The great farce of Saudi universities is coming to an end. The number of highly quoted scientists claiming to work in Saudi Arabia has fallen by 76% since April last year, when EL PAÍS revealed the existence of a scheme to pay up to 70,000 euros a year to foreign researchers who lie at thier workplace. work, employment, to defraud Saudi institutions rankings academics. Two dozen Spaniards participated in that ruse. The chemist Damià Barceló, for example, falsely declared from 2016 to 2022 that his main place of work was King Saud University, in Riyadh, when in reality he was director of the Catalan Institute for Water Research, in Girona .
In 2022, Saudi Arabia boasted of having 109 professors in the prestigious List of Highly Cited Scientists, drawn up by the multinational Clarivate wiht the 7,000 researchers in the world whose studies are most mentioned by othre colleagues. The more members of that list a university has, the higher it will appear on the list classification of shanghai, the most influential university ranking in the world.Some Saudi institutions chose to bribe highly regarded foreign scientists to lie in the Clarivate database, a trick that went undetected for years. After the scandal uncovered by this newspaper, the number was reduced from 109 to 76 at the end of 2023. the new listpublished only last November 19th 26 left including Spanish ecologists Carlos Duarte and Fernando Maestre, who actually moved and worked at the King Abdullah University of Science and technology in the Saudi city of Thuwal.
In recent years, the list of highly cited scientists has become a breeding ground for all kinds of traps, as some scientists have entered using tricks such as self-citation, publishing inconsistent studies every week, or colluding with other researchers to cite each other. David Pendlebury, analyst at Clarivate, explained in a statement that his company has strengthened its filters this year, to “identify researchers involved in misconduct of various types,” notably those who manipulate mentions of their studies. Clarivate dropped just 300 scientists from its 2021 list for fraudulent practices. In 2022 there were 500. In 2023 a thousand. And this year the record of 2,000 exclusions was reached: practically one in three apparently highly cited researchers was caught resorting to bad practices.
The Swiss analyst Yoran Beldengruen revealed the global dimension of Saudi deception. In just a decade, 210 highly cited scientists from other countries said their primary workplace was a Saudi university. Most of them were from China (44), Spain (19), the united States (16) and Turkey (14). a relationship from Beldengrün prepared for specialized consultancy SIRIS academic based in Barcelona. For this analyst, the “huge drop” in the number of highly cited scientists claiming to work in saudi Arabia is “a good step towards research integrity.”
years without work and without pay, after finding that he had falsely declared that his main place of work was Saudi ArabiaS King Saud University. His case, revealed by EL PAÍS, was the most read article in the newspaper in 2023 and sparked international amazement. Because of that lie, the institution of cordoba about 150 seats fell in it classification from shanghai, dropping out of the top 800, according to the calculation of the consultancy firm SIRIS Academic. The magazine Naturereference of world science, he echoed of the Luque case and the subsequent investigation by this newspaper into the Saudi plot. For the mathematician Domingo Docampowho has been denouncing climbing traps for years rankings academics, this impact was crucial.
“It seems that the international spread of bad practices in the purchase of academic affiliations, and that high-level scientific journals have collected and commented on them, is bearing fruit,” says Docampo, who was rector of the University of Vigo.” It seems Clarivate has taken good note and included thes behaviors, along with high levels of self-citations, suspicions of collusion (cartels), and cases reported by Retraction clock [una organización estadounidense especializada en fraudes científicos]”, adds the mathematician.
The disappearance of the fake Saudi professors is a hard blow for Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, believed by the United States to be guilty of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Bin Salman has set a goal of having at least five saudi universities among the top 200 in the world by 2030. without this trap, his institutions will collapse in the coming years. rankings. Rey Saúd University, falsely claimed to be the home of Spanish chemists Damià Barceló and Rafael Luque, went in a year from 38 highly cited scientists to just a dozen.
King Abdulaziz University, in the Saudi city of Jeddah, was one of the most active in attracting Spanish researchers willing to lie, also thanks to the mathematician Juan Luis García Guirao, professor at the Polytechnic University of Cartagena, who acted as an intermediary for the Arab institution with at least a dozen national scientists, according to research by EL PAÍS. Last year King Abdulaziz claimed to have 12 highly cited scientists. In the new list he has none.
The percentage of highly cited researchers in Saudi Arabia – almost one for every 200 professors – was so high that it multiplied the percentages observed in Germany,Spain and France by five or even ten,according to the survey. the data from SIRIS Academic. Another of the Saudi institutions involved was Taif University, an hour’s drive from Mecca. Food technologist Francisco Tomás Barberán said he worked there in 2020, despite actually carrying out research in Murcia, at the Segura Centre for Soil Science and Applied Biology, belonging to the Superior Council of Scientific Research (CSIC). A year ago,this association initiated disciplinary proceedings against its five members involved in the Saudi plot to manipulate the site classification of universities.
