Allameh Tabataba'i University and Markazi Province Partner to Expand Healthcare and Education for Immigrants

Directorate for International Academic Cooperation–

(English report by Rasoul Firouzi)

The agreement was reached during a high-level coordination meeting at ATU’s central campus in Tehran, bringing together university researchers, provincial migration authorities, and international organization representatives to review joint projects and implement evidence-based immigration management.

Opening the session, Dr Mandana Tishehyar, ATU Vice-President for Research, highlighted the university’s academic infrastructure dedicated to immigration issues, including the establishment of the International Centre for Afghanistan Studies, a master’s degree program in Immigration Studies, and specialised immigrant mental health counseling clinics.

"Sustainable collaboration between academia and executive bodies is essential for the scientific and humane management of migration issues," Tishehyar said, calling for data-driven policy integration.

Dr Gholamreza Fathabadi, Directorate General of Foreign Immigrant Affairs of Markazi Province, stressed that managing foreign nationals requires rigorous, evidence-based planning to mitigate social vulnerabilities. Commending ATU's previous executive training programs for provincial managers, Fathabadi called for institutionalizing these efforts through a permanent "Migration School," hosting national and regional symposiums, and expanding partnerships with international aid bodies.

Dr Mohammad Ghaffari, representative of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), warned that the lack of a unified national strategy on migration has led to fragmented, ad-hoc decision-making.

"A primary challenge in this field is the absence of comprehensive statistical data for policy planning," Ghaffari noted, emphasising the need to actively integrate non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and grassroots community groups into state planning.

Dr Hamideh Adelian, ATU’s Director of Community Engagement, and Dr Behrouz Rastakhiz, Director of the ATU Migration Program, addressed funding mechanisms. Both officials urged closer collaboration with international agencies to navigate complex funding procedures, particularly for vocational training, educational access for migrant children, and field research.

The session outlined several key operational commitments:

Expanding Psychosocial Support: Dr Seyed Mousa Hosseini, Director of the Migrant Mental Health Counseling Center, reviewed the success of existing counseling centers in Tehran and Qom, proposing the establishment of a similar psychosocial support and counseling center in Arak, the provincial capital.

Community Resilience in Saveh: Dr Mansour Fathi, faculty member in ATU’s Faculty of Social Sciences, presented a targeted program aimed at building economic empowerment and psychosocial resilience among residents of the Saveh Refugee Settlement (Mehmanshahr-e Saveh).

Core Action Agenda: The two sides finalized a three-point operational roadmap focused on launching the Arak counseling center, organizing a national migration training workshop, and mobilizing international financial resources for upcoming social projects.

On the sidelines of the meeting, ATU donated 150 specialised children's books to the community library at the Saveh Refugee Settlement. The initiative, organized in collaboration with donors from the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (Kanoon), is designed to promote literacy and provide educational support to refugee families and children living in the settlement.