Viewpoints of Diplomatic Guests on TUMS International Day 2015

According to Dr. Arabkheradmand, TUMS Vice-Chancellor for Global Strategies and International Affairs, TUMS is currently host to international students from 27 different countries. Dr. Arabkheradmand explained the main aim of the event as an opportunity to introduce TUMS to the honorable ambassadors and other diplomatic guests in order to identify and explore possible ground for future collaborations.

During the ceremony, our interviewers managed to have short conversations with some of our guests to ask their opinion about TUMS, its international day, and the general academic setting of Iran.

H. E. Mr. Harri Kämäräinen, the Ambassador of Finland, expressed hope to see Finnish students at TUMS in the future and expressed the need for the university to be introduced in Finland. He stated that he has found TUMS to be a lively university with high standards which has a lot to offer to the world in the field of medicine. Thus, he hoped to see more contact and communication between medical sciences universities of this country and those in Iran. Regarding the ceremony, he emphasized the organization of the event and congratulated TUMS on bringing people together in such an occasion.

Impressed by the lively atmosphere of the ceremony, H. E. Mr. Cristian Teodorescu, the Ambassador of Romania, talked about a similar situation, that is the absence of Romanian students at TUMS. He also stated that they would be trying to establish some academic connection between Romania and Iran in order to move towards future collaborations.

Similarly, H. E. Mr. Raja Nushirwan Zainal Abidin, the Ambassador of Malaysia, referred to the absence of Malaysian students at TUMS, even though numerous Iranian students are currently studying in different universities in Malaysia. Expressing hope to see Malaysian students in Iran in the future, he was of the view that international day is very interesting and also important day for countries and organizations that wish to promote their abilities and potentials. He was also quite surprised to find so many international students at TUMS.

H. E. Mr. Saleh Lawawi, the Ambassador of Palestine, expressing his best wishes for Iran, TUMS and all of its professors and students, commended Iran as a great nation in the higher education landscape and showed delight for seeing the stall of Palestine in the exhibition. In the end, he thanked the authorities for having invited him on what he described as a wonderful event.

H. E. Mr. Mirghani A. A. Bakhit, the Ambassador of the Sudan, regarding the concept of internationalization of higher education, asserted that this phenomenon brings people together. Thus, he believed, it would be quite beneficial to establish relationships in this landscape. He also expressed his delight regarding the presence of Sudanese students at TUMS.

Expressing delight towards the ceremony and the happy atmosphere, H. E. Mr. Nguyen Hong Thach, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Viet Nam, stated that he is interested in seeing the stall of Viet Nam in the TUMS International Students’ Exhibition in the near future and also talked about the possibility of having Iranian students in Vietnamese medical schools and universities.

With a similar attitude towards the internationalization of higher education, a trend which has been a top priority for TUMS, Mr. Zhivko Kantchev, First Secretary of the Embassy of Bulgaria, mentioned that no Bulgarian students study at TUMS, though, he believed, capitalizing on the concept of internationalization is a wonderful idea to change this situation.

The Deputy Head of Mission from the Embassy of Ghana in Tehran, elaborating on his views regarding the international day, stated that this day is quite valuable as it promotes cultural exchange between various nations. Also, he expressed happiness over the fact that students from Ghana, though small in number, are present at TUMS and have represented their country in the TUMS International Students’ Exhibition. He congratulated the organizing committee for having significantly improved the quality of the ceremony compared to that of the previous year and hoped to see more students from his country attend TUMS in the future.

Mrs. Patrycja Ozcan-Karolewska, Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Poland, referring to the available suitable grounds for communication between TUMS and Polish institutes of higher education, stated that there are currently no students from Poland at TUMS and that there should exist an agreement between a Polish university and TUMS in order to commence student exchanges.

On a similar note, Mr. Jae-Kwan Chun, 3rd Secretary of the Embassy of South Korea, stated that no university student from his country has attended Tehran University of Medical Sciences since it is not very well known in South Korea. The reason for Mr. Chun’s participation in the event, in his words, was to gather information about this university in order to introduce it to South Korean students who are interested in studying in an international university.

Apart from the diplomatic guests present at this gathering, Dr. Mohammad Bagher Ghahremani, Vice-President, International, University of Tehran, described his positive feelings concerning participation in an international atmosphere where different nations are present and one can witness a variety of cultures. He emphasized that a university without a sense of internationalization cannot belong to the top-level league of universities since knowledge has no boundaries, and universities should work towards removing such boundaries.

The TUMS International Day celebration event was held on March 1, 2015, at the TUMS National Museum of Medical Sciences History.