Mapping scientific potential, intellectual property, and commercialization of knowledge: YSU continues to enhance research outcomes

In an interview with us, the Vice-Rector for Scientific Affairs at YSU, Rafayel Barkhudaryan, addressed the primary factors ensuring the university’s scientific progress.

- Mr. Barkhudaryan, over the past two years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of scientific articles by YSU researchers published in prestigious databases such as Scopus and Web of Science. What steps have contributed to this rise in publications?

- In 2024, the number of scientific publications by YSU researchers in journals indexed in the internationally renowned Scopus database has grown significantly. Three main factors have contributed to this growth:  

1. Increased Funding for Science Coupled with Improvements in Scientific Management: The funding for science at YSU has surpassed 4 billion AMD. However, achieving scientific advancement is not possible through increased funding alone. In addition to this financial growth, the university has taken steps to enhance the efficiency of its scientific management. 

2. Internal Grants: These play a significant role in promoting research at the university. Researchers are encouraged to engage in scientific work through opportunities such as forming research teams, applying for open competitions, winning, and receiving funding. Additionally, travel grants enable YSU researchers, lecturers, and professors to participate in international scientific events, present their work, and connect with the research community abroad. As a result, YSU researchers produce scientific articles that meet international standards. 

3. Research and Teaching Balance: To promote research and effective teaching, YSU provides lecturers with the opportunity to allocate up to 50 hours of their 700-hour annual workload specifically for research activities. Consequently, each lecturer is expected to present at least one scientific article by the end of the year. 

YSU aims not only to maintain this momentum but also to foster its qualitative and quantitative growth.

- The scientific articles published in internationally recognized journals cover a variety of fields, including chemistry, physics, pharmacy, social sciences, and mathematics. Does YSU have scientific products in these fields that are being sold to partners?

- From the perspective of knowledge commercialization, there has been noticeable progress in recent years, particularly due to the substantial increase in the number and volume of research contracts from private companies. YSU researchers are offering new solutions to the challenges faced by private companies, primarily in the fields of mathematics, physics, biology, and psychology, often in collaboration with international partners who are leaders in their respective fields. 

We are also taking steps towards the commercialization of intellectual property. We are mapping scientific potential and intellectual property to have a clearer picture of what YSU can commercialize and where we should focus our resources, while ensuring the protection of YSU’s authorship and intellectual property rights. 

- In recent years, there has been a notable enhancement of laboratories with modern equipment, some of which have been funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of Armenia, and others by YSU. Alongside this acquisition of modern equipment, is there also training provided for researchers?

- There has been significant progress in the acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment, particularly in the laboratories of the Institutes of Physics, Pharmacy, and the Faculties of Chemistry and Biology, which are aimed at creating scientific products that meet international standards. Over the past two years, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports of Armenia has allocated over 1 billion AMD annually for the acquisition of modern scientific equipment. It is worth noting that the equipment purchased is unique, with few, if any, equivalents in Armenia.

Along with the acquisition of scientific equipment, YSU has also focused on upgrading its teaching laboratories. Recently, most of these laboratories have been renovated, furnished, and replenished with modern equipment, thanks to university resources.