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A delegation led by Mr. Jianing, Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Chinese MOST, visited Sharif University of Technology

A delegation from the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), led by Mr. Cai Jianing, Director of the Department of International Cooperation, paid a visit to Sharif on July 2, 2018. The other members of the delegation were Ms. Wang Xiao, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Cooperation, Mr. Teng Hongsheng, Associate Consultant of the Department of International Cooperation, Mr. An Lei, Director of Torch High Technology Industry Development Center, Ms. Zhang Lihong, Deputy Director of Torch High Technology Industry Development Center, and Mr. Guo Jinhai from Torch High Technology Industry Development Center. On the other side, Dr. Khalaj, Professor at SUT’s Electrical Engineering Department and the Head of SUT-China Academic Collaborations at International Affairs Office, played host to the delegation.

The delegation first visited Sharif Technology Services Complex. Afterward, a meeting was held at the Complex between the parties. Beginning the meeting, Dr. Khalaj gave a short introduction to Sharif University of Technology. He also discussed the upcoming “Iran-China Science and Technology Day”, to be held in mid-October at Sharif University of Technology. Dr. Khalaj also pointed out that SUT warmly invites the representatives of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology to participate in this event and appreciates the assistance of the Ministry in making this event more fruitful. Following the meeting, Mr. Jianing stated that academic collaboration with Iran is most welcome by China and expressed his desire that the number of collaborations between the countries grows steadily. Mr. Jaining also mentioned that the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, in cooperation with the Chinese Embassy in Tehran, will provide the list of potential attendees to the event.

After the meeting, the delegation also visited TIVAN Entrepreneurship Center at SUT’s Energy Sciences and Engineering Research Center.

It is worth mentioning that SUT has been appointed by the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology as the Leading House of Iran-China Academic Collaborations. Moreover, with the presence of key-figures of higher education and industrial sectors of both countries, the 1^st Iran-China Science and Technology Day is going to be held in SUT in the mid-October.

Sharif and Nestle to Expand Collaborations in Various Fields

Today, May 27, 2018: In a meeting that was held at SUT’s International Affairs Office, Mr. Giuseppe Carella, Country Manager of Nestle, along with Mr. Alireza Sarabchi, Head of Communications and Marketing Services, and Ms. Setareh Salamat, Head of Human Resources, paid a visit to SUT. In this visit, Dr. Simchi, Dean of International Affairs and Dr. Mokhtari, Director of Industrial Relations, received the delegation.

Beginning the meeting, Dr. Mokhtari introduced SUT and its active industrial collaborations. He also explained several successful examples of SUT’s industrial projects. As Dr. Mokhtari put it, SUT is first in the country in terms of industrial income and the next university lags behind it for about 40 percent. Following the meeting, Mr. Carella introduced Nestle company and its ongoing activities in Iran. As he said, cooperation with universities is one of the priorities of Nestle. Mr. Carella also explained that Nestle is active in topics such as water management, health and safety, and agriculture and is keen on collaborating with SUT in these fields. As he mentioned, reducing the rate of water consumption up to 50% in different factories and some mega-farms is one of the examples of Nestle’s successful projects in Iran.

Finally, the parties agreed upon several main topics for collaborations. These are offering internship programs to the students of SUT, doing joint projects in water management, food health and safety, and agriculture, and holding joint workshops in topics of mutual interest. Following the invitation of Mr. Carella, it was also decided that a delegation from SUT, consisting of professors active and interested in the above-mentioned fields, will visit Nestle company in the coming summer. In this visit, the parties will define the roadmap for SUT-Nestle collaborations in the future.

It is worth mentioning that Nestle has been active in Iran since 2000.

Implementing the Cooperation Agreement between the Universities

May 5-6, 2018: An academic delegation from the University of Kufa, Iraq paid a visit to Sharif University of Technology. The delegation consisted of Prof. Hasan Al Zubeidi, Vice-President for Administrative and Financial Affairs, Prof. Safaa Hashim, Head of the Department of the Engineering of the Water Resources, Prof. Ali Naji Attiyah, Representative of the Civil Engineering Department, Prof. Ali Kadhim, Head of the Department of Civil Engineering, and Dr. Ghassan, Representative of the Mechanical Engineering Department.

In the meeting that was held on May 5, 2018 at SUT’s international affairs office, Dr. Jahed, Director of International Students Office, Dr. Ghaffari, Chancellor of SUT’s International Campus in Kish Island, Dr. Behzadipour, Professor at Mechanical Engineering Department and Dr. Khalaj, Deputy-Dean for Research and International Affair at Electrical Engineering Department, played host to the delegation.

In this meeting, after a brief introduction of SUT by Dr. Jahed and Dr. Khalaj, the implementation of the recently extended MoU between the universities was discussed in detail. In particular, offering PhD programs for the lecturers of the University of Kufa was among the discussed topics by the participants. In this regard, Dr. Jahed explained the available scholarships for international students, including the potential applicants from the University of Kufa. Following the meeting, Dr. Ghaffari introduced SUT’s international campus on Kish Island (SUTIC) and expressed his hope that SUTIC may be a good platform to implement part of the Cooperation Program between the Universities.

