According to the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, Iranian knowledge-based firms will hire experts and graduates from developing countries.

Experts and graduates from developing countries including Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and other countries from the African Union will be hired by Iranian knowledge-based firms on the way to boost the firms’ level of exports.

The foreign experts will be introduced to the Iranian firms to get hired, after passing a year of internship offered.

Vice-President for Science and Technology Sorena Sattari said on October 15 that knowledge-based companies have targeted manufacturing sanctioned goods and products.

According to him, there are as many as 4,600 knowledge-based companies active n the country, exporting $1 billion worth of products annually. /MNA/

Latest data released by the Energy Ministry shows that Iran has produced over 4.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity from renewable sources since the bid to shift focus from fossil fuels to greener energies started in mid-2009.

This volume of clean energy was produced from July 2009 to late November 2019, which has cut the consumption of 1.25 billion cubic meters of fossil fuels. It has also saved 969 million liters of water.

Moreover, harnessing clean energy in the past nine years has helped the country curb the emission of about 3 million tons of greenhouse gases.

Renewable ventures are gaining popularity in the country; with more than 300 sunny days throughout the year, Iran has huge potential to expand solar energy infrastructure and attract foreign investments.

The country meets more than 80% of its electricity demand from thermal power plants that run on fossil fuels. Of the total 82,000 MW production capacity, only a meager amount of 680 MW goes to renewables.

Figures on Iran’s power sector show that 42% of the country’s renewable energies come from solar power, 41% from wind farms, 13% small from hydroelectric plants, 2% from heat recovery and 2% is constituted by biomass. / MNA/

Two freestyle wrestlers will represent Iran in the 2019 edition of Grand Prix Moscow Alrosa in Russia.

The competition is slated to be held on November 29-30 in Olympics weight categories of both freestyle and Greco-Roman disciplines.

Ahmad Bazri and Mohammad Hossein Mohammadian will represent Iran at the event in 86kg and 97kg categories of freestyle discipline. Gholamreza Mohammadi, the national wrestling team’s coach, also accompanies the team. /MNA/

Kaveh Mazaheri’s short film ‘Funfair’, an Iran/Canada co-production, has won two awards at ‘Court en Scène’ Film Festival in France and Winchester Film Festival in the UK.

‘Funfair’ is a short film about members of a family who risk their lives to earn more money in order to escape a life of destitution.

The short film has received a Special Mention for Best Screenplay at ‘Court en Scène’ Film Festival in France, and a Special Mention for Best Foreign Film at Winchester Film Festival in the UK.

Mazaheri’s successful film has also recently won the best short film award at the 32nd edition of Oscar-qualifying Foyle Film Festival in Derry, Northern Ireland, having a chance now to be introduced to the 92nd Academy Awards. /MNA/

Iran earned their third successive win at the CAFA U23 Women’s Championship on Monday.

The Iranian team defeated Kyrgyz Republic 6-0, thanks to goals from Fatemeh Shaban (two goals), Hajar Dabaghi (two goals) and Fatemeh Ghasemi (two goals).

Iran started the campaign with a 4-0 win over Tajikistan and then beat Turkmenistan 5-0.

Maryam Azmoun’s team will play Uzbekistan in title decider on Tuesday.

All six Central Asian Football Association members Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Afghanistan compete on a round-robin basis in Dushanbe and Hisor.

The winners will be determined following the final day of competition on Thursday. / T.T/

Iranian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) exported $1.49 billion worth of commodities since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21) up to October 7, $450 million more than the figure for last year’s same period.

Iranian SMEs exported $1.04 billion in the last year’s 6.5-month period, the Deputy Director of Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization (ISIPO) Asghar Mosaheb told IRNA on Monday.

According to the official, the mentioned exports have been made by 900 SMEs active in various industrial parks across the country.

He noted that although due to the problems pertain to the U.S. sanctions, the number of the exporting units has decreased compared to the previous year, but the value of exports has increased.

Mosaheb further noted that the value of exports by the country’s SMEs in the first six months of the current calendar year (March 21-September 22) also reached $1.03 billion to witness a 30 percent rise compared to the last year’s H1.

Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan were the top three export destinations in the period with $320 million, $216 million, and $51 million worth of imports respectively.
The United Arab Emirates and Turkmenistan were the next in the line, according to Mosaheb.

Back in August, head of ISIPO announced that over 33,000 SMEs are currently active in Iran of which 1,100 are exporting their products and services to foreign destinations.

