Iran’s Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology has joined the University of Tehran to launch two innovation centers for expanding startup and knowledge-based ecosystems focused on psychology and geography.
Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari inaugurated the centers during his visit to the university on Monday, his office’s website Isti.ir reported.
The psychology tech center, backed by UT’s Psychology Department, can house 20 teams. The center provides financial aid, shared workspace, consultation on commercializing their ideas and business management. Four knowledge-based teams have already started working at the site.
The second tech center, launched in the university’s Geography Department, is primarily geared toward expanding the job market for geography students.
According to UT officials, talented graduates in the field will get the opportunity to actualize their innovative ideas in the field.
Around 10 tech teams working on geodesy, geomorphology, geotourism and remote sensing have so far moved into the center. The center can accommodate up to 20 teams.
During his visit, Sattari also launched an advanced laboratory jointly financed by the vice presidential office, the university and two knowledge-based companies Pars Raisen and Ofoq.
Designing innovative vehicles and parts, and testing gasoline, hybrid and electric vehicle engines are possible at the lab. Research has already started on vehicle performance, development, durability, design, fuel consumption and pollution tests.
To enrich the tech ecosystem at the University of Tehran, the vice presidential office is also sponsoring a biotechnology innovation tower project.
The 16-floor tower will provide 6,500 square meters of space for tech enthusiasts in the field.
With its recent measures for expanding the technology ecosystem, the university is expected to become an innovative university, generating added value and nurturing entrepreneurs to curb the country’s reliance on foreign resources.
University-Based Tech Centers
As the outstanding achievements of technology ecosystem has lured different sectors to make investments in the field, universities nationwide have stepped in to extend support to tech teams.
In February, Sattari inaugurated three tech centers at the Tehran-based Amirkabir University of Technology.
Established in energy and physics, space science and civil engineering departments, these tech centers are geared toward commercializing students’ ideas through legal, technical and market consultancy.
With the addition of three new centers, the university is now home to eight workspaces for innovative teams.
Hossein Hosseini, the university’s deputy for research and technology, said the tech centers are aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and technological innovation among students and faculty members.
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.
In late January, 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 ($1.28 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 assistance 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 workspace and other facilities to tech units.
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.
These tech parks carry the name of universities backing them.
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. The center is backed by the Vice Presidential Office for Science and Technology and 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 Zanjan, Isfahan, Tabriz, Karaj and Yazd to expand startup and knowledge-based ecosystems.
At the innovation factories, startups and knowledge-based companies find legal, technical and financial help to develop their activities.
With the extension of infrastructural and financial support, those who are active in the tech ecosystem are propelling Iran’s domestic production sector to end the economy’s oil dependency and help overcome sanctions.