The 2024 List of Highly Cited Scientists includes approximately 6,600 researchers, 36% of whom come from the united States, compared to 43% in 2018. This American weight loss can be explained by the growth of China, which exceeded 8% in 2018 to early 2024. current 20%. The Chinese Academy of Sciences, which includes more than one hundred institutes, is the world organization with the most cited scientists, reaching 308. The American universities of Harvard (231) and Stanford (133) occupy second and third place place, with more cited researchers than all Spanish institutions combined (99).In 2021, Spain was the ninth country in the world with the
Clarivate analyst David Pendlebury details that his team introduced new filters after detecting “citation exchanges” between researchers, who agree to cite each other to climb the rankings. rankings. In October, the publisher Springer Nature suddenly retracted 75 studies by Juan Manuel Corchado, rector of the University of Salamanca, and his collaborators for these types of fraudulent practices.
What are teh key implications of the Saudi university scandal on global academic integrity?
Interview Between Time.News Editor and research Integrity expert
Editor: Welcome to Time.News. Today, we are delving into a topic that has significant implications for academic integrity and research credibility. I’m joined by Dr. Yoran Beldengruen, an analyst who has extensively researched the recent scandal involving Saudi universities, where numerous foreign researchers were allegedly paid to falsely claim affiliation with these institutions. Dr. Beldengruen, can we start by discussing the scale of this deception? What prompted your examination?
Dr. Beldengruen: Thank you for having me.The situation in Saudi Arabia is striking. Over the past decade, more than 210 highly cited scientists falsely claimed affiliation with Saudi universities, primarily for financial gain. This encompassed researchers from various countries, including china, Spain, and the United States, who were reportedly incentivized to boost their profiles and, in turn, enhance their institutions’ rankings.
Editor: that’s alarming. The revelation in EL PAÍS highlighted a 76% drop in the number of highly cited scientists claiming to work in Saudi Arabia after the scheme was uncovered. How significant is this reduction in the context of global academic research?
Dr. Beldengruen: The drop is monumental. Saudi Arabia went from boasting 109 highly cited professors to just 76 within a year. This change reflects a global acknowledgment of the importance of research integrity. The decline can be seen as a restoration of credibility in the academic landscape, which had been undermined by these fraudulent claims.
Editor: Speaking of credibility, it truly seems that the Clarivate database, which ranks universities based on their highly cited researchers, is undergoing changes as an inevitable result of these findings. how is Clarivate responding to the challenge of maintaining integrity in their rankings?
Dr. Beldengruen: Clarivate has significantly strengthened its filters to identify misconduct. They reported a record 2,000 exclusions this year alone due to fraudulent practices, demonstrating their commitment to refining their evaluation processes. The growing awareness of manipulation—such as self-citation and deceitful affiliations—means they have to adapt continually to maintain trust in their rankings.
editor: That’s encouraging. With such a massive fallout from these practices, what’s your view on the future of academic affiliations and rankings? Will this discourage institutions from engaging in similar schemes?
Dr. Beldengruen: I believe we are at a turning point. The consequences of exposure can be severe—not just for individual researchers but also for institutions. The significant drop in rankings for those caught up in these deceptions serves as a powerful deterrent. As more cases come to light, I expect greater adherence to ethical research practices globally.
Editor: Considering this scandal, how do you view the overall health of academic environments, especially in countries looking to advance their research profiles but perhaps lacking a foundational culture of integrity?
Dr. Beldengruen: It’s a challenging balance. While many countries aspire to elevate their research profiles, sometimes that ambition can led to short-sighted decisions. However, scandals like this drive home the fact that ethical foundations are paramount for sustainable growth in academia. Countries must invest in building robust systems that foster genuine research and collaboration instead of cutting corners for rankings.
Editor: Wise words indeed. Lastly, what advice would you give to young researchers navigating this complex academic environment to ensure they build their careers on integrity?
Dr. Beldengruen: Young researchers should prioritize authenticity and collaboration over mere numbers. Engaging in meaningful research, forming ethical partnerships, and contributing to the academic community should be the cornerstone of their careers. In the long run, integrity will lead to more substantial achievements than any temporary boost from questionable affiliations.
Editor: Thank you, Dr. Beldengruen, for your insights and for shedding light on such a critical issue facing academia today. It’s clear that the pursuit of knowledge must be rooted in integrity for the benefit of all.
Dr. Beldengruen: Thank you for having me. It’s been a pleasure discussing these vital issues.