Tech officials in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan's provincial capital, intend to set up an innovation center for youngsters and elementary school students.
According to Ali Fata, chairman of the province's tech park, the initiative will be undertaken in partnership with Hormozgan Steel Company and the regional education organization, IRNA reported.
According to Fata, the center will most likely be established in an abandoned 400-square-meter industrial shed near a school.
"The center could serve as a workshop and training center for young talented tech enthusiasts. Its proximity to the school will help students interact with the faculty and fix any bug,” he added.
In addition, the tech park intends to relocate some of its workshops and equipment to the planned tech center.
"The tech park has devoted its basement to young researchers and tech teams for making prototypes and conducting trials," said the official, stressing that this will help them operate more efficiently and receive technical support.
The center will be established in an abandoned 400-square-meter industrial shed near a school
Fata noted that the park intends to offer financial aid packages to students who have innovative ideas or built prototypes.
"Each student with a great idea can receive up to 30 million rials [$100] from the park’s resources to further develop their plan," he said, adding that such technical and financial support will expand with the establishment of the tech center.
Tech Park’s Perspective
Fata stated that there are vast tracts of idle lands in the province that could easily be converted into well-developed tech centers, emphasizing that expansion of tech centers is a major requirement for developing the local technology ecosystem.
However, such projects will only be implemented if the park is properly supported by the authorities.
“A 42-hectare patch of land at Hormozgan University, for example, could be one of the future tech areas,” he added.
The park's officials have even designed a detailed map for a future tech center in the area and such plans are awaiting the approval of provincial and state authorities.
Regarding finances, Fata stated that the government has allocated 67 billion rials ($223,000) to the tech park in the current Iranian year (ending March 2022), but the park has only received 12% of the total.
"Financial constraints can thwart the park's expansion plans and impede the development of the local tech ecosystem," he said, calling on state officials for more cooperation.
Hormozgan has significant untapped potentials for promoting the local startup ecosystem by providing shared working spaces to tech enthusiasts, which depends on the allocation of fiscal support.
Nationwide Projects
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 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 receive legal, technical and financial assistance 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.
