SUTA News

درگذشت دکتر امیر هوشنگ هاشمی دانش آموخته دوره چهاردهم دانشكده مهندسي برق

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 08:54:28 GMT

نکو نام نمیرد هرگز مرده آن است که نامش به نکویی نبرند

امیر هوشنگ هاشمی در سال 1339 متولد شد و در سال 1358 با رتبه شاگرد اولی از دبیرستان البرز دیپلم گرفت، و در همان سال رتبه سوم کنکور سراسری را اخذ کرد، رتبه ای که برای برخی دوستانش عجیب بود که چرا نفر اول ایران نشد؟او رشته مهندسی برق در دانشگاه صنعتی شریف را انتخاب کرد و بعد از انقلاب فرهنگی گرایش الکترونیک را برگزید. هوشنگ در تمامی مدت تحصیل اش یکی از دانشجویان ممتاز رشته خود بود و نهایتأ هم زودتر از سایر همدوره هایش دوره لیسانس را در سال 1364 به اتمام رساند. بسیاری از استادانش از او برای دستیاری در پروژه ها و کلاسهای خود کمک می گرفتند. از آن میان می توان از دکتر محمود نحوی، دکتر شاهرخ شیبانی و دکتر زین العابدین نوابی که استاد راهنمایش بود نام برد. او در رشته های ورزشی شنا، فوتبال، اسکی و والیبال هم فعال و موفق بود و مدتی در پست هافبک راست تیم فوتبال دانشکده برق بازی می کرد. هوشنگ در آزمون ورودی کارشناسی ارشد رتبه اول را اخد کرد ولی در گزینش مردود شد. او بلافاصله به خدمت سربازی در نیروی زمینی ارتش رفت وپس از آن در شرکت خواهر شرکت زیمنس در تهران به نام شرکت داده سیستمهای ایران به عنوان مدیر سخت افزار استخدام شد. او نقش ویژه ای در نصب و راه اندازی کامپیوترهای مین فریم زیمنس در صنایع بزرگ ایران مانند فولاد مبارکه و مس سرچشمه داشت. فعالیتهای اوهمزمان در شرکت دیگری به نام جنرکس که توسط موسسان شرکت داده سیستمها تاسیس شده بود ادامه یافت. در جنرکس او به مدیریت پروژه های ماشینهای سی ان سی و همچنین پروژه ایجاد نسخه فارسی ویندوز پرداخت. در طول همین سالها او با همسر خود گلاره در شرکت زیمنس آشنا شد و با او ازدواج کرد.

در سال 1370، هوشنگ برای ادامه تحصیل راهی شهر بوستون آمریکا شد. پایان نامه دکترای هوشنگ در مورد روش ابداعی او برای بهینه کردن استفاده از سیستم حافظه کامپیوتر نوشته شده است. او در سال 1375 موفق به اخد دکترای خود از دانشگاه نورث ایسترن شد. علاقه شغلی او پس از دوره دکترا معطوف کاربردهای مالی علوم کامپیوتر و استفاده آن در درپیش بینی عملکرد بازار بورس و کنترل امنیت شبکه های کامپیوتری موسسات مالی شد و در این راستا مسئولیتهای متعدد در چند شرکت بزرگ از جمله معاونت مدیر عامل شرکت معظم فیدلیتی را عهده دار بود.

او به زندگی در شهر بوستون ادامه داد و صاحب دو دختر به نامهای یاسمین و نیکا شد که در حال حاضر مشغول تحصیلات دبیرستان خود در آمریکا می باشند. هوشنگ در سال 1390 به بیماری بسیار نادر سرطان غدد ترشحی که از یکی از غدد بزاقی او شروع شده بود مبتلا شد. او با اراده محکم که یکی از خصوصیات همیشگی او بود تا لحظه آخر با این بیماری جنگید و امید به پیروزی بر آن را برای خود و خانواده اش زنده نگهداشت. تحقیقات او در مورد این بیماری به طرزی بود که دانش او در مورد آن بسیار بیشتر از بعضی پزشکان معالج او شده بود. هوشنگ در یکی از روزهای پایانی اردیبهشت 1392 در اثر خوشرویی، مهربانی، کمک بی شائبه به دوستان و جدیت در کارها ویژگیهایی هستند که هوشنگ بین دوستان و اطرافیانش به آنها معروف بود، البته همه اینها پس از استعداد شایان تحصیلی و هوش و درایت فوق العاده او میباشد. به گفته یکی از نزدیک ترین دوستانش او فوق العاده بود مثل یک جواهر، که بدور از جاه طلبی و صرفأ با پشتکار و استعدادهای شگرفش، در هر عرصه ای بر دیگران پیشی می گرفت.

