News

On Wednesday, February 13, 2019, Mr. Mounir Sankary, the Australian Embassy’s Trade Commissioner visited SUT with the aim of expanding mutual cooperation.During his visit a meeting was held in the presence of Dr. Simchi, the Dean of International Affairs of SUT, two faculty members from Mechanical Department and Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering and a representative of IMIDRO Company.

During the meeting a short account was given on the current measures taken to broaden the scientific and technological cooperation between Sharif University of Technology and Australian counterparts. Facilitating the participation of academic elites in scientific gatherings and regular visits of Iranian university presidents to Australian universities and higher education institutions were among the topics discussed at the meeting. The first visit by SUT president is agreed upon to be organized in the upcoming May. Finalizing a MoU for cooperation in the field of mineral industries in the foreseeable future was another topic of discussion during the meeting.

It is worth mentioning that currently eight Iranian companies are collaborating with Australia in the field of mineral industry.

Dr. J.B.G. FRENK and Dr. Kemal Cliç of the Turkish University of Sabançi attended the Faculty of Industrial Engineering of SUT to hold a workshop on “On the End of Life-Inventory Problems“. The delegation also met with the dean of International affairs, Dr. Simchi, at the IA office with the aim of expanding institutional cooperation between SUT and Sabancı University and the parties expressed their interest in establishing a clear framework for faculty and student exchange programs. As agreed in the meeting, the details of possible partnerships will be scrutinized and finalized in the foreseeable future.

It is worth mentioning that Sharif University of Technology has signed MoUs with eight Turkish universities, seven of which have been operationalized in the form of faculty and student exchange, mobility programs and mutual enterprises.

More than 50 representatives of Iranian prestigious universities and educational institutions, attended the Educational Fair held in the Salahaddin University. The exhibition which took place on 19th and 20th December 2018 in Erbil the capital of Kurdistan Regional Government, was well received by visitors. The professors and officials from Iraqi universities along with their students who visited the exhibition had complete understanding of the capabilities of SUT and most of them have expressed a willingness to cooperate with or enroll at Sharif University of Technology.

Beside the exhibition, workshops of nanotechnology, biotechnology, technical and vocational training, and shared research programs were also held simultaneously. The fair was attended by Dr. Yusuf Goran the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Ebadi, the Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Erbil, Dr. Dizeyî the President of Salahaddin University, Dr. Idris Hadi the President of Koya University and Dr. Alizadeh, the Representative of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology.

On Monday, Dec. 17, 2018, Mr. Gerard Seeber & Ms. Elin Aryan from the Australian Embassy in Iran visited Sharif and had a meeting at the International Affairs Office with Dr. Arash Simchi, Director of International Affairs Office, and IA Office’s specialist, Mr. Pooria Soltani.

During the meeting, Mr. Seeber briefly talked about his new position as Commissioner of the Victorian Government, Trade and Investment in the Middle East. He also expressed his desire to strengthen the academic ties between the universities of Monash & Melbourne with Sharif University of Technology.

Dr. Simchi then shared his views on the subject, mainly that any agreement between universities should have specific steps toward each type of collaboration such as dual degree programs and faculty sabbaticals. He stressed that MoUs without a definite plan, are rarely implemented and have no value.

In the end, both parties agreed to follow up the matter until they reach satisfactory agreements.

It is worth mentioning that SUT currently has signed MoUs with four universities in Australia, including the University of Sydney, Curtin University, Melbourne University, and Macquarie University, the last two of which are implemented in terms of establishing a joint water research center and Ph.D. dual degree programs, respectively.

Sharif International Affairs Office successfully held the “2^nd seminar on Internationalization of Higher Education” on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018.

The event, to which attended more than a hundred professors and specialists, consisting of university presidents, directors of international affairs, ministry officials, and international speakers, included speeches on several topics on the main themes of the seminar which are listed below:

• Sharing Best Practices in Internationalization of Higher Education
• Quality Assurance in Learning, Research, and Outreach in the Global Interest
• Monitoring Current Trends in Internationalization of Higher Education
• Establishing a Road Map for Internationalization of Higher Education
• 5/200 Program: Promoting International Visibility and Ranking of 5 Top Iranian Universities and Research Institutes

In addition to lectures from experts, three panels were held to discuss specific issues in the internationalization of higher education such as University Ranking and Accreditation, Economic Perspectives, International Student Recruitment, and International Research and Industrial Collaborations.

