IDB President Ahmed Mohammed Ali said the bank instituted the prize eight years ago to achieve scientific and technological excellence and promote capacity building in IDB member countries. “Every year three institutions are selected by an independent panel of eminent scientists,” he said. Each prize consists of a cash award of $100,000 and a trophy.
The Iranian institution is the winner of the prize’s first category (most outstanding contribution to social and economic development) while the Pakistani institute is the winner of the second category (most outstanding contribution to a given scientific field) and the Palestinian college winner in the third category (noted scientific institution from a least developed member country.) The ISTT has produced 133 patents, including three international ones. It has traded four know-how technologies, partnered with 11 Iranian companies and 11 Iranian R&D institutions, and set up 300 companies in the Isfahan area. IDB had received 49 applications for the category one prize.
Among the 61 applications for the category two prize, the Pakistani institute was picked for the award considering its contributions to research. The Palestinian faculty has been commended for its delivery of high quality education and fruitful research despite the Israeli blockade. The prizes will be awarded to the winners by the chairman of the IDB Board of Governors during the 35th IDB annual conference, to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on June 23-24. Over the past seven years, 21 institutions in Egypt, Pakistan, Sudan, Kazakhstan, Palestine, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Morocco, Iran, Senegal, and Bangladesh have received the award.
