TEHRAN – An international exhibition on educational attractions in Iran is scheduled to be held in Tehran from October 8 to 11.  

The event will provide an opportunity for universities, institutions, and Persian language teaching centers to showcase their international capabilities and academic competencies to attract international students, IRNA quoted Mohammad-Javad Salmanpour, one of the organizers of the exhibition, as saying.

For the first time, the exhibition will include 12 events. The exhibition will feature several festivals culture and art in nations, and food in nations. It will also include meetings with professors teaching the Persian language.

During the festival, international students from different universities will demonstrate their countries’ culture, civilization, national and social identities as well as their scientific, economic, and cultural progress.
The main objective of the exhibition is to establish scientific authority, promote the Persian language as the language of science in the world, and enhance the attraction of international students, the official highlighted.

Attracting 320,000 intl. students by 2026

The Ministry of Science is planning to increase the number of international students to some 320,000 from currently around 100,000 by 2026, Hashem Dadashpour, the head of the Organization of Student Affairs, said in September 2023.

“There was an increase in the number of international students over the sixth National Development Plan (2017-2021). The seventh development plan (2022-2026) has also put increasing the figure to around 320,000 on the agenda,” he explained.

“Strengthening scientific authority, developing public diplomacy, and expanding the Persian language are the three main reasons for attracting international students,” Dadashpour said, IRIB reported.
He went on to say that the principle of attracting international students is a major strategy and plan for the Ministry of Science.”

Dadashpour stressed that the international campus of universities is the center of attracting international students and managing their affairs, but all university vice-chancellors are responsible for international students as much as Iranian students.

He pointed out that “International students’ attendance at the cultural events of the university helps Iranian students to get more familiar with them and their culture.”
“Also, international students can have their own cultural and artistic organization.”

The infrastructure of the university, educational and cultural planning, and the university staff should all attract students in a way that gives them a different positive view of Iran as they get back home.

The deputy head of the student affairs organization considered it important to provide suitable centers and platforms for teaching the Persian language to international students in universities.

MT/MG