روحش شاد و یادش گرامی باد.

SUTA Newsletter #71

Bahram ZahirAzami — Sun, 12 May 2013 12:46:08 GMT

SUTA Newsletter #71 is now available.

You can also access the simple PDF version here.

Announcement of the Death of Mr. Hamid Kargari, the 4th Round graduate of Metallurgical Engineering

Hamid Mostaghaci — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 03:22:24 GMT

To all members of the Sharif University of Technology:
It is with great sadness that we have to inform you of the death of Mr. Hamid Kargari, the 4th Round graduate of Metallurgical Engineering, and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Iradan Company. We convey our deepest sympathy to Mr. Kargari's family on their loss.

7th Board of Directors of the Sharif University of Technology Association

The new Board: More Committees have been formed

Bahram ZahirAzami — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 01:29:00 GMT

After the initial announcement last month, more committee chairpersons have been assigned and a more complete list is prepared below:

President: Dr. Bahram ZahirAzami

Vice president and Chairperson of the Legal and Bylaws Review Committee: Elaheh Izadi

Treasurer and Chairperson of the Reunion Committee: Negin Sadr

Secretary and Chairperson of the Awards Committee: Dr. Vahid Arbab

Director and Chairperson of the Communications Committee:
Dr. Hamid Mostaghaci

Director and co-chair of the Membership, Fund-Raising and Chapters Committee: Nahid Toosi

Director and co-chair of the Membership, Fund-Raising and Chapters Committee: Dr. Massoud Olfat

****************************************************

Senior Advisor: Dr. Fredun Hojabri

Advisory Board Member: Dr. Zahed Sheikholeslami

Advisory Board Member: Dr. Fariba Aria

Advisory Board Member: Dr. Jalil Kamali

Advisory Board Member: Mr. Farrokh Malihi

SUTA Board of Directors

March 14, 2013

Professor Saeed Sohrabpour, receives SUTA's Dr. Amin Lifetime Achievement Award for distinguished contributions in research and education to Sharif University of Technology

Bahram ZahirAzami — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 06:06:51 GMT

Dr. Sohrabpour (right) receives the Award from Mr. Malihi (former SUTA president) - February 2013.

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لوح تقدیر انجمن سوتا در سال ٢٠١٢ برای تقدیر از اساتید برجسته دانشگاه صنعتی شریف و به نام دكتر امينبه آقای دکتر سعید سهراب پور استاد دانشکده مهندسی مکانیک و ریاست سابق دانشگاه بخاطر خدمات با ارزش ایشان در مدیریت دانشگاه در بخش آموزش و پژوهش، ارتقای جایگاه دانشگاه و توسعه طرحهای عمرانی دانشگاه تعلق گرفت.

دکتر سهراب پور در سال 1322 در تهران به دنیا آمد و در سال 1340 از دبیرستان البرز فارغ التحصیل شد. ایشان پس از طی دوره لیسانس در رشته مهندسی مکانیک از دانشکده فنی دانشگاه تهران در سال 1344 با کسب رتبه اول و بورس دولت وقت عازم امریکا شدند و دوره دکترا را در دانشگاه برکلی کالیفرنیا گذراندند.

دکتر سهراب پور از سال 1350 در دانشگاه شیراز مشغول به تدریس شدند و تا قبل از انتقال به دانشگاه صنعتی شریف در سال 1368 عهده دار معاونت دانشگاه شیراز بودند. مسئولیتهای اجرایی ایشان همچنین شامل معاونت عمرانی وزارت بهداشت و معاونت عمرانی وزارت فرهنگ و آموزش عالی میباشد.

