TEHRAN- An online platform dubbed “Connect” has been launched aiming to facilitate the cooperation of overseas Iranian experts and researchers with domestic universities.

Some 6,500 Iranian elites from the world's top universities are now cooperating with the country and around 450 are back to their homeland and recruited as faculty members using the platform, Mehr reported.

Launched by the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, "Connect" provides the opportunity for implementing post-doctoral projects, conducting research, inviting professors, delivering specialized lectures, holding workshops, establishing start-ups, and working in technological companies instead of military service.

Researchers, experts, and international entrepreneurs registered on the platform can benefit from a 3–10-year residence permit in the country.

More than 8,700 Iranian experts and researchers living abroad have so far applied to join the platform and over 6,500 successful scientific collaborations have taken place.

Many of the applicants are graduates of the world's top universities such as MIT, Stanford, Cambridge, Harvard, Berkeley, Illinois, Sydney, Melbourne, Princeton, Michigan, National University of Singapore, and EPFL Switzerland.

Moreover, 3,752 specialized workshops have been held and lectures have been delivered. More than 240 technological companies have been established in various fields and over 450 researchers have returned to the country and recruited as faculty members in top domestic universities.

With the support of the National Elites Foundation, universities, knowledge enterprises, technology parks, and incubators launched a plan titled ‘Cooperation with Iranian expatriate entrepreneurs and elite’ in 2015.

The plan forms a suitable infrastructure for using the scientific and technological capacity and power of Iranian experts in various specialized fields.

As part of the program, more than 10,000 Iranian experts and researchers residing abroad have been recruited, and more than 2,600 researchers and experts from the world's top universities (mostly from America, Canada, and European countries) have returned to the country.

According to the latest statistics, some 8,410 requests for cooperation, 693 requests for the establishment of a knowledge-based company, 3,567 requests for lectures and workshops, 2,500 postdoctoral requests, and 400 requests for visiting professors are registered in the system.

"Employment in knowledge-based companies", "Housing loan", "Housing deposit", "Recruitment of academic staff", "Educational workshops and lectures", "Educational and research activities", and "Technological activities", are among the most important support services defined under this program for Iranian experts residing abroad who wish to cooperate with educational and industrial centers of the country.

Solving problems

The platform aims to solve the basic challenges mentioned by Iranian elites interested in cooperation with the country.

The challenges include a "lack of a specific mechanism to establish relationships with selected scientific and technological institutions and centers", and "unfamiliarity with the country's scientific and technological situation in the specialized field".

Over the past six years, it has been able to be a bridge between Iranian experts and scientists abroad with more than 150 scientific and technological centers, including top universities, research institutes, technology parks, and domestically selected knowledge-based companies in the shortest possible time, and has provided them with the capacities available to introduce different fields of science and technology.

Another achievement of this program is the creation of 280 knowledge-based companies and startups in various fields of "Artificial Intelligence", "Biotechnology", "Nano", "Energy", "Information and Communication Technology" and so on.

These companies have provided the ground for the direct employment of the best domestic specialists and graduates.

MT/MG