The purpose of this two-day visit was also stated to be some face-to-face negotiations with the heads of various departments and visiting the labs and research facilities of SUT. To this end, the delegation visited several labs at Materials Science and Engineering Department, Mechanical Engineering Department, Electrical Engineering Department, Institute for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, and Sharif Technology Services Complex.

It is worth mentioning that in the visit of Prof. Aldhalimi, President of the University of Kufa, to SUT last month, the extended version of the Cooperation Agreement between SUT and UOK was signed by the presidents of the universities.      

The Seventh Fuel and Combustion Conference of Iran (FCCI-2018) with the collaboration of universities, research centers, and fuel and combustion industries was held on 13th and 14th February 2018 at Sharif University of Technology.

This scientific and technical event provided a forum for presenting the current and latest research and development activities in Combustion, Fuels and related topics. This event also promoted the exchange of ideas and experiences amongst academia and those from industries. Furthermore, the conference was intended to be an event worthy of the attention of all engineers, postgraduate students, and researchers who are involved in combustion and fuel research and development. In the margins of the conference, several technical panels by eminent experts in the field were arranged to discuss the present and future issues of fuel and combustion.

Prof. Marcus Aldén from Lund University and Prof. Dr. LPH de Goey from Eindhoven University of Technology were the keynote speakers at this conference.

SUT-ParisTech to Establish Dual Degree Programs in the Near Future

In the meeting that was held on January 24, 2018 at SUT’s International Affairs Office, Dr. Tcharkhtchian,  Professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at ENSAM and the Representative of ParisTech paid a visit to Sharif. Mr. Bonte, Scientific Attaché of the French Embassy was accompanying Dr. Tcharkhtchian. On the other side, Dr. Simchi, Dean of International Affairs, Dr. Massoumian, International Affairs Consultant, Dr. Farrahi, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Dr. Farhadi, Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, received the delegation.

The meeting started with the discussion of the proposal by ParisTech to establish Double Diploma Program in MSc in all fields of engineering. The obstacles to expand academic collaborations with French universities were also discussed by the parties. Following the meeting, Mr. Bonte pointed out that a visit by the presidents of Iranian universities to France is arranged for next June. In this visit, the presidents are supposed to have several meetings with the presidents of the French universities to expand the academic collaborations between the two countries.

Finally, it was decided that the proposal of ParisTech is examined by SUT and the result will be delivered to ParisTech for evaluation in the near future. Moreover, Mr. Bonte and Dr. Simchi agreed on holding other meetings to define the plan of the upcoming visit of SUT’s president to France in more detail. Dr. Simchi also announced that the Norooz Celebration will be held in Sharif in the middle of March with the presence of ambassadors and scientific attachés of embassies.

It is worth mentioning that ParisTech is a cluster of 12 pioneering engineering schools in France. Further, Sharif already has strong scientific collaborations with France for which SUT-Grenbole Dual Degree PhD program and SUT-ENSAM Dual Degree Master Program in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering may be mentioned.

SUT to Expand Academic Collaborations with Qatar

15-16 January 2018: Prof. Fotuhi, President of Sharif University of Technology, along with Dr. Massoumian, International Affairs Consultant, paid a visit to Qatar University in Doha, Qatar. The purpose of this visit, which was made following the invitation of Dr. Al Derham, President of Qatar University, was to attend an international workshop entitled “Universities Ranking Based on Times Higher Education System”. This workshop was presented by Phil Baty, Editorial Director of THE.

In the margins of this workshop, Prof. Fotuhi had also a meeting with Dr. Al Derham. In this meeting, the expansion of scientific collaborations between SUT and Qatar University was discussed and stressed by the parties.

It is worth mentioning that Sharif already has several ongoing projects with Qatar University. Moreover, according to QS 2017, Qatar University is ranked 349^th in the world and 37^th among the universities under 50. Further, according to THE 2017, SUT is ranked 71^st and Qatar University is ranked 77^th between Asian universities.

In a series of meetings that were held from 18^th to 20^th December, 2017, Mr. Ashwin Fernandes, QS Regional Director for Middle East, North Africa and India came to Sharif University of Technology. During these days, Mr. Fernandes had meetings with Prof. Fotuhi, President of SUT, Vice-Presidents of the university, and heads of different departments. He also visited Sharif Technology Services Complex and various research centers and labs of the university. Further, on December 19, a workshop entitled “QS World University Ranking:n  Methodology & Analysis” was held by Mr. Fernandes. In the workshop, vice-presidents and deans of international affairs of different universities of Tehran took part.

It is worth mentioning that according to QS ranking system, Sharif University of Technology is the only university from Iran within the top 500 universities in the world.

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