Strengthening Iran-Russia Academic Relations: A Productive Meeting Between the ATU and MSLU Presidents

Report by Directorate for International Academic Cooperation, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran—

English news report created by Rasoul Firouzi

The President of Allameh Tabataba'i University (ATU), accompanied by a delegation of vice-presidents and directors, met with the Rector of Moscow State Linguistic University to develop educational and research relations.

Dr Shoja Ahmadvand, President of Allameh Tabataba'i University (ATU), and the accompanying delegation met with Dr Irina Kraeva, Rector of Moscow State Linguistic University (MSLU), at the MSLU campus on Tuesday, 11 November 2025. The meeting aimed at following up on and expanding the academic and research collaborations between the two universities.

At the beginning of the meeting, Dr Ahmadvand expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome from the Rector of Moscow State Linguistic University and emphasized two main objectives for the visit. He added: "The primary goals of this meeting are, first, to honour a decade of constructive cooperation in faculty and student exchange, the organization of short-term courses, and the implementation of two joint master's degree programs. Second, we aim to fully revive joint programs, such as faculty exchange, which were scaled back due to the COVID-19 pandemic." He also identified the important issue of housing for dispatched ATU students in Moscow's dormitories and the nature of interactions between dormitory managers and Iranian students, as well as discussions on future collaborations, as other key points of the meeting.

Dr Kraeva also extended a warm welcome to the Iranian academic delegation, describing ATU as the most significant Iranian partner for MSLU. She expressed her interest in traveling to Tehran to meet with Dr Ahmadvand at the ATU campus. After providing details for the Russian government's plans to allocate the necessary budget for the renovation and improvement of dormitory infrastructure, she put forward proposals to continue the collaboration between the two universities, such as organizing joint courses and co-authoring books on subjects of mutual interest.

Later in the meeting, Dr Ahmadvand welcomed the proposals from MSLU Rector and suggested the establishment of an annual "Iran-Russia Cultural and Linguistic Interactions Conference" to be held on a rotating basis (one year in Tehran and the next in Moscow). He also stressed the formation of a joint committee to continuously follow up on agreements and to organize meetings between the mid-level managers of the two universities. Resolving issues related to the two previous joint programs—namely, the "Regional Studies" and "Linguistics" programs—was another area of agreement.

Dr Hamidreza Maghami, Vice President for Student Affairs; Dr. Asghar Ghodrati, Head of the Russian Language Department; and Dr Narges Sanaei, Head of the Office for Developing International Academic Collaborations at ATU, also participated in the meeting, consulting and holding discussions with their counterparts on related issues.