ATU President visits the universities of Damascus, Aleppo and Homs

Report by the Directorate for International Academic Cooperation–

In his visit to Syria, Dr Abdollah Motamedi, ATU President, visited the universities of Damascus, Aleppo and Homs. Dr Motamedi travelled to Syria in a delegation of academics from Iranian universities. 

During their visit to the Universities of Damascus, Aleppo and Homs, the academic delegation from Iran highlighted the need to develop and promote educational and research cooperation between the universities of Iran and Syria.

At their first visit, the Iranian academic delegation, consisting of Deputy Ministers from the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology and the Ministry of Health and Medical Education, along with the Presidents of Allameh Tabataba'i University (ATU), Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, University of Isfahan, and Imam Khomeini International University, had a visit to Damascus University and congratulated the university's board of directors and professors on the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the university. During this visit, the parties examined the possibilities for developing and promoting academic and research cooperation between the two countries.

At this meeting, the two sides declared their readiness to develop academic and research cooperation between Iranian and Syrian universities and emphasized the importance of granting more scholarships to Syrian students and conducting joint research projects.

Confirming the same point, Dr Hashem Dadashpour, Deputy Minister for Science, Research and Technology and Head of the Student Affairs Organization of Iran, declared they are ready to grant scholarships to 20 Syrian students to study for bachelor's to PhD degrees at Iranian universities.

Dr Abdollah Motamedi, ATU President, then maintained: "The Syrian are brave, resilient and victorious people in the eyes of the Iranian people, and the political convergence between the two countries in the Resistance Front has contributed to Syrian enemies' defeat."

Referring to ATU's academic capacities, Dr Motamedi added: "ATU is the largest humanities-specialized HEI in Iran and the region, and its alumni enjoy great academic status internationally. With a century of history, Damascus University is a major university in the region and provides several cooperation opportunities."

Muhammad Osama Al-Jaban, Damascus University President, also expressed his pleasure in the Iranian academic delegation's visit and said: "Damascus University, with a hundred years of history, is scientifically distinguished across the region and the world. Previously, we have cooperated with the universities in the Islamic Republic of Iran in the form of staff and student mobilities, as well as offering joint degree programmes. There are great capacities for cooperation between the two countries, and the universities can help bring the two countries closer. The Syrian Ministry of Science's regulations are also completely allowing for academic partnerships between Damascus University and its Iranian counterparts."

At the end of the visit, the Iranian delegation had a visit to the Faculties of Medicine and Foreign Languages at Damascus University and met their Deans, Department Heads, and professors. The delegation also attended the Cultural Counsellor's Officer at I.R. Iran's Embassy in Syria, met with Persian-speaking students and those educated in Iranian universities, and discussed the existing challenges and possible solutions.

In the next part of their travel, the Iranian delegation had visits to the universities of Aleppo and Homs and discussed the possibilities for expanding academic and research cooperation with those universities.

In his visits to Aleppo and Homs universities, Dr Motamedi proposed that ATU and the Syrian universities cooperate in the form of mobilities of Syrian professors to ATU for postdoctoral periods and publication of Syrian professors, students and researchers' manuscripts in ATU's journals. He then added that ATU is prepared to strengthen Persian language programmes in Syrian universities and suggested the mobility of Persian and Arabic language students between ATU and the Syrian universities; in this way, the top 10 students from ATU's Arabic Language Department will be given the opportunity to study for one semester at Syrian universities, and the Persian Language students at the Syrian universities will have the chance to enjoy Persian language courses at ATU for the same period.