ایشان در سال 1376 به پیشنهاد اساتید دانشگاه و از سوی وزیر علوم وقت به ریاست دانشگاه صنعتی شریف برگزیده شدند و تا سال 1389 عهده دار این مسئولیت بودند. دکتر سهراب پور عضو فرهنگستان علوم میباشند و در سال 1384 به عنوان یکی از چهرههای ماندگار کشور شناخته شدند.

Professor Ali Naghi Mashayekhi receives SUTA's Alumni Achievement Award for distinguished service to Sharif University of Technology

Bahram ZahirAzami — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 04:23:38 GMT

Dr. Mashayekh (left) receives the Award from Mr. Malihi, SUTA advisor, and former SUTA president, Februry 2013.

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دکتر علینقی مشایخی فارغ التحصیل دوره اول دانشگاه و استاد دانشکده مدیریت و اقتصاد دانشگاه شریف برگزیده امسال لوح انجمن برای تقدیر از فارغ التحصیلان برجسته دانشگاه صنعتی شریف می باشند. این انتخاب به خاطر خدمات ارزشمند ایشان در تاسیس دانشکده مدیریت و اقتصاد دانشگاه صنعتی شریف و خدمات موثرشان در مدیریت انجمن فارغ التحصیلان دانشگاه به ایشان اهداء می گردد. دکتر مشایخی تحصیلات دوره کارشناسی خود را با رتبه اول در دانشکده مهندسی مکانیک دانشگاه صنعتی شریف در سال 1349 گذراندند. ایشان پس از تکمیل دوره لیسانس برای ادامه تحصیل به امریکا رفتند و دوره دکترای خود را در دانشگاه تکنولوژی ماساچوست در رشته مدیریت گذراندند. ایشان پس از بازگشت به میهن با مسئولیت در بخش های مختلف مدیریت و اقتصاد کشور خدمت کردند. دانشکده مدیریت و اقتصاد دانشگاه شریف با همت دکتر مشایخی در سال 1378 تاسیس گردید. ایشان همچنین از سال 1380 مسئولیت دبیرکل انجمن فارغ التحصیلان دانشگاه را عهده دار می باشند.

The new Board's positions have been filled

Bahram ZahirAzami — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 23:24:09 GMT

After the SUTA 2012 election results have been approved by the Elections Committee and published about two weeks ago, today the new Board had its first official meeting and the new officers were elected inside the board, as follows:

President: Dr. Bahram ZahirAzami

Vice president: Elaheh Izadi

Treasurer: Negin Sadrosadat

Secretary: Dr. Vahid Arbab

Director and Chairperson of the Communications Committee: Dr. Hamid Mostaghaci

Director and co-chair of the Membership, Fund-Raising and Chapters Committee: Nahid Toosi

Director and co-chair of the Membership, Fund-Raising and Chapters Committee: Dr. Massoud Olfat

Also Dr. Hojabri has been assigned to the position of Senior Advisor; Other committee chairpersons and the combination of the Advisory Board will be announced shortly.

SUTA Board of Directors

February 14, 2013

Dr. Reza Moridi has been appointed as the new Ontario Minister of Research and Innovation

Bahram ZahirAzami — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 18:45:20 GMT

We are delighted and honored to announce that Dr. Reza Moridi, Ontario MPP from Richmond Hill has been appointed as the new Minister of Research and Innovation in the Province of Ontario.

We would like to congratulate Dr. Moridi on his new appointment to such a prestigious position and wish him all the bests in this new responsibility.

Dr. Moridi is an associate member of SUTA, and has participated at our 2012 reunion in Ottawa as a speaker at our panel on Challenges of Higher Education in Iran: Collaboration among Iranian Academic Associations.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Bahram Zahir

Report of the January 24, 2013 event in Toronto: Dr. Nivi's talk

Bahram ZahirAzami — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 05:00:02 GMT

On January 24^th 2013, SUTA Toronto Chapter hosted a talk along with a networking session at Bayview Golf and Country Club. Dr. Hossein Nivi, President & CEO of Pendaran Inc., gave the talk on how advanced technology can accelerate active learning. Members from Fanni Alumni Association in Ontario and Mohandes association also attended the event and they each had a table for their members. There were also guests from University of Waterloo and University of Ontario Institute of Technology.

