Communications Minister at Oversight Meeting of Communications and IT Research Institute: Engagement with Elites Must Be Effective and Ongoing

Communications and IT Minister stressed the need to prioritize the missions of the Communications and IT Research Institute, calling for a focus on infrastructure and enduring projects, stronger engagement with elites, and a more active role for the institute in technology expertise and policymaking. The oversight meeting of the institute, held within the framework of the program […] Communications Minister at Oversight Meeting of Communications and IT Research Institute: Engagement

The Minister of Communication and Information Technology, emphasizing the necessity of prioritizing the missions of the Research Institute of Communication and Information Technology, called for focusing on sustainable and infrastructural projects, strengthening communication with elites, and more active presence of this group in the field of expertise and technology policy.

According to ICT News, the supervisory meeting of the Research Institute of Communication and Information Technology was held in the framework of the "Supervisory Thursdays" program, and in it, the performance of the research institute and the strategic priorities of this group were examined.

Prioritizing missions and focusing on sustainable projects

Syedstar Hashemi, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, said in this meeting and after listening to the performance report of the Communications Research Institute, referring to the increase in the number of projects and resources allocated to the research institute, "The achievements of the research institute should also be reflected in the final results and its evaluation indicators."

Emphasizing the need to focus on clear priorities, the Minister of Communications added: "Having several priorities means that in practice there is no clear priority." Therefore, it is necessary to clearly define the strategic direction of the research institute and to put all the projects, memorandums and implementation plans in the framework of these strategies.

Emphasizing the importance of long-lasting infrastructure projects, he stated: "You should not only look for short-term and flashy projects; Rather, we should follow plans that are designed with a national horizon and even if their exploitation is not realized in the current management period, they will create a stable infrastructure for the future of the country."

Hashemi also considered sustainable cyber security as one of the research institute's strategic priorities and emphasized the necessity of defining specific goals and indicators to evaluate the progress of projects.

Using internal capacity and strengthening communication with elites

Referring to the country's limited financial resources, the Minister of Communications said: "The existing expertise and human resources should be used in the best way, and the implementation of research projects, respecting the quality, should be prioritized as much as possible within the capacities of the research institute itself."

He emphasized that the use of internal capacity should not lead to a decrease in quality and the assignment of projects should be done based on the scientific ability, records and executive capacity of the executors.

Emphasizing the necessity of continuous communication with elites and top talents of the country, Hashemi added: "Communication with elites should not be limited to holding a meeting; Rather, it is necessary to form continuous and effective interactions with them."

He considered the design of programs to increase the interaction and cooperation of top talents with the research institute as an opportunity to identify scientific capacities, transfer experience and strengthen the bond between the young generation and the scientific community of the country.

More active presence in the field of expertise and policy making

Emphasizing the specialized position of the research center, the Minister of Communications said: "The research center is expected to comment on the important technological issues of the country in accordance with its specialized mission and provide the findings and expert analyzes to the public opinion."

Hashemi emphasized the more active presence of researchers and specialized managers in the fields of expertise and media and said: "This presence should be based on knowledge, research, experience and expert reasoning."

He also referred to the plans and decisions related to the governance of cyberspace, and demanded a detailed examination of their effects and consequences before approval and clarified: "Clarifying the limits of authority and responsibilities and preventing parallel work is one of the requirements for the efficiency of the technology governance system."

Hashemi considered the role of the research institute to be important in examining the fundamental issues of technology governance, analyzing plans and bills, and providing expert suggestions, and emphasized the need for a more active participation of this group in the policy-making process.

The need to strengthen the position of the Persian language in the digital space

In another part of his speech, the Minister of Communications, referring to the estimates about the decrease in the share of Persian language on the web from about 3.5% to nearly 1%, emphasized the necessity of examining this trend and formulating a plan to strengthen the presence of the Persian language in the digital space.

Referring to the idea of "technological Persia", he called for the use of scientific and technological capacities to improve the status of Persian language and literature in the digital environment.

At the end, while appreciating the efforts of the managers and staff of the research center, Hashemi expressed hope that this complex will become a model for other institutions under the Ministry of Communications by focusing on strategic priorities and using its scientific and specialized capacities effectively.

At the beginning of this meeting, Mohammad Hossein Sheikhi, the head of the Research Institute of Communication and Information Technology, presented a report on the plans, ongoing projects and actions of this group and explained the most important activities of the research institute in the research and technological fields.

Then the members present in the meeting presented their views and suggestions about the performance of the research institute, strategic priorities and strategies to improve the effectiveness of the projects.

The series of "Monitoring Thursdays" meetings are held continuously and weekly with the aim of reviewing the process of program implementation, evaluating the performance of various departments of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and following up on assigned actions and missions.