A delegation from Politecnico di Milano in Italy visited Sharif University of Technology on Monday 23rd May. The delegation consisted of Prof. Francesco Ballio, the Rector’s delegate for relations with Persian Gulf countries and Iran, Prof. Fabio Inzoli, Head of department of Energy and a few other faculty members. They were hosted by Prof. Movaghar, the Dean of the International Affairs office (IA) and several faculty members from Sharif Universityof Technology at the IA office. During the meeting, Prof. Movaghar introduced Sharif University of Technology and Prof. Ballio introduced Politecnico di Milano following which an open floor discussion ensued.
Prof. Ballio mentioned that they were not interested in enrolling students from Iran but would like to establish research links with Sharif University. He described his university’s internationalization strategy and stressed the importance of activation of MoUs. “Sharif University is very interesting for us. We know what it means to have Sharif University students. I would like to go out of this meeting with a roadmap so that in the next week or month we can start collaborations,” he asserted.
Prof. Movaghar drew attention to the high volume of recent visits from European Universities and the fact that being one of the best technical universities in Iran, Sharif strives to have partnerships and collaborations with number one universities in Europe. The delegates explored methods of collaboration such as graduate student exchange, sabbaticals for faculty and students, and joint PhD programs. There was also an interest in organizing short courses on Kish Island which would be run jointly by Sharif University and Politecnico di Milano. In conclusion, it was decided that as a first step, Sharif’s International Affairs Office sends a framework and agreement for PhD student sabbaticals and visiting faculty members.