Event started with a short networking session. While guests were being registered and assigned to their tables, there was time for people on the same table to get to know each other.

Dr. Bahram Zahir, Secretary of the Board of Directors opened the session and introduced Dr. Nivi. Dr. Nivi then started his talk with the importance of experience along with education and how it can affect the quality of the jobs done in the society. This gave him the idea of the Pendaran Inc. to be “a library of experience” as he put it. Pendaran provides its clients with virtual environments of their desired workspace. During the workshops, students are exposed to the obstacles and problems they may face during work. One of the people who has been through this course, Mr. Ali Rahmani, was also present at the event and was invited to talk about his experience during the workshop.

During the question and answer session, interesting questions were asked such as how this idea of virtual experience can turn into a four-year bachelor’s degree to improve the quality of education in universities. However, the importance of science and theory was also emphasized.

After the talk, dinner was served and ideas were exchanged between the attendees.

Election results have been posted

Bahram ZahirAzami — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:37:40 GMT

The results of the SUTA elections for the 7 Board members, fo the 2013-14 period have been announced. You can see the details at this address.

Elections for the Board of Directors is underway

Bahram ZahirAzami — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 16:11:25 GMT

After the approval of the elections procedures by the Election Committee and the nomination of 13 members, we moved forward by sending out the ballots on December 30th 2012; the voting period would be open till January 20th 2013 and results will be announced soon after that for the seven positions of the BoD for the period of 2013-14.

It should be mentioned that if you have not received the ballot via email, and think that you have the conditions to receive one (meaning that you are an active member: in good standing, of non associate and non honorary level), please let us know ASAP.

We would like to invite members to read candidates' profiles and to ask them questions on the forums.

Mr. Hossein Amanat, the main architect of the original SUT campus, has been granted honorary membership

Bahram ZahirAzami — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 05:37:47 GMT

The Board of Directors of SUTA is delighted to announce that an honorary SUTA membership has been extended to Mr. Hossein Amanat, because of his contributions to the field of architecture, with landmark edifices in Iran and across the globe, and his unique contribution in the creation of SUT, as the head architect of the initial main campus under the late Dr. Mojtahedi's command.

Mr. Amanat is a graduate of the Architecture School (Beaux Arts) of the Tehran University and the designer of the Shahyad Tower, renamed the Azadi Tower after 1979.

He was born in 1942 in Iran and currently lives in Vancouver, Bristish Colombia, Canada.

SUTA UAE Chapter call for videoconference speakers

Bahram ZahirAzami — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 18:32:34 GMT

Dear SUTA members,

UAE Chapter of SUTA would like to invite SUTA members around the world for visiting SUTA UAE FaceBook Fan page and follow the programs and activities of SUTA UAE at http://www.facebook.com/sutauae.

SUTA UAE is also honored to invite all SUT graduates around the world to present a talk in different areas of science, art and technology by using virtual WebEx online facility at its weekly or monthly gatherings.

WebEx is a professional and reliable tools developed by Cisco in which the presenter can share files, images, slides and applications along with quality videos and audio conferences with others in real time.

If you would like to join us as speaker , please introduce yourself with your profile as well as some brief notes about your topic to us using the following email: info@sutauae.org.

Our weekly gathering time is Friday morning from 10-12 am (Dubai Time) and our monthly gathering is held on the last Saturday/Sunday of the month from 7-9 pm (Dubai Time). Please find more details from SUTA UAE FaceBook page.

With regards,

SUTA UAE Chapter

Call for nominations for the Board of Director Elections

Bahram ZahirAzami — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:53:13 GMT

Dear Members,

Sharif University of Technology Association (SUTA) seeks nominations for Board of Directors. We will elect, by voting from SUTA membership, seven directors to serve a two year term beginning January, 2013. The nominees and the voters should be a SUTA member in good standing at the time of elections (this means that their membership fees should have been paid). Associate members can not run as candidates for the elections.

SUTA welcomes all members, independent of their highest degree, college affiliation, year of graduation, gender, and geographic representation to run for these positions and to bring their skills, experience and perspectives into the new Board. While the nomination is open to all members, the depth and breadth of the nominee's volunteer experiences in general, and volunteer involvement with SUTA's local chapters would be a grand asset. We strive to balance Board membership along a number of dimensions to represent the general membership as widely as possible. Please note that this is truly a working board and not an honorary or advisory position.

