A Meeting to Evaluate the Incentive Program for International Scientific Publications Originating from Turkey (UBYT) held at ULAKBİM
The meeting was held on 16 April 2018, chaired by Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlker Murat Ar, Vice President of TÜBİTAK, and in the presence of Vice Chancellors of R&D Universities and assigned academics as well as Prof. Dr. Yaşar Tonta, an academic in the Department of Information and Document Management, Hacettepe University.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlker Murat Ar, Vice President of TÜBİTAK, gave the opening speech, mentioning titles from the project prepared by Prof. Dr. Yaşar Tonta and reported based on an analysis of 25 years of data of the UBYT Program, and stated the aim of the meeting was to discuss the UBYT program, hear suggestions, and create a common sense and revise it. Mehmet Mirat Satoğlu, Director of ULAKBİM, made a presentation about the report during the meeting as well.
Then, Prof. Dr. Yaşar Tonta provided information about the report he had prepared. In his report, he indicated that a 2% sample was chosen based on the years 2006 to 2015, and 40% the supported articles originating from Turkey in this sample was in the quadrant Q4, with 7% above 1, which the world average, or more.
The participants were pleased to that universities were asked to express opinion about the new UBYT program and took the floor to express their opinions. During the meeting, they suggested as follows:
- The UBYT program be continued with improvements,
- The number and diversity of stakeholders which were referred to for their opinion be increased and the Higher Education Council be invited to future meetings,
- Some mechanisms be developed to encourage quality, productivity and continuity, and
- The differences between fields be taken into consideration.
Before closing the meeting, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İlker Murat Ar, Vice President of TÜBİTAK, said such evaluation meetings would be organized in the future as well and thanked the participants for their contribution.