According to Mohsen Salehinia, currently 43,650 SMEs are based in over 800 industrial parks across the country, of which nearly 78 percent or 33,800 are active.
One of the major programs that ISIPO is following regarding the SMEs is reviving idle units and helping them to get back into business to increase the country’s domestic production and to boost exports to the neighboring countries.

Holding training courses, supporting SMEs participation in international exhibitions, supporting SMEs research and study projects, and supporting knowledge-based SMEs are some other programs which ISIPO is following to help SMEs expand their activities, according to Salehinia. / T.T/

The Minister of Labor, Cooperatives and Social Welfare Mohammad Shariatmadari said that Iran promoted its rank by 13 steps in terms of entrepreneurship index in the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 20, 2019) according to the report of Global Entrepreneurship Center.

He made the remarks on Tue. at the closing ceremony of International Entrepreneurship Week, held at the venue of the Ministry of Labor from Nov. 18-24, and said, “Iran’s rank of entrepreneurship index in the past year (ended Mar. 20, 2019) registered a 13-step rise in a way that this rank has been ameliorated and improved in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.”

He put the number of consultation centers launched for entrepreneurs in the country at 309 and added, “some 4,335 entrepreneurship companies used the consultation services of these centers last year (ended March 20, 2019).”

Recently, Digital Content Production Foundation has been launched by the private sector, he said, adding, “also, an entrepreneurship company was set up for the development of new technologies in the field of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) and Block Chain.” / MNA/

Iranian director Sonia Haddad’s film “Exam” has received the Grand Jury Award – Live-Action Short at the American Film Institute – AFI FEST, the organizers announced on Friday.

The award was presented to the film for “its bold directorial style, anchored by a stunning lead performance,” the jury said in their statement.

“‘Exam’ stood out from the other films for its bold directorial style, anchored by a stunning lead performance,” the jury said in its statement published by the Organizers.

“The result is a tense portrait that reaches past its specificity into the universal,” the statement added.

“Exam” is about a teenage girl who agrees to deliver a pack of cocaine on the day of an important exam at school.

The grand jury award winners in the live-action and animated short categories will be eligible for the 2020 Best Live Action Short and Best Animated Short Academy Awards.

The Grand Jury Prize of the festival in the animation section went to “Something to Remember” by Niki Lindroth von Bahr.

The film is about the challenges of the lives of some animals who sound and feel all too human.

The AFI FEST was held in Los Angeles, California from November 14 to 21. / T.T/

Iran’s Educational Deputy Minister of Science, Research and Technology called for expansion of scientific cooperation with Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States.

Ali Khaki Seddigh, the Educational Deputy Minister of Science, Research and Technology who attended the 5th Meeting of the Heads of Science and Technology Ministries and Departments of (SCO) Member States outlined the positions of Iran’s science ministry and called for the expansion of scientific cooperation with member states.

The 5th Meeting of the Heads of Science and Technology Ministries and Departments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States was held on 20-21 November in Moscow, Russia.

The representatives of the SCO observer states, including Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia, as well as representatives from the SCO dialogue partners, including the Republic of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey participated at the meeting.

During the meeting, the heads of the delegations exchanged information on the science and technology policies of the SCO member states and were satisfied to note the common and mutually compatible nature of the priorities and formats of science and technological development. They agreed to use this important framework for the purposes of further expanding and intensifying scientific and technological cooperation in the SCO region.

The SCO, which has its headquarters in Beijing, holds summits of heads of states as well as heads of government meetings annually in member countries. /MNA/

Two Iranian companies managed to win the Asian Science Park Association (ASPA) Awards 2019.

The winners were announced during the 23rd ASPA Annual Conference held in Taiwan on November 11-13.

Arya Nanoseez, affiliated to Fars province’s Science and Technology Park, which is the largest biotechnological and nano-technological center in the country, won the ASPA Award.

Behin Ab-e Zendehrood, a knowledge-based company in Isfahan, ranked second in the Asian Science Park Association international competition, IRIB news agency reported on Saturday.

ASPA is an international nongovernmental organization established in Japan in 1997 for the purpose of accomplishing the joint development in the fields of scientific technology, industry and economy in the Asian region.

ASPA has been trying to present a new paradigm for Asian industry and build economic consensus in Asia by bringing innovative organizations, companies and individuals together that make contributions to industrial and economic development in their societies.

Innovative organizations such as research parks, business incubation centers, universities, academic institutions and venture companies in Asian region participate in a competition and outstanding enterprises are nominated by ASPA organization members to be awarded.

The awarded companies have various opportunities to publicize their companies and products through ASPA activities and publications. / T.T/