Nomination deadline is set for December 25, 2012. To nominate yourself, please send a brief CV, a personal picture in JPEG format, and a letter indicating your volunteer activities and experience, as well as your academic and work background, current location, and aspirations for SUTA to suta.bod@gmail.com. Candidates will be announced on our website, www.suta.org as we receive the nominations. The voting period will be during December 26, 2012 through January 20th, 2013. Voting process is supervised by an independent advisory group, and results will be announced by the end of January, 2013.

Many thanks for your help in building a strong SUTA Board.

SUTA Board of Directors

Southern California Fall Activity Report

Bahram ZahirAzami — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 04:48:36 GMT

Please find the fall 2012 report of the South California chapter here.

Newsletter #70 is now ready

Bahram ZahirAzami — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 18:03:40 GMT

Please click here!

Membership fee structure

Bahram ZahirAzami — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 05:10:29 GMT

The Board of Directors of SUTA has approved to maintain the annual membership fee structure that we had for the past several years in the USD currency, as follows:

associate member and student level: $20
non student member level: $50

However, as the exchange rate between the Iranian Rials and the USD has significantly changed since the time these rates have been adopted, the Board has approved the following new rates for the members living in Iran:

associate member and student level: 300,000 Rials
non student member level: 1,000,000 Rials

These new rates for members paying in Iranian Rials in Iran will be enforced as of December 10, 2012. Whoever who pays the fees prior to this date can still pay with the old rates.

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On Behalf of the Board of Directors
Bahram Zahir

Ottawa Chapter's night was a success: "how to exploit new ideas and put them at work"

Bahram ZahirAzami — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 03:50:54 GMT

A considerable pool of talent in the Iranian community living in Canada was the subject of discussions among generations of immigrants and students. The SUTA Chapter in Ottawa in cooperation with CSIEA planned a meeting to show the road to success to young talents.

A group of 34 young graduates and students who are potentially ready to start their business based on their innovative ideas were invited to listen to the speakers from government and private sector.

Mr. Peter Stewart was our first speaker who explained all the facilities available to innovators and entrepreneurs to start their business and how to apply for funding and other services.

Our next speaker was Dr. Alizadeh from Giatec Corporation. He started his talk by telling his success story and also the challenges on their way to success. Dr. Alizadeh’s first start-up in partnership with long time friend and classmate Dr. Pouria Ghods is now a successful international company after several years of hard work and many challenges. They achieved this level of success two years after starting their business.

The meeting was very useful to young soles of the community to see they are not left behind and the possibility to flourish and grow is available, just need to know the rules of the game and also to work hard.

SUTA congratulates the Ottawa Chapter for this successful event.

Activating the directory search on the SUTA database

Bahram ZahirAzami — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 15:12:23 GMT

SUTA is pleased to announce that we are going to activate the directory search, to allow finding members' university friends and classmates by searching the SUTA database. This feature would be available only to SUTA members (all student, non-student and associate levels, but not to simple contacts).

The activation will happen on November 29, 2012.

Members who may have concerns about privacy, are requested to login to the system and change their privacy settings before November 29th (go to the "privacy" tab, and unselect the fields that they do not want to be shared in the directory).

Please note that only "members" will be listed and information from people who are only on our contact list would not be searchable nor will be displayed.

Report of the 2012 Joint SUTA & SUA reunion (Ottawa, July 13-15, 2012)

Bahram ZahirAzami — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 03:08:47 GMT

1. Prelude

The 7^th global reunion of Sharif University of Technology Association (SUTA), with over 250 delegates coming from all across the World, has been jointly held with Shiraz University Association (SUA) in Ottawa from 13^th to 15^th of July 2012. The delegates have arrived from Canada, the USA, Iran, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Australia. This was the second time that the two associations had some collaboration on their reunions; the first instance of this collaboration was in 2000 in San Diego, California, where the two associations had their reunions simultaneously and shared the venue (but were separate in all functions). The 2012 reunion in Ottawa, Ontario is the first time that the two organizations actually have a joint reunion, as all functions were common among the two associations, except for the AGMs.

