TEHRAN – Allameh Tabatabai University of Tehran and the University of Salento, Italy, have signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance scientific collaborations in social and human sciences.

During a meeting held on Sunday in Tehran, Shoja Ahmadvand, the chancellor of Tabatabaei University, and Fabio Pollice, the chancellor of the University of Salento, discussed ways to expand scientific cooperation, Mehr news agency reported.

Teaching Persian and Italian languages, holding short-term courses, exchanging students and professors, launching an archaeology major and a Persian-Italian journal, conducting Erasmus+ projects in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, and donating books to the libraries of the two universities were among the points proposed by Ahmadvand, which was well-received by the Italian side.

For his part, Pollice suggested holding virtual Persian and Italian language courses, organizing online meetings among faculty members of the two universities and the two peer scientific groups to help them become more familiar with the existing capacities, fostering interactions between professors of the two universities, and exchanging professors and students for short-term courses with the aim of paving the way for long-term exchanges.

The signed MOU centers around exchanging scientific data, books, journals, and scientific and research documents in educational, research, and technical fields of interest to both parties, exchanging articles to be published in relevant journals, and offering mutual facilities for sabbatical leaves.

It also highlights collaboration on the establishment of joint educational courses and educational programs with mutually recognized degrees, attending international events in various educational fields being held at each of the universities, and collaborative supervising of postgraduate students. 

In February 2024, Luiss University of Italy announced readiness to reinforce scientific and academic cooperation with Iranian universities, IRNA reported.

During the meeting held between Andrea Prencipe, the chancellor of the Rome-based university, and Mohammad-Reza Sabouri, the Iranian ambassador to Rome, the Italian official said that a number of Iranian students are studying at Luiss University. He expressed the university’s readiness to attract more Iranian students.

Sabouri, for his part, highlighted scientific and academic achievements and capabilities of the country in various fields, including economics, management, political science, and international relations, announcing Iran’s readiness to exchange professors and students with Luiss University.

Global ranking 

The 15th edition of the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2025 has included 17 Iranian universities in 21 subject entries, compared to 17 Iranian universities in 17 subject entries in 2024.

Iranian universities are ranked among the top institutions in three faculty areas, including Engineering and Technology; Life sciences and Medicine; and Natural sciences, Mehr news agency reported.

University of Tehran, with a global ranking of 280, is placed first in the country; it ranked 346 globally in 2024. 

Sharif University of Technology ranks second in the country, and its global ranking has risen from 410-450 in 2024 to 292 this year.

The Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings (WUR) by International Outlook 2025 has ranked 85 Iranian universities among the top universities in the world.

Sharif University of Technology (with a global ranking of 301- 350) tops the universities in the country.

Amirkabir University of Technology and Iran University of Science and Technology, both with a global ranking of 351–400, are placed second.

Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, and the University of Tehran, with a global ranking of 401-500, rank third.

THE World University Rankings 2025 has placed 81 Iranian universities among the top universities in the world in 10 out of 11 subject areas, compared to 73 universities in 2024.

Iran’s best rankings are in Computer Science and Engineering.

University of Tehran (401-500), Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Shahid Beheshti University (501-600), Allameh Tabatabaei University, and University of Isfahan (601), are ranked first to third in Art and Humanities. 

MT/MG