Secretary General of the National Commission for UNESCO said the conference of UNESCO Chairs will be held in Iran in the coming months, to host chair-holder universities.
Mohammad-Reza Saeed-Abadi, speaking at Islamic Azad University (IAU) Tehran said the conference aims to create opportunity for assessing and expanding synergy to improve the performance of the chairs.
He hoped the chair of ‘clean and renewable energies’ in IAU would become a pilot for increasing the number of university chairs.
Twining Network
Saeed-Abadi pointed that sustainable development is UNESCO’s priority with focus on clean energy and noted a plan to introduce International Award for Renewable Energy in IAU, IRNA reported.
By inviting international experts to attend short-time scholarships, academic officials should link Iran with the world’s celebrated universities as part of UNITWIN program, he added.
UNITWIN or University Twining and Networking Program, was established in 1992 following the decision of UNESCO’s at its 26th session. The program is established as a means to combat brain drain by building university networks and encouraging inter-university cooperation through North-South and South-South transfer of knowledge. It aims to increase scientific capacities in developing countries and economies in transition within the framework of sustainable development.
Framework
Entrepreneurship, culture in virtual world, Iranian architecture, water reuse, development of industry and universities are some of UNESCO’s chairs in Iran. The program operates within the framework of the UNESCO Chair and UNITWIN Program. UNESCO chairs include national or regional organizations that pursue a single scientific cause. It can be established as a new educational or research unit within a university or research institute in higher education for a three-year period. Additionally, a UNESCO chair can be established within a university department to strengthen research and training in a certain branch of science.
