Award competitions “Scientist of 2016” and “Young Scientist of 2016”, held for the first time within the framework of the targeted grant competition “The Worthiest Scientist – T.W.S.” of the Science Development Foundation (SDF) under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, finished. The awarding ceremony took place on October 16.
Executive Director of SDF Elchin Babayev provided information on the competition. It was noted that the competition “Scientist of the Year” was organized by SDF for the first time. The competition, planned to be held regularly, aims to evaluate and award through competition scientists, including young scientists, based on scientific and scientific and organizational achievements gained each year in different scientific spheres.
The competition was held on two nominations. Along with Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), educational institutions took an active part in the competition as well. Eight scientists became the winners of the competition “Scientist of 2016”, and four scientists were chosen the winners of the competition “Young Scientist of 2016”.
The winners were awarded at the end. They were presented specially designed medals and diplomas.
As a result of the competition, 3 scientists on Physics, Mathematics and Technical Sciences, 4 on Chemical Sciences, 2 on Medical, Biological and Agrarian Sciences and 3 on Humanitarian and Social Sciences were declared the winners. Among winners was the head of the Ph.D. Office of Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University (ASOIU), Doctor of Technical Sciences Latafat Gardashova. Professor at the Department of Computer Engineering of ASOIU, L. Gardashova became the winner of the competition “Scientist of 2016” on the main nomination in Physics, Mathematics and Technical Sciences.
Latafat khanum has shared with us her impressions about the competition:
- Latafat khanum, congratulations on becoming the scientist of 2016. We would like to hear your impressions.
- Thank you. I am pleased to have been granted the award in Mathematics and Technology. This gives me an incentive and enthusiasm for my future activities. In addition, this award has responsibility. On the occasion of having received this award, I express my gratitude to SDF, university administration, which implements great measures aimed at returning the previous reputation of AzII, and to the school of the world-renowned scientist Lotfi Zadeh and his successors.
- What is the primary goal of holding the award competitions “Scientist of 2016” and “Young Scientist of 2016”?
- The competition “Scientist of the year” is organized by SDF for the first time and, is planned to be held regularly. The purpose of the competition is to identify, evaluate in line with international standards and award the scientists, who carried out successful scientific activities and gained high scientific results in 2016, who have scientific papers and other scientific writings published in leading journals and publications indexed on famous databases with impact factor, whose scientific writings are used as reference and who are distinguished for their high scientific and organizational activities.
- What were the evaluation criteria in the competition?
- The evaluation was conducted by a total of 25 criteria, covering different sections. This includes scientific papers, books, references to scientific writings in 2016, international scientific cooperation, domestic and foreign conferences, speeches in scientific seminars, staff training, foreign scientific journals, activities in commissions related to scientific and organizational works, training activities, etc. I was awarded, as I complied with these criteria in Mathematics and Technology.
- In general, how do you evaluate the activities, that have been implemented in the field of science lately?
- It is a fact that, since its establishment, the Science Development Foundation under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan gives impetus to the activities of researchers and scientists, that specialize in the field of science, serves to improve the activities of higher education institutions and supports scientific and technical potential. Holding such competitions is of great importance in terms of evaluating the activities of people involved in science, as they encourage scientists to focus on themselves better. The high level of scientific and technical potential is one of the essential factors for the sustainable development of the Republic’s economy. The current development phase of new information technologies in our republic, rapid development of soft computing technologies have provided favorable opportunities for integration of Azerbaijani science into world science.
- In your opinion, what is the current scientific potential of ASOIU?
- As says our Rector, Professor Mustafa Babanli, our goal is to transform AzII into not only an educational institution but also a great center of science. We put all our efforts in this area. The greatest success of ASOIU in scientific writings is the significant increase in the number of articles included in the Web of Science database. Over the last two years, we have raised our indicators by several times. In addition, last year, our university hosted the 65th Student Scientific Technical Conference. This September, ASOIU received the 3rd Turkic World International Conference on Chemical Sciences and Technologies. The management has taken a number of steps for the development of science at our university, and the work is underway in this direction.
- Latafat khanum, could you please share information about your future scientific activities? What are your plans?
- Currently, I supervise 5 doctors of Philosophy. I read new scientific papers, published on indexed databases, related to the problems, stated in subjects of their dissertations. I am working on two articles with my colleagues to send them to high impact journals. I’m conducting research with Master’s students on the application of Soft computing technology to other fields of science. I supervise scientific research at the Department of Computer Engineering. I am also involved in training. I am writing a textbook on “System Analysis and Computer Modeling” based on the lectures I have read in recent years. I am studying the experience of foreign universities for high-level management of doctoral education at ASOIU. I try to support Ph.D. students with my organizational activities. In short, what I have planned is a lot more than I am capable of realizing.