The two organizations decided to join their efforts in having a joint reunion back in August 2011, on a proposal of SUTA’s Senior Adviser, and longtime SUTA veteran, Dr. Fredun Hojabri, and consequent approval of the two boards of directors.

Ottawa has been chosen among a few cities that have been nominated for the site of this reunion, based on its attractions, its proximity to centers where the associations’ members reside, the perception of comparatively easier visa process for those traveling from Iran, and the access to a pool of volunteer resources to run the reunion. While the two associations’ boards of directors were legally responsible for the reunion, an Organizing Committee (OC) of local volunteers has also been set up, as of late 2011, to take care of all the details of the event planning.

2. Report of the events

2.1 Opening Ceremony

Reunion of SUTA-SUA 2012 officially started with the National anthems of Iran and Canada. Mr. Mahdavi, the president of the Organizing Committee, started the session by welcoming all guests and alumni members. He presented a brief summary of the organizing committee work before and during the reunion and introduced the key members of his committee. His introductory speech led to a short welcome address by Mr. Ramin Behzadi, the vice president of SUTA, followed by a welcome video from SUTA president, Mr. Farrokh Malihi. Likewise, Dr. Farideh Tehrani, SUA President, came to stage to welcome alumni members.

The opening ceremony then continued by a speech from Professor Fazlollah Reza, former president of SUT. During his speech, cultural and social attributes of Iran were discussed. He also focused on Iranian professionals, especially those living in foreign countries.

2.2 Technical talks

The program continued on Saturday morning and then on Sunday morning by the following technical talks:

Dr. Hamid Jorjani talked about “Culture and Innovation”;

Dr. Hamid Mostaghaci made his presentation on “A Smart Grid Vision-Innovation in Energy Industry”;

Mr. Hossein Amanat gave a talk on “Contemporary Architecture and Legacy of Persian Past” with some memories of the foundation of Sharif University of Technology (formerly known as Aryamehr University of Technology), and the Azadi Tower (formerly known as Shahyad Tower);

Mr. Farrokh Pebdani gave a talk on “the Future of Fossil Fuel”;

Dr. Masood Khatamee gave a talk on “New Advances in Human Reproduction”;

Dr. Shahla Masood had her presentation on “Cancer Care in 21^st Century”.

2.3 AGM

SUTA AGM:

- President’s Report, Mr. Behnam Kamrani and Mr. Ramin Behzadi

- Treasurer’s Report, Ms. Negin Sadr

- Open Discussion and Q&A

After the mid-day break, each association and their members held their Annual General Meeting. SUTA AGM initiated with brief presentation on SUTA’s mission, vision and activities as well as a report on financials. Then, representatives of the BoD had a chance to introduce themselves to the members and left an open discussion for questions and answers. During the Q&A, the following items have been discussed:

· The board gave a brief report on its activity and the financial status of the association.

The issue we had with visa and attendance of guests has been discussed.
Next location for the reunion 2014 has been discussed; A suggestion from the audience was to choose a location for future re-unions that is more viable for members from Iran to participate. The current location in Ottawa, ON (Canada) required a visit visa for many Iranian members and due to difficulties in applying for and getting the visa, many members were not able to attend the event despite their willingness.
Reviewing member’s expectation and helping out-of-country student members.
Suggestions how to attract younger members and how to assist the university both academically and financially, without infringing the boycott laws.

● One suggestion from the audience was to increase and give more importance to fundraising activities within the association in order to raise its financial ability and be able to fund further events and to provide help to its members.

● For the upcoming BoD elections the current BoD likes to invite candidates to come forward and particularly representatives from all active chapters are asked to bring in their enthusiasm and their vision.

2.4 Award Ceremony and Gala Night

After a long day of speeches and meetings, all members and their guests were relaxed into a gala night setting on Saturday night. At the beginning of the night, a video message from Dr. Hojabri was projected welcoming the guests.

During the gala night, guests had the chance to network and socialize, and to take pictures. Also, both SUTA and SUA used this opportunity to present the award winners of their association.

