1. Please introduce yourself and give our audience some information about Razi University.

My name is Mohammad Nabi Ahmadi and I am the president of Razi University.

Razi University is the oldest university in Western Iran. It is home to about 12000 students, 460 faculty members, and 550 international students from six nationalities including Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Germany.

In recent years, Razi University has gained specifically brilliant ranks in international ranking systems. For example, three years ago, it was ranked 23 in the ISC ranking system. Two years ago, it was promoted to the 12th position. And, last year, while we were stressed for retaining our position, the results indicated that the university rank had improved again and we had gained the 9th rank in the country.

We also have good positions in other ranking systems like Times Higher Education, Shanghai, and WOS.

2. How do you define internationalization of a university?

Science is a sacred phenomenon and, nowadays, this sacred enterprise must be shared with other people. In other words, humans should refrain from reinventing the wheel. [Development in science] is like relay running, where a runner passes the baton to the next person.

If we aim to pioneer in the realm of science and share our scientific findings with others, we need to avoid weaving a spider web around ourselves. If we do so, we will not be able to take over the international community in terms of scientific development. As a result, we will not be able to walk on the edge of science. Scientists in different parts of the world have taken notable steps.

We should get engaged in an international campaign to promote the visibility and citation of our scientific works. We should also make use of others’ scientific findings. One of the important factors to achieve these aims is internationalizing science. 

There are different strategies to internationalize science. Establishing joint academic journals, joint teaching of courses, holding joint seminars, and launching joint laboratory projects are only some ways to international science. Above all, admitting international students is a major element in internationalizing science and will lead to important achievements.

3. What is the role of admitting international students in gaining scientific authority?

I believe admitting international students has the most profound impact on winning scientific authority for a country. Let me give you an example to clarify. Imagine that a student graduates from Razi University in the bachelor, master, or PhD program. Such a person will surely be the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in their home country. They will describe our country in a good way and will always do their best to highlight the positive things about us, and boast about our achievements, our natural resorts, and our scientific position. By doing so, they try to imply that they have studied in a credible university and country. Of course, we need to ensure that this picture [presented by international students who graduate from Iranian universities] is a true presentation of who we are.

Thus, whoever studies [at the universities of] the Islamic Republic of Iran will try to be a good presenter of our country. Moreover, many of them will occupy key government positions as they return to their own country. This will further the impact of our country and promote the interactions between the two countries.

I recently had the chance to travel to five Iraqi universities. Visiting one of the universities had not been planned in our itinerary. But, as soon as the authorities of that university realized we were in Iraq, they insisted on hosting us at their university. These authorities were graduates from Razi University, who displayed their utmost hospitality [during our visit] and remembered us well.

Another factor in admitting international students that contributes to gaining scientific authority is the medium of instruction. Those who start studying at Iranian universities must learn Persian in the very first step. As more and more students learn this language, Persian will spread across the world, facilitating the process of winning scientific authority.

We also need to develop wise plans for the international students who study at our universities. For example, we need to design tours for them to visit our dam construction industry, our steel factories, and our automotive industry to showcase the capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. By so doing, we succeed to properly present our country to international students.

This is what our supreme leader has also emphasized repeatedly. He has insisted on spreading Persian as the language of science in the world. 

It is not an exaggeration to say that, nowadays, the Islamic Republic of Iran is a new angle in the global power geometry. Thanks God, we are among the top world countries when it comes to military industry. We need to gain the same position in science. We need to take more serious steps to achieve the pinnacle in science as we are not there yet. If we do our best, we will play a significant role in scientific authority across the world.

4. Does Razi University have specific strategies to admit international students?

We have adopted various strategies in this regard and hope to develop more of them in future.

One of the strategies at the top of our agenda, whose impact we have witnessed, is that we waive the tuition fee of the first 20 students from each new nationality who decide to study at Razi University. This has helped us attract students from three new nationalities over the past year.

The second strategy is waiving 50% or the entire tuition fee for top students who come from the first 1000 universities according to Times Higher Education ranking. I believe this strategy is also highly effective.

Another strategy is introducing our faculty members to people across the world. As you know, a considerable number of our faculty members are ranked in the top 1% and 2% of highly cited researchers. We need to ensure that people across the globe know Razi University is home to world-class scientists.

The next strategy has to do with a decision recently approved by the university’s board of trustees. We have decided to pay the entire wage of supervising the thesis of international students irrespective of the upper limit set for the number of thesis supervised by each faculty member at Razi University. 

Another strategy is making use of the capacity of cultural attachés of the Islamic Republic of Iran in other countries. These diplomats must play a useful role in all political, cultural, economic, and scientific affairs. They are entitled to introduce the capacities of our universities across the world. This is one of the strategies that we specifically pursue.

Based on the developed vision, we need to have 320 thousand international students in Iran within the next four years. In order to achieve this number of students, we need to define particular strategies to guarantee our success.

The last strategy I should highlight is making use of the capacity of agencies which bring international students from around the globe. We have signed some contracts with these agencies in the past two years and I hope that, by their help, we will be able to meet the goal of having 320 thousand international students in a four-year period.

5. What are your plans and marketing strategies to admit international students?

We have taken specific steps in this regard. One of them is attending international expositions to introduce the capacities of our university to target audience. Last year, the Director of the Office for International Academic Cooperation actively took part in an international exposition held in Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan. 

