TUMS Chancellor Meets Iraqi Minister of Higher Education

Dr. Kordi, the Vice-Chancellor for Global Strategies and International Affairs, and Dr. Noroozi, the Secretary of the Iran-Iraq Scientific Collaboration Office participated at this meeting, which took place on Sunday, 3rd February, 2019.

After greeting his guests, Dr. Karimi initiated the meeting by introducing TUMS and explaining its history, which dates back to the 19th century. He also stated that as of now, 12,000 students are studying in the University, 2,000 of which are subspecialty students. Putting an emphasis on the 180 Iraqi students who are currently studying at TUMS, Dr. Karimi hoped for further development in the collaboration between the two countries. He expressed hope that the presence of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Iraq in Iran and the Tehran University of Medical Sciences will support the establishment of a university branch in Iraq.

The Iraqi Minister of Higher Education said: “I am very glad that on this trip, the opportunity to get acquainted with the best university in Iran in the field of medicine was provided.” Referring to the presence of Iraqi students, especially in undergraduate courses at Tehran University of Medical Sciences over the past years, he added: "My point of view in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Iraq is to deepen and widen the cultural relations between the two countries and to cooperate in the field of medical education development in Iraq.”

Subsequently, Dr. Kordi, the Vice-Chancellor for Global Strategies and International Affairs, provided supplementary explanations on the University's educational and research capabilities. He emphasized that the faculty members of the Tehran University of Medical Sciences are collaborating with more than 100 universities in the world on five continents, adding the fact that  17% of the articles of these professors are published in collaboration with international researchers.

In the end, Dr. Karimi summed the event up by emphasizing on the strategies applied for reaching progress in building the TUMS branch in Iraq. He mentioned one of the problems in this process as: “Unfortunately, the two countries face the issues of administrative regulation, and we are responsible for facilitating this big decision by looking at the future and moving forward.”