Iran’s Vice President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari has inaugurated several tech projects in the historical city of Kashan, Isfahan Province.
Sattari surveyed numerous ongoing programs backed by his office during a Monday visit to the city, Isti.ir reported.
First coming on stream was an innovation house called Noqli (meaning tiny in Persian), founded in a 150-year-old building in Kashan.
The house is focused on promoting tourism by nurturing companies interested in the industry.
A stage has been created in the center, perfect for theatrical events and play readings. The house plans to train guides for conducting children's tours and support businesses with a passion for travel.
The organizers of the project believe that, given Kashan's strong tourism potential, the house and similar tourism projects can greatly expand travel-based tech units and improve earnings in the field.
Sattari also unveiled a discharge treatment system designed by a knowledge-based consortium backed by the vice presidential office.
The device, which addresses a tech demand of industrial units across the country, can help relieve environmental concerns regarding desalination.
During his trip, the vice president visited Kashan's Amir Kabir Industrial Township, where he viewed a small-scale exhibition of innovative items created by tech companies.
He also visited the Iranian National Observatory project, which began preliminary research in 2000 and received a formal permit in 2004.
The INO facility, which became operational in November 2014, is located about 500 meters to the south of an under-construction telescope.
At present, the flagship of the facility is a 3.4-meter optical telescope named INO340. Iranian scientists see the project as a platform to catch up with scientific and technological developments in the fields of astronomy and cosmology.
Innovation Houses
After the inauguration, Sattari told provincial tech officials that transforming unused urban and suburban areas into entrepreneurial centers and tech houses is an efficient strategy that should also be implemented in other Iranian cities.
“Tech houses, which are smaller versions of innovation factories, are the driving force behind local entrepreneurship across the country. Such houses are designed to support entrepreneurs whose businesses are not classified as knowledge-based,” he said.
“Efforts are underway to launch such houses in all provinces in collaboration with private investors to promote the startup ecosystem nationwide.”
Sattari said many startups are innovation-based but their business does not require high technology and their final product is also simple compared to specialized knowledge-based companies.
These innovative teams and startups don’t receive adequate state support, hence the initiative aims to financially back such startups, he added.
Out of over 6,000 tech units active in the country, 1,096 are innovative teams working in the fields of e-commerce, audiovisual, tourism, entertainment, design, architecture and herbal medicine.
Innovative houses are mandated to provide mentorship, investment and consultation to entrepreneurs for boosting their activities.
The vice president announced that the scheme is progressing with two more innovation houses under construction in Zahedan and Chabahar in Sistan-Baluchestan Province.
Sattari said the scheme will be implemented in Bushehr, Tabriz, Tehran, Zanjan and Qazvin, in which tech infrastructures are well established, before it is extended to cover the whole country in the long run.
Countrywide Efforts
Besides the tech houses, numerous tech parks and innovation centers have been set up across the country over the past few years to provide 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 and 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.
In its drive to establish innovation factories and tech parks, Tehran is not alone. Numerous centers across Iran have also been founded.
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 expansion of infrastructural and financial support, those involved in the tech ecosystem are pushing Iran's domestic manufacturing sector to end its reliance on oil business and help bypass sanctions.
