According to a report received from the Management of International and Scientific Cooperation of Yazd University, an online consultation on potential Iranian-Hungarian scientific cooperation was held in the presence of representatives of Joint Meeting of Iran-Hungary Scientific Cooperation on Wednesday, September 16, 2020.
At the beginning of the webinar, welcome speech was given by Prof. Ataollah Koohian, Deputy of International Affairs of MSRT. Then, he explained about the promotion and development of academic research, internationalization of higher education, special attention to international research, exchange of Ph.D. students, holding seminars and joint educational programs. "Iran currently has joint scientific cooperation with China, Japan, Russia, Germany, Austria, Turkey, Syria, etc., and we hope to increase scientific and international cooperation with Hungary as well", he added. Professor Ataollah Koohian noted that Iran and Hungary could potentially work together to exchange faculty members as well as Ph.D. students. Since Yazd University has been selected as the Leading House for the Iran-Hungary International and Scientific Cooperation, he hopes to see an increase in its international relations with all Iranian and Hungarian universities.
"Since the Corona virus has overshadowed the current state of the world, we must try to expand our international connections, expand our international relations and change the situation in favor of our international goals", added the Deputy of International Affairs of MSRT.
Welcoming the audience in the webinar, Prof. Ghasem Barid Loghmani, the President of Yazd University, initiated his speech by giving a brief description of the history of Yazd University, the number of students in different undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. levels, the number of faculties and educational departments and research centers. He further noted that in 2016, Yazd University has been selected as a Leading House for international and scientific cooperation between Iran and Hungary by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology of Iran and the purpose of this decision is to establish a link between Iranian and Hungarian universities, of which more than 20 Iranian public universities are currently members. He also added that the registration of non-Iranian students is done directly through the online system, which they can apply for by visiting the site http://admission.yazd.ac.ir/apply. "The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between MSRT and MHC will pave the way to facilitate future cooperation between Iran and Hungary. Yazd University is trying to follow the provisions of this contract and implement them", remarked Prof. Loghmani.
Expressing his satisfaction with the holding of this webinar, Mr. Zoltán Varga-Haszonits, the Ambassador of Hungary to Iran, emphasized to increase mobility in higher education and expand bilateral scientific and international cooperation between Iran and Hungary. He added that granting scholarships to students can develop and improve academic cooperation at the international level.
Mr. Talebi, while wishing success to both countries, noted: "Holding such webinars will facilitate the expansion of scientific cooperation between the two countries, and we hope to see more webinars in the future with the approach of developing international relations."
Following the webinar, Dr. Laura Sinóros-Szabó, Head of Department, Ministry of Innovation and Technology, Department for Strategy and Institutional Development in Higher Education explained the protective sectoral measures taken to support universities' experiences with transmitting information online. She elaborated on the recommendation for the organization of higher education training in emergencies, survey of difficulties faced by higher education institutions in emergencies, practical experiences of implementing distance education in higher education as well as "Exit" strategy for the higher education sector. Support for the Digital Transformation of Hungarian Higher Education – SRSP, the Government decree on the introduction of epidemiological preparedness and distance learning was another topic she addressed in her speech.
Expressing his thanks for holding this webinar, Dr. Elán Alpár, Vice-Rector of Semmelweis University, gave a detailed explanation of practice oriented teaching and examination during the COVID pandemic. Dr. Elán Alpár introduced an emergency system for training and organizing various lectures and recommended safety measures to overcome this situation.
Following the webinar, Dr. Mohammad Ali Farahnakian, Deputy Minister of Energy for International Affairs, gave a detailed explanation on Iran's electricity industry, global position and bilateral relationship for cooperation with Hungary. Reviewing the Iranian electricity industry and pointing to the goals of cooperation, he noted that 3,000 companies operating in Iran are active in power sector and Iran is known as a leading manufacturer in this industry in the Middle East. Referring to the good capabilities of Iran's electric power sector, Dr. Farahnakian announced the readiness of Iran's electricity industry to carry out joint research projects as well as exports and imports with Hungary. "Iran has had good experiences at power losses reduction by applying technical solutions and is eager to achieve new technologies in energy", added Dr. Mohammad Ali Farahnakian.
