BRICS Academic Cooperation Committee delegation visit ATU

Report by Rasoul Firouzi – Translator and English Website Admin, Directorate for International Academic Cooperation

Thanks to the efforts and arrangements made by the Directorate for International Academic Cooperation, on 1 July 2024, Dr Victoria Panova, Head of the BRICS Expert Council-Russia and Vice-Rector for International Partnerships at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) University, Russia, visited Allameh Tabataba'i University (ATU), met with Dr Davoud Hosseinpour, Vice President for Research, and members from the Directorate for International Academic Cooperation, and discussed potential collaboration opportunities between BRICS universities and ATU.

During the meeting, both sides acknowledged the immense potential for collaboration in various fields, particularly in the humanities and social sciences. Dr Hosseinpour emphasized ATU's readiness to expand academic cooperation with BRICS member states through joint academic and research programs, as well as active participation in BRICS think tanks.

Dr Panova then pointed to the BRICS current presidential term awarded to Russia and highlighted the importance of establishing specialized committees with experts from ATU and other BRICS universities to identify and address shared research needs. She also emphasized ATU's expertise in areas like oil and gas economics, regional studies, and international law, making it a valuable partner for BRICS academic cooperation.

Dr Mousa Abdollahi, Director of International Academic Cooperation at ATU, proposed that BRICS organizes workshops and speeches to introduce Iranian faculty and researchers to BRICS opportunities, particularly in the context of research grants, and the proposal was met with positive feedback from Dr Panova.

Dr Majid Reza Momeni, Vice Dean for Research at the Faculty of Law and Political Sciences, then expressed his hope that, through joint academic and research programs and the synergies among BRICS universities, the partners could achieve comprehensive outcomes and success in the goals outlined in this international alliance.

BRICS is an international grouping of five major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Since 2009, heads of BRICS member states have met annually at formal summits. Iran officially joined BRICS in 2023, expanding the group's reach and influence.