TEHRAN – Iranian and Malaysian officials have discussed ways to enhance collaborations between the two countries, especially the promotion of science diplomacy.
Alireza Pourtavakol, the Iranian scientific counselor in East Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, met in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday with Norazah Mohd Nordin, the director of the Centre for International Strategic Negotiation and Sustainable Development Goals at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, IRNA reported.
The meeting focused on developing new memoranda of understanding, following up on the situation of Iranian students in Malaysia, and resolving barriers to the accreditation and recognition of Iranian medical universities by Malaysia.
Referring to the fact that 570 Iranian students are majoring in Malaysia now, Pourtavakol proposed offering new intergovernmental scholarships in priority fields of study. He also elaborated on the ways Malaysian universities are assessed in Iran, highlighting the need to expand effective cooperation between the two countries.
Expanding ties between Tehran, Kuala Lumpur
In November, Pourtavakol held a meeting with the managers of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to discuss ways to foster scientific and academic cooperation between Iran and Malaysia.
Pourtavakol met with Nur Azaliah Abu Bakar, the head of UTM department for international affairs; Nor Ruwaida Jamian, the head of Malaysia–Japan International Institute of Technology; Hafiza Binti Abas, the head of UTM department for artificial intelligence, and Basheer Al-haimi, a senior lecturer at the Azman Hashim International Business School (AHIBS), ISNA reported.
During the meeting, the two sides explored the potential for enhancing international collaborations and expanding interactions between universities of the two countries.
Highlighting the significance of conducting joint scientific and research projects, Pourtavakol proposed to develop relations via establishing a collaborative research center, exchanging students and professors, granting reciprocal scholarships, publishing joint scientific articles, holding short-term professional scientific courses, industrializing products of knowledge-based companies, cooperating with technology parks, and providing sabbatical leaves.
AI, robotics, smart automation, renewable energies, and nanotechnology were among the other discussed issues.
In 2024, the Iranian-Malaysian universities fall camp was held from November 3-11 by Malaya University, Kuala Lumpur. A total of 50 Iranian students and professors took part in the third joint international school run by Iranian and Malaysian universities (fall camp).
Following the agreement signed between the University of Isfahan and the UM University of Malaysia on the sidelines of the D-8 meeting in October 2023, the third joint Iran-Malaysia school was held with the theme of ‘training young global scientists and leaders to address modern international challenges’.
The course included comprehensive collective programs in line with student-scientific diplomacy, IRNA reported.
The course focused on six main topics, including the impact of artificial intelligence on security and privacy, integrated water resources management, artistic heritage and Islamic civilization, sustainable governance in climate change and crisis management, and the balance of faith and reason in lifestyle.
In October 2024, in an effort to develop academic cooperation, Sharif University branch of Academic Center for Education, Culture & Research (ACECR) and Khajeh Nasir (K.N.) Toosi University of Technology signed memorandums of understanding with University of Malaysia and Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU), respectively.
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