a servant of the people and considers the solutions to the country’s problems in scientific forums and at their head the academies,” and he stressed drafting a national innovation document. Prior to the session, the First Vice-President also visited the newly renovated sections of the Academy of Sciences.