Increased Salaries for Scientists from January

As of January 2022, the new salary scales approved by the Armenian government’s decision 747-L, dated May 13, 2021, have come into effect, significantly raising scientists' salaries. This was reported by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia (MoESCS).

According to the aforementioned decision, the basic salary for scientific personnel involved in the basic funding programs of scientific and scientific-technical activities has been set at 66,140 AMD starting from January 1, 2022. A table of coefficients has also been established for calculating the salary scales of each academic rank and scientific position.

Accordingly, the minimum value of a scientist's salary is calculated as a product of the stated base salary and the relevant coefficient for employees working under normal conditions as per Armenian legislation. The scale forecasts a gradual increase in scientists' salaries from 2022 to 2025, which will ensure comparability with public sector salaries.

It should be noted that there has been no revision of salaries for scientific workers since 2010, and the current increase is a fundamental step aimed at revitalizing and developing the sector.

The qualification process for scientific personnel is regulated by the government decision No. 935 of 2001, which defines the ranks of scientific positions and the minimum conditions required for them. The established scientific positions include junior researcher, researcher, senior researcher, leading researcher, and chief researcher.

Scientific organizations may set additional requirements for certification based on their specific professional characteristics. The certification process is monitored by the Science Committee of the Republic of Armenia.

New criteria for certification will soon be submitted for government approval, which will serve as the basis for the nationwide certification of scientific personnel in 2024.

The regulation of base salaries according to the ranks of scientific personnel will change the staffing structure of scientific potential and ensure a normal outflow and influx of personnel in the field of science. This will help solve the problem of replenishing the scientific field with young staff, improve the socio-economic and working conditions of scientific personnel, and ensure a stable increase in the number of highly qualified personnel in the field of science and technology as well as the effective targeted reproduction of scientific potential.

Additionally, besides the base salary, active researchers receive additional funding from various national and international grant programs. In recent years, there has also been a significant increase in the number of projects conducted within the thematic funding competitions organized by the Science Committee of Armenia and the number of researchers involved in them.