To attract scientific experts in government service and encourage them to stay in the science career path, personnel from different ministries, offices, and academe within the Bangsamoro Government participated in the Department of S&T’s Scientific Career System (SCS) Orientation and Mentoring from February 20 to 21, 2024.

The event, held at Paragon Hotel in Cotabato City, saw active participation from over eighty (80) attendees, enticing and encouraging them to pursue a career within the system in the future. The SCS launch in the region aims to provide a recognition system that rewards and confers a scientist rank to highly qualified and productive research personnel in government service, thereby developing a pool of highly qualified career scientists and increasing the number of future scientists in the country.

During the first day, participants engaged in activities covering topics such as the SCS, Predatory Journals and Conferences, Ethics for Researchers, DOST Magna Carta Benefits, and Research Projects. Various resource persons, including career scientists from the Department of Agriculture, University of the Philippines – Diliman, DOST, and the National Academy of S&T, provided insights.

On the second day, participants explored into SCS mentoring programs, requirements for admission to the SCS, scientific productivity, scientific accomplishments and guidelines, workshops, and one-on-one mentoring sessions with career scientists. An open forum was also set up to address queries from the participants.

The SCS, a system of recruitment, career progression, and recognition, rewards the scientist rank to qualified and productive research personnel in government service. It is co-implemented by DOST and the Civil Service Commission (CSC), and it is currently administered by the National Academy of S&T, Philippines.

The SCS applies to scientific personnel and full-time researchers in government research and development institutes, as well as full-time researchers (non-faculty) in state universities and colleges, with a completed master’s degree and ten (10) years of productive professional R&D work in government service.

Qualified S&T personnel conferred the scientific rank in the system will receive the following benefits and entitlements: Scientist 1 – SG 26 with RATA, Scientist 2 – SG 27 with Magna Carta Benefits for Scientists, Scientist 3 – SG 28 with USD 3000 Foreign Travel Grant, Scientist 4 – SG 29 with local travel grant, and Scientist 5 – SG 30 with USD 500 Publication/Membership Fee.

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