Appointment, Promotion, and Excellence Recognition Systems
Al-Ahliyya Amman University
Institutional Promotion Orientation
The seven systems described below reflect AAU's conviction that interdisciplinary research is not a supplementary activity but a core dimension of academic advancement. They are designed to create incentives that are concrete, transparent, and grounded in measurable performance evidence.
Recognition and Promotion Systems
1
Inclusion of Interdisciplinary Research in Promotion Requirements
Interdisciplinary research is formally embedded in AAU's academic promotion criteria. Publications that integrate two or more ISR-eligible disciplines are evaluated not only on volume but on scientific quality, citation impact, and publication venue.
Priority is given to research that offers innovative solutions to real-world challenges and that contributes to fields with high Topic Prominence momentum.
AAU's bibliometric evidence confirms that interdisciplinary papers outperform single-discipline output on every citation metric: Mean FWCI of 3.065 versus 2.190, 47% higher average citations, and 29.2% of papers in the global field-weighted top 10%.
2
Additional Points for Interdisciplinary Research
AAU's promotion framework awards additional credit for research that demonstrates genuine cross-disciplinary integration.
Extra credit is applied for research bridging natural sciences, engineering, and humanities or social sciences, reflecting the depth of disciplinary synthesis involved.
Points are further multiplied for papers published in Q1 or Q2 journals, or for outputs achieving high citation rates relative to the field average. Cross-departmental and cross-faculty collaboration is actively promoted as a pathway to enhanced recognition, consistent with AAU's strategic priority to increase cross-faculty co-authored publications to 20 or more per year by 2028.
3
Supporting Research Exchange and International Partnerships
Joint funding with international research institutions, international conference participation, and cross-border co-authorship all contribute to advancement assessment.
Designed to close the collaboration gap identified in AAU's 2025 bibliometric study: interdisciplinary research shows 64.0% international collaboration rate vs 73.9% for single-discipline output.
Academic exchange programmes with leading global universities actively supported as pathways to recognition.
4
Enhancing Research-Industry Partnerships
Applied interdisciplinary research with industry and government partners is embedded in promotion criteria as a recognized form of scholarly contribution.
Supports the Roadmap target of filing at least 3 interdisciplinary patents or technology transfer agreements by 2028, and commercializing at least 2 research innovations by 2030.
Joint research centres between university and industry encouraged; licensed technologies and policy recommendations receive additional recognition.
5
Marketing Interdisciplinary Research and Knowledge Transfer
A dedicated unit promotes interdisciplinary research outcomes to academic audiences, industry partners, funding bodies, and policy makers.
AAU's strategic agreement with MDPI expands researcher access to open-access interdisciplinary journals, amplifying citation reach and enabling faster knowledge dissemination.
AAU interdisciplinary papers already average 62.7 views per paper — 60% above single-discipline output — demonstrating the visibility advantage of cross-disciplinary research.
6
Priority for Publication in the University Journal (Al-Balqa Journal)
AAU's Al-Balqa Journal for Research and Studies provides an institutional publishing venue with dedicated capacity for interdisciplinary research.
Researchers who publish interdisciplinary work in this journal receive recognition as part of their promotion portfolio.
A dedicated section of the journal is allocated to outstanding interdisciplinary research, ensuring cross-disciplinary work receives appropriate academic visibility within the regional scholarly community.
7
Scientific Awards and Competitions for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Research
🏆 University Award for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Research
An annual institutional award recognizing AAU's most distinguished interdisciplinary research contribution of the year, assessed against the seven-criterion evaluation methodology used in the Top 10 Interdisciplinary Research selection process, including disciplinary diversity, FWCI, Topic Prominence, international collaboration, and global readership impact.
🔬 Annual Interdisciplinary Research Competition
An open competitive process through which faculty, research teams, and graduate students submit interdisciplinary project proposals for evaluation and funding. Projects are assessed on scientific merit, disciplinary integration, potential societal impact, and alignment with AAU's strategic research priorities and Sustainable Development Goals.
💰 Competitive Grants and Publication Support
Winning projects receive financial support through AAU's Interdisciplinary Research Fund, covering research costs, conference participation, and open-access publication fees. Publication support includes Article Processing Charge assistance for submission to high-impact interdisciplinary journals, including those covered by AAU's agreement with MDPI.
📌
Interdisciplinary Research as a Pillar of Academic Advancement
These seven systems position interdisciplinary research as a core dimension of academic advancement at AAU, not a supplementary activity. Together they create a research culture in which genuine cross-disciplinary integration is recognized, rewarded, and sustained. The evidence base for this commitment is documented in AAU's 2025 bibliometric study and tracked in real time through the Interdisciplinary Research Performance Dashboard.
