Technology units and knowledge-based companies; role players in confronting sanctions scene

According to the public relations of the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran, a joint meeting of the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran with the Ambassador of Venezuela was held on Monday, December 26.

This meeting was attended by Dr. Ali Asadi, President of the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran, Mr. José Rafael Silva Apuente, Ambassador of Venezuela to Iran, and a number of deputies and managers.

Dr. Ali Asadi, President of the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran, referring to the existing cultural, political relations and cooperation as well as the anti-imperialist nature of Iran and Venezuela, said: It is necessary to expand our cooperation in various fields, especially in the field of developing technological cooperation.

Dr. Asadi stated that the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran is the oldest university park in Iran and is a reference for other science and technology parks; he added: The responsibility of developing the technology sector of the University of Tehran lies with the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran, which currently has 300 technology units and knowledge-based companies as members and are located in this complex and another 150 companies are waiting to be located.

He emphasized that the University of Tehran accepts students in all fields as the country’s reference university, and added: The Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran also covers most specialty areas and companies with diverse fields of activity are members and located in this park.

The President of the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran emphasized the naming of the year by the Supreme Leader as the year of production, knowledge-based and job creation, as well as the main slogan of the University of Tehran as “Scientific Jihad for Realization of an Entrepreneurial University with Social Responsibility”, and said: The Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran has started its strategic programs to realize these lofty goals, and developing the innovation ecosystem of the University of Tehran is one of the most important of these programs.

Dr. Asadi referred to the membership and establishment of a set of student innovation hubs, startups to developed companies in this complex and added: Various supports such as consulting in legal, tax, insurance fields and facilitation of low-interest loans are provided to them. These technology units and knowledge-based companies also meet the technological needs of various organizations in the country. In fact, technology units and knowledge-based companies have weakened the effects of sanctions.

He emphasized the existence of great capacities at the University of Tehran and its Science and Technology Park, stating: We are ready to share these capacities with Venezuela and also benefit from Venezuela’s capacities to develop Iran.

Dr. Asadi spoke of the mission of the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran to assess and identify Venezuela’s capabilities, adding: This mission has been defined by the presidency of the University of Tehran to identify the necessary mechanisms for expanding cooperation.

In the continuation, he presented the initial results of studies on cooperation with Venezuela, saying: Companies in the fields of petrochemicals, oil, gas, as well as companies active in agriculture and natural resources can be the starting points for this cooperation.

Dr. Asadi emphasized the need for further studies to establish cooperation and noted: Transferring the knowledge and expertise of the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran and its technology units and knowledge-based member and located companies in this complex is the main topic of this cooperation, which can take place in the form of presence and allocation of space to Iranian technology units and knowledge-based companies in Venezuela and vice versa, cooperation in holding joint events, establishing a branch of the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran in Venezuela, etc.

The Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran Innovation Zone; Supportive Environment for Technology Units and Knowledge-based Companies
Dr. Iraj Alahdadi, Deputy for Technology Development of the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran, introduced the Innovation Zone of the complex, saying: This zone covers about 20 square kilometers from north Amir Abad to south Tehran. Companies located in the Innovation Zone are covered by the support of the Science and Technology Park.

He emphasized the comprehensiveness of the University of Tehran in the scientific field and the presence of companies in diverse fields in the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran, stating: We have good experience in creating science and technology parks and we can jointly establish a new science and technology park in Venezuela or independently there, where the cooperation of Venezuelan universities can be very effective.

Creating an Efficiency-Oriented Economy; Philosophy of Emergence of Science and Technology Parks in Iran

Dr. Reza Mohammad Kazemi, Director of the Business Development and Promotion Center of the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran, spoke about the dependence of the economy on oil in both countries, saying: This issue of being factor-driven exists in both countries and the solution is moving from a factor-driven economy to an efficiency-driven economy.

He continued: The philosophy of establishing science and technology parks in Iran is to guide the economy towards efficiency-driven and not dependent on oil.
Dr. Kazemi explained the activities of the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran and added: The activities of the park are like a chain connected to each other, where ideas enter the innovation and entrepreneurship center at first and then through progress enter the incubation center and finally reach the market.

Regarding cooperation with Venezuela, he said: We can cooperate around transferring the experiences of the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran and also holding training workshops for professors of Venezuelan universities, etc.

Iran’s Progress is a Suitable Model for Venezuela’s Development

Mr. José Rafael Silva Apuente, Ambassador of Venezuela to Iran, introduced dependence on oil as a problem and added: Eliminating this dependence is one of Venezuela’s goals emphasized by the President of the country.

He referred to meetings of the President of Venezuela in Iran this year, saying: During these meetings, he also visited one of Iran’s science and technology parks and emphasized the importance of advancing Venezuela in this field, as Iran can be a suitable model with its great progress in this area.

The Venezuelan ambassador to Iran, referring to sanctions on Iran and Venezuela as well as Iran’s progress, stated: We are trying to benefit from Iran’s experiences in various fields, not just technology.

José Rafael Silva Apuente considered Iran’s progress a merit of the nation, government and revolution of Iran and added: We must present and continue such efforts and measures in Venezuela.

He spoke of the necessity of creating and strengthening scientific ties with Iran, saying: We hope that by strengthening relations between nations, we can untie the knots of sanctions.

In the closing part of the meeting, a visit was paid to Sarzamin Houshmand Company and ILIA Danesh Bonyan, located in the Science and Technology Park of the University of Tehran.