Concetic | Science | Education | Error or calculation? Written by Fabiola Leon Velarde | opinion

On August 13, the rulings governing the selection of the next president of the National Assembly were issued Sciencestechnology and technological innovation (Concetic). The selection was previously made by two representatives of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (BCM), one from the Ministry of Education, one from the Server and two prominent academics and scientists of Peru; Now she is left in charge of just three public officials, two from PCM and one from Servir, who lack the necessary knowledge in scientific matters to choose who will head the country’s science and technology governing body.

Evaluation of the candidate’s biography for the presidency Concetic It implies possession of knowledge about the scientific production of this candidate, as well as knowledge of how to judge the appropriate administration of public policy in this matter. This means, for example, knowing the scientific journals of high quality, and not being limited to the number of publications. There are cases in which authorship is bought and sold, which appears when the putative authors do not have scientific or technological infrastructure, and are not affiliated with research groups.

In other cases, authors artificially multiply their scientific output, because they agree through an informal agreement to include others in a work in which they did not necessarily participate, in return for doing the same with them. These publications usually come from universities or research centers that do not have the institutional capital to conduct research, ie without the minimum resources to do so. Sciences And technology. Moreover, as we well know, the quality of undergraduate studies, especially doctoral studies, is very uneven in our country, so it is essential that the members of the selection committee have the necessary criteria to make the necessary distinction, so as not to reduce the evaluation to a mere formal and quantitative practice.

It is appropriate to highlight that owner Concetic He is a member of the Board of Directors of Sunedu Corporation and is responsible for ensuring the seriousness and quality of research being conducted at licensed or to-be licensed universities. After the changes in the composition of the council, the supervised universities became highly involved, contrary to what is recommended internationally, and that is why they were participating Concetic It becomes very important to ensure that minimum standards are respected in the field of research. On the other hand, the president said Concetic He is also a board member of several sector programs.

Although it is unfortunate, the mistake of excluding scientists from the selection committee can still be fixed BCM It appoints its representatives from among those who constitute, for example, the Advisory Committee of the Presidency of the Republic on Scientific Matters, the National Academy of Sciences, or from among national researchers with distinguished scientific production.

It is the utmost responsibility to participate in this selection process, as the President Concetic It will play a fundamental role in encouraging and promoting scientific and technological research in our country. Those selected must not only have an outstanding scientific career, understand the needs and challenges of the sector, and be able to adequately represent researchers, but also have integrity and ethical suitability.

The scientific community hopes that the mistake that has been made will be corrected and a flawless process will be ensured without a doubt.