After giving a brief introduction about Budapest University, Prof. Janos Levendovszky, the Vice-Rector for Science and Innovation Honarary President of the Hungarian Rector's Conference, Rector of Budapest University of Technology and Economics, considered the Science Park as the vehicle for implementing a new university paradigm which its goal is to move from locality to globality. "BME Science Park is a networked, smart space with new services together with industrial, governmental and research stakeholders", added Prof. Janos Levendovszky. Referring to Education Pillar and Corporate Pillar, he also suggested partnership with Iran in the field of student mobility programs for Iranian students in the new Artificial Intelligence and Safety Engineering programs, Developing smart monitoring systems for oil refineries and oil-and-gas industries as well as including Iranian companies into the university innovation ecosystem.
Following the webinar, Dr. Mohammd Mahdi Lotfi, the President of Yazd Science and Technology Park, gave statistical information about STP and YSTP. He continued his lecture by addressing short term plans and long term plans. According to him, signing MOU between two selected parks, technology events, B2B sessions, technology tours as well as technology exchange programs can be categorized into the short term plans. However, establishing Co-fund, techno mart, making hub for co-incubating the tenants as well as establishing technology trade office can be defined as long term plans for future cooperation between Iran and Hungary.
Emphasizing the potential of ISC and RICeST for cooperation with Hungarian universities, Dr. Mohammad Reza Falahati, the Dean of International Scientific Cooperation –Reginal Information for Science and Technology and Islamic World Science Citation Center pointed out that ISC provides necessary grounds for enhancing the quality of research and establishing an efficient scientific network. After highlighting ISC's main services, Dr. Falahati announced the organization's readiness to initiate some cooperation with Hungarian universities in different fields such as signing MOU between RICeST and ISC and universities in Hungary, opening RICeST's branch in Hungarian universities and providing them with fee access to our full-text documents for three years as well as cooperating in ranking and assessment of research performance of universities in Hungary.
Elaborating on the structure of
Hungarian Higher Education, Mr. Gabor Dobos explained how Iranian students can
study in Hungry. According to him, there are two ways to get a full degree: The
first is through available scholarship programs including Stipendium Hungaricum
Programme and Erasmus+, and the second way is as a fee-paying student. More
information is available at www.studyinhungary.hu
and www.stipendiumhungaricum.hu
After expressing his thanks to
the presenters for their fruitful discussion, Dr. Mohammad Ali Haddad, the
Director of International and Scientific Cooperation Office at Yazd University
raised his remarks regarding opportunities for future cooperation in three
branches as follows: Education and Scholarships, Joint Research as well as
Technology and Science-based Companies. Dr. Haddad considered short-term
scholarships for Iranian Ph.D. students and Erasmus Plus programs suitable for
members of the Joint Meeting of Iran-Hungary Scientific Cooperation. According
to him, new call for joint research proposal and mobility funding for accepted
research projects are other items in the future plan of Yazd University. In the
end, Dr. Haddad stated that all short-term and long-term programs are supported
by Yazd University as a Leading House, and also technology transfer in Energy
between the two countries is another matter of particular importance.
After summarizing the issues raised, Dr. Koohian had special thanks and gratitude from both sides, the Iranian and Hungarian delegations. Noting that holding such webinars will greatly contribute to the development of bilateral cooperation between Iran and Hungary, he emphasized that Iran is very interested in holding joint courses, joint research projects and joint faculty members with Hungary. "This Joint Meeting, which has been formed with the presence of the Rectors of prominent Hungarian universities and the Presidents of more than 20 public universities in Iran, provides a good opportunity for academic exchange to take place internationally between the two countries", remarked Dr. Koohian.
Finally, Prof. János Józsa, Honorary President of the Hungarian Rectors' Conference, Rector of Budapest University of Technology and Economics, expressed his satisfaction with the webinar. "We have many long-term plans and we have to find the right moment to activate them. Our main mission is to organize talented students", he added. According to him, the presence of a large number of Iranian students in the long term to continue their studies in Hungary as well as the presence of Hungarian students in Iran needs special improvement and attention. The overlap of the scientific education system in the two countries, the creation of added value and increase in human knowledge, as well as making a bridge for the transfer of science, technical knowledge and rich culture of the two countries were other issues mentioned by Prof. János Józsa in his speech.