Chinese academic delegation visits ATU

Report by the Directorate for International Academic Cooperation–

In October 2023, a delegation of students and officials from China made a visit to Allameh Tabataba'i University (ATU) and met ATU President, officials and Chinese Department students. The Chinese delegation was led by Dr Yu Guili, Head of the Department of Persian Language and Literature at the Beijing Foreign Studies University.

At the start of the meeting, Dr Motamedi warmly welcomed and expressed his satisfaction with the presence of the Chinese delegation at ATU, acknowledged the developing relations between Iran and China in recent years and highlighted the strong scientific collaborations between the two countries.

He then added, ATU is nearly 70 years old and currently about 14,000 students and 550 faculties are conducting academic and research activities at 11 Faculties and 10 Research Institutes and Centres. Dr Motamedi pointed to the Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages where the Chinese language is taught at ATU.

The president of Allameh Tabataba'i University noted: The university has been closely linked to the Chinese Embassy in Iran for the past two years, and in this connection, the Chinese ambassador has been present at our university twice. I hope that with the efforts of you and our students, it will be possible to understand the mutual cultures of Iran and China, which are ancient and long-standing cultures.

ATU President stated that ATU has had close relations with the Chinese Embassy in Tehran for the past two years, and the Chinese Ambassador to Tehran has visited ATU two times. Dr Motamedi then referred to the establishment of a Chinese Language Library at ATU in collaboration with the Chinese Embassy and emphasized, "We are ready to expand the existing cooperation scientific works and facilitate access to the Chinese language and culture through providing the books related to this field."

Dr Motamedi then pointed to Hafez, Saadi, Attar and Rumi as great figures in Persian literature and reminded that ATU is named after the name of contemporary sage and philosopher, Allameh Mohammad Hossein Tabataba'i.

Dr Motamedi expressed his interest in expanding ties with Chinese universities and creating conditions for Chinese students to study at ATU, saying: "We are prepared to award short and long-term scholarships to Chinese students."

In the next part of the meeting, Dr Azadeh Mirzaei, Deputy Dean at the Centre for Teaching Persian to Speakers of Other Languages (CTPSOL), elaborated on the capacities and training courses offered at the Centre and said: CTPSOL activities are accredited by the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and the Centre is ready to cooperate with the Beijing Foreign Studies University in teaching the Persian language.

At the end of the meeting, Chinese students at ATU and Persian students at the Beijing Foreign Studies University recited poems in Persian and Chinese and emphasized the need to plan for the development of valuable concepts in Persian and Chinese cultures.

Apart from the President and students, the meeting was also attended by Dr Davoud Hosseinpour, Vice President for Research; Dr Abbas Ali Vafaie, Vice President for Resource Development and Management; Dr Mousa Abdollahi, Director of International Academic Cooperation; and Dr Ehsan Ekradi, Head of the Office for Developing International Academic Collaborations.