Introduction to the Research Department

Research, thinking, and discovering are the most important keys to the development of culture and science. In a High Education Institute, research is one the most important pillars. In fact, it is so important that it is more than less considered as the main pillar.

Undoubtedly, advancement and improvement in an Education and Research Institute are impossible without rhythmical growth and the coordination of education and research. It can even be said daringly that education without research is barren. As a favor by the manager of the Institute, a plan for a research department was visualized and then established for the following reasons:

1. To support the spiritual and practical ambitions of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
2. The necessity for scientific and religious research at the Institute.
 

Gradually, the activities of the Research Department increased and it gained its title as an individual and secular department of the Institute. This part of the Institute, with the title, the Research Department has accomplished many various research activities. Many of these accomplishments have sought attention due to their importance and distinctiveness. Further details of these accomplishments are to follow.

Presently, according to the new structure of this department that is being foreseen, it has the direct responsibility of creating research groups for all fields of the Education Department. The first step to putting these groups into action is selecting research managers and secretaries for the groups and this has already been done. For each group, the best candidate was selected and introduced, and they have now started their jobs. These groups are putting together their short and long term plans. Some of their long-term research plans have already met approval.

The long-term plan of the Research Department, as a whole, to promote further action of these groups is to open independent research centers for them to have more independence and freedom in achieving their goals. This plan is in its first stages and, as of now, only the Quranic Science research group has its own center.

In addition to this, the Research Department, in support of these groups, divided its managerial duties into three management divisions. For each division, they assigned a manager, leaving the Research Department with three assistant managers. These three all have different managerial duties and responsibilities.

The first and most important managerial division of the Research Department is the Research Management Division. These are some of its responsibilities: receiving, approving, supporting and controlling research plans; observing the necessary education courses for research; and translating suitable articles and books for publishing scientific and specialized material. In order to carry out its responsibilities properly, the Research Management Division, in this new structure, contains five different offices. These five offices are:

1. The Office of Researcher’s Affairs
2. The Office of Research Plan Control and Assessment
3. The Office of Translation (Arabic & English)
4. The Office of Education for Research
5. The Office of Scientific and Specialized Publications
 

The second management division of the Research Department is the Text Compilation Management Division. This management division has four offices which carry the responsibility of compiling and preparing finished research for publication. These four offices are:

1. The Office of Compiling Study Materials
2. The Office of Compiling Ordinary Texts
3. The Office of Editing
4. The Office of Technical Procedures
 

The Information Management Division is the third and last management division of the Research Department. It has the responsibility of supporting and providing information for researchers. There are three offices that make up this division and those are:

1. The Office of the Library and Documentation Center
2. The Office of Organizing Seminars
3. The Office of Research Information
 

The Research Department Manager along with his direct responsibilities (affiliated with the research groups and management divisions), has the responsibility of organizing regular meetings with the Book Council and Research Council. The research group centers are in contact with the Institute through the Research Department Manager.

According to statistics that have been published in the Institute’s research newsletter through out the gears 1995-2000, 84 of the Institute’s research plans were officially approved. Thirty-nine of these 84 plans have been accomplished and 45 are currently being worked on. In the Office of Translation of the Research Management Division, in the Arable section, 55 articles have been translated and 23 are presently being translated. In the English Section, 13 articles have been translated from the English language into Persian.