ATU's Cooperation with Silk-Road universities

Directorate for International Academic Cooperation

Allameh Tabataba'i University, as the largest humanities and social science-specialized university in West Asia, has tried to continue and expand its international academic cooperation with the universities in the Silk-Roads region during the Covid-19 Pandemic.

In what follows, Allameh Tabataba'i University's International Academic Cooperation with the Silk-Road Region Universities in the period between October 2020 and May 2021 is reported.

In the autumn of 2020, the 4th iteration of the Cultural Dialogues between Iran and Italy program was held online by Allameh Tabataba'i University.

Moreover, the Kazakh Language Teaching online program was established, for the first time in Iran, in partnership with Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, a member of the Silk-Roads Universities Network (SUN). Allameh Tabataba'i University is also contributing to the development of Persian Language Teaching in Kazakhstan by having sent Dr Owrang Izadi to Almaty to teach the Persian Language in Kazakhstan.

In the autumn of 2020 also, Allameh Tabataba'i University and St. Petersburg University of Humanities and Social Sciences organised six joint courses on Cultural Policy, in Persian and Russian languages. The courses were well received by professors and students in Iran and Russia.

The “Role of Women in Peacebuilding Processes” was the title of another program organised by Allameh Tabataba'i University, where women professors from Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan shared their ideas and expertise on this crucial topic.

A series of Russian Studies workshops were also held by Allameh Tabataba’i University in cooperation with universities and academic institutes in Iran and Russia.

In addition, Allameh Tabataba’i University, in collaboration with the Moscow State Linguistic University, organized a series of translator-training workshops between Russian and Persian languages, and students from the two universities participated in this program.

In December 2020, the first meeting of the presidents/rectors of Kabul, Balkh, and Herat universities from Afghanistan and Allameh Tabataba’i University, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, and University of Sistan and Baluchestan from Iran was convened on the topic of how to expand research partnerships between professors and students in the two countries.

In the winter of 2021, the International Conference on the “Cultural and Civilizational Ties between Iran and China” was held at Allameh Tabataba’i University and professors from various universities in Iran and China participated in this event.

The Winter School in Political Economy was also held on the topic of the impact of the pandemic on the economic structures of countries. Seven universities from Russia and seven universities from Iran participated in this winter school.

In the end, it is worth adding that Allameh Tabataba’i University has always tried to expand cultural ties between the peoples of different lands, especially within Asian countries. To do this, it has held numerous joint cultural celebrations and rituals, including the Yalda Celebration (celebrating the longest night of the year on 20 December, each year), the Nowruz Celebration (celebrating the beginning of spring in the Iranian civilization sphere on 21 March, each year), and the Ramadan Celebration (the month when Muslim nations fast). During these celebrations, Allameh Tabataba’i University has invited dozens of professors and thinkers from West, East, Central, and South Asian countries and introduced the cultural traditions and rituals within the various countries of this ancient continent to the professors and students, thereby expanding academic cooperation among these universities.