TEHRAN – The Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) and BRICS Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) Framework will support the implementation of major, strategic collaborative research projects through joint regular and flagship calls to help find sustainable solutions to global challenges, and bring about fundamental revolutions in science, technology, and society.

The effort will provide a great opportunity for the scholars and scientists of the country to cooperate with credible scientific organizations in Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Russia, and South Africa, Mehr news agency reported.

Accordingly, only the research projects that involve the collaborations of at least three BRICS member states for regular joint call, and four BRICS member states for flagship joint call will be supported. 

The researchers and scholars are required to develop a scientific network among institutions, universities, organizations, and specialists of BRICS member states.

The proposed researches should ensure joint interests of the member states; they are expected to lay the ground for boosting scientific synergy, and expanding joint infrastructures.

The regular joint call will be centered on the following fields:

1. Water Resources

Monitoring and Data for Water Systems

Water Treatment, Reuse, and Resource Circularity

Resilience to Water Hazards and Extreme Events through Data-Driven Approaches

High Performance Computing and Artificial Intelligence

High Performance Computing and AI Infrastructure Co-Design

Artificial Intelligence and Large Language Models

Quantum Computing, Sensing, and Secure Information Technologies

2. Energy

Solar Energy Technologies and Applications

Integrated Smart and Renewable Energy Systems for Resilient Power Networks

Low-Carbon Energy Pathways, Sector Coupling, and Energy Efficiency

3. Health, Biotechnology and Biomedicine

Advanced Biotechnology, Genomics, and AI-Assisted Discovery

Personalized Medicine, Diagnostics, and Cell-Based Therapies

Digital Health, Telemedicine, and AI-Enabled Healthcare Systems

4. Food

Climate-Resilient Crops and Advanced Plant Biotechnology

Digital and Precision Agriculture for Sustainable Production

Sustainable Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Food Quality Monitoring

5. Materials Science

Advanced Functional and Smart Materials

Materials for Energy Conversion, Storage, and Sustainability

Advanced Functional Materials: Nanomaterials, Biomaterials, and Resilient Systems 

The flagship joint call will focus on 1. Digital Earth, 2. Psycho-molecular tools, and 3. BRICS Intelligent Telescope and Data Network