The full agenda of the seminar could be found here.

The statue of Iranian Alumni of Chinese Universities Association discussed at Sharif.

On Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018, a group of five Iranian graduates from Chinese universities gathered together in the International Affairs Office, along with Dr. Yoosef Hojjat, former Scientific Attaché of Iran Embassy in China to discuss the newly written draft of the statue of Iranian Alumni of Chinese Universities Association. Also present were Dr. Khalaj from Sharif Electrical Engineering Department and Mr. Pooria Soltani from IA office, both of whom handle Sharif’s international relations with China.

There was first a brief introduction and a quick presentation of Sharif University of Technology’s efforts as the Iran-China Academic Collaboration Leading House. The guests then discussed various points of the draft of the statue, such as gathering Iranian students’ information and the time period between regular meetings of the members. Agreements were made on nearly all of the clauses, at which point the group thanked Sharif University’s hospitality and departed.

It is worth mentioning that Sharif University of Technology has been appointed as the Iran-China Academic Collaboration Leading House by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology, late 2017.

Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018, a Sharif delegation of six, consisted of Dr. Mokhtari, Director of Industrial Relations, Dr. Najmi, Vice-President for Finance and Administration, Dr. Behzad, Mechanical Engineering, Mr. Shahrokhi & Mr. Hasanalizadeh, both from Vice-Presidency for Research and Technology, and Mr. Soltani, from the International Affairs Office paid a visit to the Nestlé factory in Qazvin.

Upon arrival, the group was joined with a delegation from College of Engineering, University of Tehran and received a warm welcome. After a presentation from Mr. Giuseppe Carella, Country Manager of Nestlé in Iran, and Mr. Alireza Sarabchi, Head of Communications and Marketing Services, about the history and the current state of Nestlé, the group had a tasting session of the products of Nestlé Iran, such as Nesquik & CERELAC. The delegation then had a tour of the factory itself, in which the production line of the famous powdered milk, NAN, was explained in detail by Nestlé engineers.

The second and final session of the visit convened after lunch when Mr. Carella presented Sharif & Tehran university faculties with a book titled “Nestlé: 150 Years Nutrition Health and Wellness”. Mr. Carella then proposed that Nestlé should collaborate with top universities in Iran to become more efficient and to have a more positive impact on the society as a whole. He then summarized some of the key points that his company wanted to cooperate in, such as clean energy & safety improvements.

Dr. Mokhtari & Dr. Abrinia (from the University of Tehran) then expressed the importance of such collaborations and agreed to follow up on the matter to start a more solid relationship between the universities and Nestlé.

It is worth mentioning that a delegation from Nestlé visited Sharif University of Technology in May 2018 and had a meeting with Dr. Simchi & Dr. Mokhtari at the IA Office. More on that here.

On Tuesday, August 7, 2018, Mr. Mounir Sankary visited Sharif and had a meeting at the International Affairs Office with Dr. Sanaz Moghim and the IA Office’s specialists, Mr. Ali Orooji & Mr. Pooria Soltani.

At the meeting, Mr. Sankary expressed the importance of having strong relations with Iran and especially Sharif University of Technology and emphasized that his organization, Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) wholeheartedly supports joint efforts between Sharif and Australian universities. He then proposed to help with the planning of the visit of a delegation from Sharif to Australia, so that it can be more fruitful in terms of implemented mutual agreements between universities.

Dr. Moghim then said that Sharif University in concert with Austrade could write proposals in different fields such as mining and water management and collaborate with Australian universities on these topics. She also suggested that running advanced workshops in these fields could further improve the ties between the universities and experts of both countries.
It is worth mentioning that Sharif is preparing to enter in a three-way agreement with IMIDRO and Austrade to create a platform of collaboration to make it easier for Australian companies to work in Iran and exchange knowledge and engineering experience.

An official from a Chinese company active in the field of photonics, visited Sharif on August 6, 2018, and had a meeting at the International Affairs office with a number of faculty members of Sharif.

The official discussed his proposal of expanding collaborations in optoelectronics and photonics. According to him, this agreement would provide a better chance of exchanging students, professors, engineering experience and technologies, and laboratory equipment, especially in the field of photonics.

It is worth mentioning that Sharif has recently been appointed as the leading house of Iran-China academic collaboration and plans to host an event in November, consisted of universities and companies from both countries.