Islamic Azad University, Bank Melli Iran Taking Tech Sector Forward

The “Mechatronic and Information Technology City” project will move along the pathway to create a Silicon Valley-like site in the country.

At a meeting on Monday, Ali Mohammad Noorian, president of Islamic Azad University, and Mohammad Reza Hosseinzadeh, CEO of Bank Melli Iran, agreed on launching the project, reported local website CITNA.

However, neither side said where and when the proposed technology city would come up.

Additionally, both sides pledged to enhance collaboration in other activities, namely loans for completing unfinished urban projects, funding university projects, and providing credit cards to university students and faculty.

Mechatronics engineering is the design of computer-controlled electromechanical systems. It can be viewed as ‘modern mechanical engineering design’ in the sense that the mechanical system must be compatible with that of the electrical/electronic and computer control aspects that together make up the entire system.

BMI has also agreed to support the university in developing business incubators, science-based firms, and joint investments in industry, trade, tourism and agriculture.

The cooperation is in line with the national goal to make universities more compatible with the needs of the economy and industry.

This is not the first time that Iranian bodies have invested in this field. Several similar projects have been conceived earlier.

Iran’s High Council of Cyberspace is working to establish the “Media City” in Payam Special Economic Zone outside Karaj, which is aimed at playing the role of an incubator for “startups active in social media.”

The Pardis Technology Park created a decade ago in east Tehran, is also something on the lines of Silicon Valley where several startups and Internet companies have their bases.