ATU signs an MoU with the Centre for Strategic Research in Tajikistan

Report by the Directorate for International Academic Cooperation–

In the session held with a Tajik delegation in ATU President's Office on 1 November 2022, an MoU on Academic Cooperation was signed and exchanged with the Centre for Strategic Research (CSR) to develop academic and research cooperation between the two parties in the areas of Humanities and Social Sciences.

In the beginning of the session, Dr Abdollah Motamedi, President of ATU, expressed his satisfaction with the cooperation and said: "ATU is the only Humanities-oriented university in Iran and the largest Humanities-specialised university in West Asia. Nearly 14,000 students and 550 full-time faculty members are engaged in academic and research activities in 11 Faculties. Above 70% of ATU's students are seeking postgraduate degrees. Our students and alumni can also use the capacities provided by innovation, incubation, and entrepreneurship centres as well as the university's Science and Technology Park."

Dr Motamedi then highlighted ATU's concern for expanding international activities and partnerships and added, "Currently, we have MoUs and agreements with various countries and major universities in the world, and numerous agreements have been implemented. ATU has Persian language chairs in several countries such as Spain, China, and Kyrgyzstan, which are supported by the Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages." Dr Motamedi then pointed to ATU's Khayyam Centre for Iranian Studies located at the University of Nebrija (Spain) and added that ATU acts as the main hub for the relations between Iranian and Spanish universities.

ATU President said a policy seriously sought at ATU is to communicate more with Muslim and neighbouring countries: "We have cultural commonalities with Tajikistan and I think we can use the available capacities for developing academic collaborations."

In the next part of the session, Dr Khairidin Usmon Usmonzoda, Chairman of the Centre for Strategic Research pointed out that the centre carries out its activities in research, consulting, and analysis sections and added: "Our major concern is the teaching of contemporary trends in the country, region, and the world. We are mainly focused on the education of future topics."

He then emphasized the importance of signing MoUs in expanding the scope of partnerships between the two centres, further familiarities among experts and researchers, and the increased exchange of ideas between scholars. Dr Usmanzoda then maintained that expanding academic partnerships will help us find our proper place in the region and the world and deepens the friendships between the two countries.

Strengthening academic cooperation and exchanges between the two parties, mobility and exchange of faculty members, researchers, and students for academic and research purposes, exchange of books, research publications and other academic documents, joint publication of books and articles, facilitating the participation of both parties in scientific events, conducting joint international research projects, setting up joint degree programmes, holding international events, including conferences, seminars, workshops, and training courses are among the areas agreed upon in the signed MoU.