Author: International Affairs

Dual Degree Programs between the Universities in a Near Future

A meeting was held on April 24, 2017 at SUT’s Presidential Office with the presence of an academic delegation from USM, Malaysia. Dr. Asma Ismail, Vice Chancellor of USM, and Mr. Ahmad Farhan, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academic and International Relations, were leading the Malaysian Delegation. Dr. Fotuhi, President of SUT, Dr. Movaghar, Dean of International Affairs, and Dr. Massoumian, International Affairs Consultant, played host to the delegation. After a brief introduction of universities, possible collaborations between them were discussed by the participants. Dr. Ismail expressed her desire for the formation of Master and PhD dual degree programs between the universities. As she put it, because of the lower financial burden, dual degree programs are suitable channels for international collaborations.

Following the meeting, the delegation had a visit to Sharif Technology Service Complex. At the end, a Memorandum of Understanding for Scientific Cooperation between SUT and USM was signed by Dr. Fotuhi and Dr. Ismail. In addition, Dr. Ismail gave a lecture entitled “Higher Education without Border: Experience of Malaysia” in which several professors and officials of SUT took part.

It is worth mentioning that USM has more than 30000 students and is one of the best research universities in Malaysia. This university has three campuses in Malaysia and one international campus in India. According to QS, USM is among the top 50 universities in the fields of chemical engineering, mining engineering, environmental studies, and leisure management.

A meeting was held on April 23, 2017 at SUT’s International Affairs Office. Dr. H. C. Man, Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Pun Zee HUI, Associate Dean of External Relations and Development, and Dr. Saffar, Associate Professor of School of Accounting and Finance constituted the Delegation. Dr. Movaghar, Dean of International Affairs, Dr. Massoumian, International Affairs Consultant, and several professors of Sharif took part in the meeting.

After a brief introduction of the universities by the representatives of both sides, the formation of a joint PhD program between the two universities was discussed. SUT and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University expressed their desire for the formation of such a program. Moreover, it was decided that a MoU be signed in a near future between the two universities. Afterward, the Delegation had a visit to Sharif Technology Service Complex and Nano Technology Lab.

According to QS, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University is 111^th in the world and 29^th among Asian universities in 2016.  In addition, SUT already has a successful joint PhD program with HKUST, which is another important university in Hong Kong.

Dr. Man’s Presentation

In a meeting that was held on April 23, 2017, the managers of several knowledge-based companies of Germany visited Sharif University of Technologies. The Directors of companies like HAVER & BLOCKER, KARL KOLB, KEK, TRANSCO, WITEC, and COMMIT along with their managerial teams were present in the meeting. On the other side, Dr. Mokhtari, Dean of Industrial Relations, Dr. Massoumian, International Affairs Consultant, and several professors of SUT took part in the meeting.

After a brief introduction of SUT and its research activities, German companies introduced their activities and discussed the potential points of collaborations. Advanced research and laboratory infrastructure of Sharif University of Technology was of interest to these German knowledge-based companies. At the end, the delegation visited the SUT’s Central Lab Services Complex.

Dr. Massoumian, International Affairs Consultant, Dr. Mokhtari, Dean of Industrial Relations, Dr. Ejtehadi, Head of Central Lab, and Dr. Ahadian, Deputy of Sharif Energy Research Institute (SERI) accompanied this delegation. At the beginning of the meeting, a brief introduction of SUT and its main activities was presented.  Afterward, the delegation visited Sharif Accelerator, Central Lab, Technology Transfer Office, and Energy Research Institute.

Several officials from different regions of Italy paid a visit to Sharif on April 19, 2017.  Valeria Fascione, Regional Minister for Startups, Innovation, and Internationalization of Campania Region, Guido Fabiano, Regional Minister for Economic Development of Lazio Region, Vincenzo Lipardi, Secretary General of the City of Science, Naples and Raffaela Farrina, Officer for Internationalization of Campania Region constituted this Italian delegation. During the meeting, Prof. Fotuhi, President of SUT, focused on the profound academic affinity between Sharif and Italian universities. As Prof. Futhi noted, Italy is the first in the number of MoUs signed with Sharif University of Technology. Following the meeting, Prof. Movaghar, Dean of International Affairs, mentioned the deep cultural affinity between Iran and Italy and expressed his hope that the academic collaborations between SUT and Italian universities continue to develop in the future.

The Italian delegation expressed their desire to expand economic and academic collaborations with SUT, especially with respect to joint knowledge-based projects.

Today, a high-ranking delegation from NSFC, including its Vice President, Mr. Cong-Qiang Liu, had a meeting with SUT’s officials and professors at SUT’s presidential office. Dr. Fotuhi, President of SUT, Dr. Raschtchian, Vice President of Research, Dr. Movaghar, Dean of International Affairs and several other professors of SUT played host to the Chinese delegation.

As Mr. Cong-Qiang Liu put it, Chinese scientists and academic institutions are more than willing to engage with Iranian scientists and academic society. He continued that the level of high-techs, including Nano-technology and bio-technology is so high in Iran that makes its academic society an attractive partner for Chinese scientists.

Dr. Movaghar, Dean of SUT’s International Affairs, lamented the shortage of formal academic collaborations between Iran and China and expressed his hope that it would be compensated in the near future. By mentioning the strong academic links between SUT and Russian universities, he encouraged Chinese institutions to take a similar path in their relationships with Iran’s academic society. He continued that Sharif already has a successful cooperation agreement with HKUST, Hong Kong and hoped that more academic agreements are shaped with other prestigious universities in China. Following the meeting, Mr. Parsizade, the representative of Iran’s Natural Science Foundation, laid emphasis on the priority of research in the activities of both INSF and NSFC.

It is worth mentioning that NNSFC’s activity is centered on funding researches all around the world. In other words, this Foundation fosters international joint projects by providing funds to the state-of-the-art researches. At the end of the meeting, Mr. Cong-Qiang Liu expressed his hope that SUT, as one of the most powerful and outstanding universities in Iran, can be the target of many international funds provided by NSFC.

An Academic delegation from the Melbourne University along with Mr. Biggs, Ambassador of Australia, took part in the opening ceremony of the Australia-Iran Joint Water Center located at the Civil Engineering Department of SUT. Dr. Tajrishi, Head of Planning of Urmia Lake Restoration Project mentioned that this center is a channel for expanding the relationships between Iran and Australia. Afterward, the Australian delegation had a meeting with Dr. Fotuhi, President of SUT, and several other professors of Sharif University at the SUT’s presidential office. The expansion of scientific collaborations between Sharif and Australian universities, including the University of Melbourne, was discussed and stressed in this meeting.

A meeting was held on April 16, 2017 at Sut’s International Affairs Office with the presence of Mr. Fan, Director, and Ms. Lee, Economic Secretary of Economic Division of Taipei Economic and Cultural Mission in Ankara. Dr. Movaghar, Dean of International Affairs hosted the delegation. In this meeting, the expansion of academic and economic relationships between Taiwan and Sharif University of Technology was discussed and stressed.