US and Iran Academic Partnership Workshop

NEW YORK, May 12, 2015—In support of increasing academic ties between the United States and Iran, the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the University at Albany, will convene a one-day workshop on May 13 to facilitate groundbreaking higher education dialogue between the two countries. The workshop will provide a critical opportunity for academics and administrators in the public health and medical sciences to explore one another’s academic contexts, exchange perspectives about these fields, and discuss potential areas of collaboration, as part of the IIE Center for International Partnership’s broader Iran Initiative.

Two chancellors from Iran’s premier medical universities are traveling to the United States for a week-long visit at the invitation of UAlbany President Robert J. Jones, and the U.S. Iran Partnership Workshop event will bring them together with U.S. campuses interested in exploring or expanding academic partnerships. The initiative is supported by UAlbany’s International Academic Program (IAP), which advances university-level collaborations with institutions throughout the Middle East.

Speakers will address research collaboration perspectives between Iran and the United States, and higher education institutions will discuss their campuses’ potential for partnerships and collaboration. The event will conclude with small group discussions where participants will have the opportunity to meet with each of the three visiting Iranian chancellors.

Along with U.S. higher education representatives, distinguished attendees and speakers include:

  • Dr. Gholamreza Asghari, Chancellor, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences
  • Dr. Ali Jafarian, Chancellor, Tehran University of Medical Sciences
  • Dr. Allan E. Goodman, President & CEO, Institute of International Education
  • Dr. Robert J. Jones, President, University at Albany, State University of New York
  • Dr. Arash Alaei, Clinical Associate Professor, University at Albany
  • Dr. Kamiar Alaei, Dr. Kamiar Alaei, Public Service Professor, University at Albany
  • Dr. Asghar Rastegar, Professor of Medicine, Director, Office of Global Health at Yale Medical School

The goal is to share resources and knowledge that will bring higher education institutions in the U.S. and Iran closer together, ultimately to enrich the academic experiences of students, faculty, staff, and administrators from both countries.

According to IIE’s 2014 Open Doors Report, in 2013/14 there were 10,194 Iranian students at U.S. colleges and universities, and Iran is the twelfth leading country to send international students to the U.S. Meanwhile, no U.S. higher education institutions report that their U.S. students are studying abroad in Iran.


About IIE’s Center for International Partnerships

The IIE Center for International Partnerships in Higher Education assists higher education institutions in developing and sustaining partnerships around the world IIE launched the International Academic Partnership Program (IAPP) in 2009 to help colleges develop the partnership component of their strategic plans for internationalization. IIE has led delegations to Brazil, China, India, Vietnam, and Myanmar in the past few years. Recent IAPP initiatives include an international partnership program with the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU), which seeks to increase the number of international partnerships between higher education institutions in the U.S. and in Norway.

About the University at Albany

Educationally and culturally, the University at Albany-SUNY puts “The World Within Reach” for its more than 17,300 students. An internationally recognized research university with 118 undergraduate majors and minors and 138 graduate programs, UAlbany is a leader among all New York State colleges and universities in such diverse fields as criminal justice, information science, public administration, social welfare, business and sociology. With a curriculum enhanced by 500 study-abroad opportunities, UAlbany launches great careers. Visit UAlbany’s extensive roster of faculty experts.

About the Iranian Chancellors Delegation

Tehran University of Medical (Medical and Health) Sciences

Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) is the largest medical and health university in Iran. TUMS ranks first in Iran for research and various aspects of education. At the international level, TUMS’ rank is 300-400 in different systems. TUMS is accredited with premier status by the Accreditation Service for International Colleges (ASIC), a UK-based external accreditation body. It has 11 schools, 16 hospitals, 6 research institutes, 3 networks of health care services, and more than 90 research centers. TUMS is home to the largest medical, dental, pharmacy, rehabilitation, allied medical sciences, and public health, nursing and midwifery schools in Iran. The priority of the university is to promote the quality of education, research, and health care services. It provides specialized education and care in Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Public Health, Rehabilitation, Allied Medical Sciences, Nursing and Midwifery, Nutritional Sciences, Virtual Education, Traditional Medicine, and Advanced Medical Technologies. TUMS is composed of 1,650 faculty members, more than 14,500 students (60 percent of which are women), and 15,000 health professionals that work at the university. TUMS’ faculty members are also active in education, research, and health services. TUMS offers more than 250 majors at different levels, 65 percent of which are doctorate and postgraduate courses.

Dr. Ali Jafarian is Chancellor of Tehran University of Medical Sciences and is also an associate professor at the university. He did his residency of General Surgery in Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex-TUM. Chancellor Jafarian completed a fellowship in Medical Education in 2004 and a fellowship in Vascular Surgery in 2006 at TUMS.  He also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery and Liver Transplantation at the Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic of Rochester.

Dr. Jafarian was Program Director of General Surgery Clerkship and Residency and a member of the national Preinternship and Residency Entrance Examination Board. He worked as an associate with the Graduate Medical Council from 2006 to 2012. Dr. Jafarian was Dean of the Medical School of TUMS. He has been a member of the Medical Ethics Department at TUMS since 2006. He has also been the Director of the Liver Transplantation Program at TUMS since its commencement in October 2001.

Isfahan University of Medical (Medical and Health) Sciences

Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (IUMS) was established in 1946. IUMS is the fourth ranked medical university in Iran and is composed of 600 academic faculty members and 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students in 35 departments. IUMS provides an education in basic medical sciences, clinical medical sciences, and health services. IUMS is also a regional health care provider and the main medical center in the Isfahan Province. As a major medical center, IUMS receives several complicated and referral patients from center of Iran. UMS’ faculty has also published fourteen peer reviewed journIals in a variety of fields in basic, clinical, medical, and paramedical sciences.

The Chancellor of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences is Dr. Gholamreza Asghari. In addition to being the Chancellor of IUMS, he has been a tenured professor at IUMS since 2006. He obtained his Pharm.D at the University of Isfahan in 1987 and his Ph.D at the University of Manchester in 1994.Dr. Gholamreza Asghari has multiple professional memberships including the Iranian Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, the Iranian Phramacognosists Association, Ministerial Board of Pharmacognosy, the National Pharmacognosy Research Network, and the Isfahan Pharmaceutical Research Center. He is also a member of the editorial board of the Research Journal of Pharmacognosy. He has published two books and several articles in national and international journals.

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