SUTA’s 2012 award winners have been introduced for Dr. Amin’s Lifetime Achievement Award, SUTA’s Service Alumni Award and SUTA’s Alumni Award, respectively as Dr. Saeed Sohrabpour, former president of SUT, Dr. Alinaghi Mashayekhi, and Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis. The last two awards have been introduced in 2012, while the first award dates back to the 2010 reunion in Sweden.

Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis was present and was handed his award by Professor Reza. The other two awards will be presented in an upcoming local reunion/ award ceremony at SUT. The award ceremony was then followed by an interesting presentation by Dr. Khoshnevis on Automated Construction.

Towards the end of the dinner, performers from Mamak Khadem team came up to stage to play their songs for audience. Sang by Mamak herself, the concert was an axiom of choice type with a Persian folkloric theme that was welcomed by the guests. The concert brought a lively atmosphere to the gathering where many of the guests danced on the floor.

Report of the discussions

Panel on “Challenges Facing Higher Education in Iran” - Part I

Panelists: Dr. Mohammad Behforouz, Dr. Homayoun Shahriari and Dr. Bahram Zahir

● One main concern as stated by the panelists is that the institutions in Iran give more importance to the “quantity” of publications as opposed to their “quality”. In recent years, despite the fact that there has been a significant increase in the number of papers published by students in higher education institutions from Iran, unfortunately the same cannot be said about the average quality of those papers.

● Another concern that may cause some damage to the reputation of such publications is the fact that some of the papers do not fully comply with anti-plagiarism rules. One of the panelists brought an example of a paper from an Iranian university which was quite similar to the one being published earlier by a student under supervision of the panelist.

● Also the importance given to the quantitative development of the university capacities in Iran (in terms of number of students accepted), has overshadowed the need to improve the quality of education, and emphasize on performing research that solves real problems of the society or the industry.

● The difficulties faced by Iranian scholars living in Iran to create a dynamic and independent scientific community, that can play an influential role in the society were discussed and as a way to create such a community out of Iran, the creation of a new Iranian university abroad (most probably in North America) has been proposed.

Panel on “Higher Education in Iran” - Part II

“Collaboration among Iranian University Associations”

Panelists: Dr. Reza Moridi, Dr. B. Khoshnevis, Dr. Farideh Tehrani and Dr. Bahram Zahir.

● This reunion was one of the first events of its kind bringing alumni and students from two major universities in Iran; Sharif University of Technology and Shiraz University under one roof. All panelists agreed on continuing effort to organize similar events and encourage other likewise higher education institution alumni associations to take part as well.

● One suggestion offered by one of the panelists, Dr. Bahram Zahir, was to shift the focus to more collaborative work between all higher education institutions in Iran and even establish an “Umbrella Association” that covers all such associations for more organized cooperation.

● A point of such collaborative efforts will be the help provided to Iranian students overseas with their continuing education and also providing help to students within Iran to be able to better pursue their educational goals.

Panel on “Higher Education in Iran” - Part III

“Innovation and Entrepreneurship”

Panelists: Mr. Mehdi Mahdavi, Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis, Ramezan Benrashid, Mr. Afshin Matin, Mr. Keith Johanns

● According to one of the panelists, Dr. Behrokh Khoshnevis, there are many Iranian students in North American universities who are engaged in entrepreneurial activities. One example of such was the work being supervised by Dr. Khoshnevis in developing a technology called “Contour Crafting” which is considered as a revolution in construction of different structures, mainly multi-unit residential houses,

● All panelists agreed on the importance of having more collaborative efforts by similar associations in recognizing interested students and alumni and providing consultation and execution help to those groups.

Conclusions

SUTA and SUA had a successful joint reunion in Ottawa, Ontario, in July 2012. The two associations, while keeping their independence, like to invite other likewise associations (such as the ones made of Tehran University, Amir Kabir Polytechnique, … alumni) to join for the 2014 reunion, to have an even greater joint event and in the passage evaluate the possibility of founding an umbrella organization, with the declaration of the goals, timelines, rules and agenda. Also such an umbrella organization can act as a support for a potential Iranian university abroad.

PS: The audio recordings of most discussions and talks of the reunion are available at:

http ://persianradio .net /en -US /Content /Detail /21.aspx

Board of Directors of Sharif University of Technology Association (SUTA)