Tehran’s Shahid Beheshti University has opened 10 innovation centers to strengthen ties between the academia and Iran’s startup ecosystem.
Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari inaugurated the tech centers in a ceremony on Tuesday, which was attended by the university’s chancellor, Sa’dollah Nassiri Qeidari, the head of the university’s tech park, Kourosh Parand, senior officials and professors, the vice presidential office’s website reported.
Established with the financial support of vice presidential office, the innovation centers are specialized in medical technologies, human sciences, computer engineering, psychology, geology, urban development, literature, theology, architecture and power engineering.
Tech teams in the centers have an opportunity to interact with the university’s scientific faculty and students, and to exchange experiences. They will be able to benefit from the startup accelerators and growth centers in the university’s tech park.
In his brief speech to the gathering, Sattari promised that the vice presidential office will offer financial aid to tech teams for developing and commercializing their innovative ideas.
“Universities should identify market demands and develop novel solutions to address them while encouraging students to work in these fields,” he added.
Also speaking at the event, Qeidari said the university will focus on problem-oriented research projects.
“Some of the projects handled by the center’s tech teams include fiber optic sensors, optogenetics, photonics, micro-fluids and optical brain imaging, which are mostly derived from the students’ dissertation projects,” he said.
“Giving support to such studies guarantees that tech teams will devise solutions for technological gaps in the domestic industries.”
Similar Projects
A similar move by the academia was launched in November 2020, when two innovation centers were launched by Iran’s University of Science and Technology to help the technology ecosystem grow in energy and water technologies.
Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari inaugurated the new centers, called Hydrotech and Energy.
Sattari said the tech centers are mandated to help expand and commercialize the activities of the university’s research center for applied hydrodynamics and water-based systems.
“The innovation centers will tap the university’s potentials and capabilities to meet domestic industrial demands, master technological know-how, nurture knowledge-based companies and commercialize tech ideas,” he said.
Jabbar-Ali Zakeri, the university’s chancellor, said the new centers will support the innovative activities of university graduates in mechanical studies.
The tech centers will be specialized in water and agriculture technologies, particularly greenhouse farming based on deep tech—the generic term for technologies not focused on end-user services—that include artificial intelligence, robotics, blockchain, advanced material science, photonics and electronics, biotech and quantum computing.
Stressing that the new tech centers will forge a link between engineering sciences and technology, Zakeri said around 20 groups of talented students and professional graduates will start working at the centers.
After the inaugural event, Sattari visited an under-construction “tech services building” project in the university and surveyed its progress.
Strong Role of Universities
The outstanding achievements of tech firms and knowledge-based companies have lured different sectors to make investments in the field.
Universities have also extended support by allowing access to campus areas and extending financial support to tech teams.
Besides forming innovation centers and attracting tech teams, universities can utilize their scientific edge to help startups.
Such efforts are a synergetic move to advance the tech ecosystems of Tehran and other Iranian cities.
Last week, Sharif University of Technology in Tehran and Astan Quds Razavi, a charitable organization in Khorasan Razavi Province, launched an innovation factory adjacent to Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
The center is specialized in the renovation of medical equipment and clinical devices, which will help save $420 million annually.
In addition, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, located in the namesake province, has joined the vice presidential office to invest 320 billion rials ($1.24 million) in an innovation center to develop unique ideas and commercialize tech-based plans in a wide range of health fields.
Golestan University of Medical Sciences also hosts an innovation center working on health technology, which offers virtual visits for clinical diagnosis and post-treatment support and consultancy services.
The center is also providing technical, scientific and commercial support to innovative teams and aiding efforts to commercialize their ideas.
Nationwide Efforts
Over the past few years, numerous tech parks and innovation factories have been established throughout the country to offer shared workspaces and other facilities to tech units.
Currently, there are seven tech parks in Tehran Province, most of which are backed by major Iranian universities, including Tarbiat Modares University, University of Tehran, Sharif University of Technology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University and Islamic Azad University.
Innovation factories in Tehran, such as Azadi and Highway, have also attracted numerous tech teams and startups.
Azadi Innovation Factory was launched in August 2018 at an abandoned chemicals factory near Azadi Square, west of Tehran. Backed by the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology, the center is managed by Sharif University of Technology.
Highway, the capital's second innovation factory, is under construction. The factory is being established in an old building near Nobonyad Square on the northeastern flank of Tehran.
Tehran is not alone in its push for establishing innovation factories and tech parks. Numerous centers have also been launched across Iran.
The vice presidential office is developing innovation factories in Iranian metropolises like Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, Tabriz, Arak, Karaj and Yazd to expand their startup and knowledge-based ecosystems.