Establishing collaboration with agencies responsible for recruiting students is another strategy that I previously mentioned.

The third strategy is promoting the quality of our university website. Right now, the university website is presented in three languages, including Persian, English, and Arabic with high quality.

Another important strategy is developing and launching the system for receiving international applicants’ documents through our service desk. Right now, international applicants can submit their application twice a year via this system. Without exaggeration, the service desk of Razi University enjoys a special position in the country. Razi University was the first university to join the smart window of government services and was given the mission to connect other Iranian universities to this window. Our service desk ranked first in the country and is among the top four services out of 340 universities in the world according to the WSIS ranking. This service was lauded and rewarded by the Minister of Science, Research, and Technology. All these indicate that our application system enjoys a very high quality.

Another strategy that we have developed is defining some incentives for international students, which I elaborated on in responding to the previous questions.

6. What should be done to make studying in Iran more attractive?

We can answer this question from two perspectives. On the one hand, enhancing the attraction of studying in Iran comprises taking international students on tours to visit different tourist attractions of our country. The should also gain first-hand experience by visiting our advances, capabilities, and attractions during their stay in Iran. So, we should look at them as tourists.

From the second viewpoint, we need to facilitate the paperwork for these students. In fact, we need to update the process of admitting these students. We should admit that currently the students face many problems and complications. The more we facilitate the paperwork for them, the more attractive studying in Iran will be. For instance, some Iraqi students cannot easily receive their student visa. So, they typically start their studies using tourism visa. Then, in the middle of their studies, they are told that their student visa has been issued and they need to go back to Iran’s consulate in Najaf or Karbala or other cities to receive the visa. These are some obstacles of studying in Iran. We need to facilitate this process as much as we can.

There are three countries in the world which recruit the largest number of international students: the United States, Canada, and Australia. In these countries, all the concerns are dealt with when the students apply for their student visa [and, as soon as their visa is issued, they don’t come across any further complicated paperwork]. We need to study the processes in these countries carefully with the aim of gaining new insights to facilitate the paperwork for international students in Iran.

Another important issue is that we should refrain from acting like disconnected islands. We need to closely figure out those organizations and ministries that are engaged in the process of admitting international students. The authorities in these organizations need to come up with a coherent process to facilitate the entire paperwork for international students.

Additionally, we need to raise the awareness of our citizens and personnel with regard to the importance of international students. Due to lack of enough knowledge in this regard, sometimes the university personnel cause disruptions in the paperwork of international students. This is so perhaps because we have not held orientation sessions to highlight the importance of admitting international students for these people. Sometimes our personnel think that these students are here only for the financial benefits. I clearly and honestly declare that financial gains are the last priority for us in the process of admitting international students. If we realize the advantages of admitting international students for our universities and our country, then we will not witness inappropriate interactions with such students. As the Minister of Science, Research, and Technology says, if the scientists cross the borders between two countries, soldiers’ boots will never cross them.

7. What should be done to properly present and introduce the attractions of studying in Iran?

We need to actively participate in international arenas at personal, university, and national levels. At the personal level, our faculty members must be able to have at least one annual travel outside the country to present the university in an international event or to establish collaboration with their counterparts in areas liked joint academic journals and research projects. We have serious problems in this regard. If the university fails to support the faculty members financially, they will gradually lose their voices in the international domain and we will face serious challenges to showcase our scientific developments and gain international experience.

At the university level, universities must host international events. Although nowadays it is emphasized that these events can be held online, having faculty members over in person will significantly help in introducing the attractions of Iranian universities.

And, at the national level, all involved organizations and ministries should do their best to introduce the capacities of Iranian universities in an appropriate way.

8. What is your idea about the international exposition on attractions of studying in Iran?

Two years ago, another exposition, which was the first experience in Iran, was held at Tarbiat Modares University. I do appreciate the efforts the authorities in the Organization of Student Affairs put into orchestrating such an event. But one of the shortcomings of this exposition was that we expected to see a lot of international students visit the event. This expectation was not fulfilled in reality. I do admit that a good number of top rank authorities, including the minister of higher education from Iraq, attended the exposition, and I am thankful for this. However, we need to do our best to make sure that the second exposition, which is going to kick off on October 8, 2024, addresses the shortcomings observed in the first experience. It is necessary that all those who play a role in the ecosystem of admitting international students, such as the Organization for Student Affairs, the universities, Directors of International Affairs at universities, the students themselves, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, have their significant contribution to the event.

As another point, a serious problem in our country is brain drain. The exposition is a good opportunity to introduce the capabilities of our higher education to our own high school students and bachelor students who are thinking about continuing their studies somewhere inside or outside the country. 

9. What is the role of Razi University in boosting the attraction of the event and does your university have any plans to hold a pre-exposition event in collaboration with the Organization for Student Affairs?

We have two major plans for the exposition. First, we need to properly present the capabilities of our university in the exposition. This may involve presenting what we do in our Teaching Persian to Speakers of Other Languages (TPSOL) Center or our Consulate Center for International Students. We should also do our best to properly present other facilities available in different parts of the university. We will also make attempts to inform our counterparts at universities outside the country or other authorities in Kermanshah Province about the event and invite them to participate in the exposition.

The second plan is to hold a pre-exposition event in late August or early September at Razi University. This event will be organized in collaboration with the Organization for Student Affairs and will aim to make us more prepared to attend the exposition with full capacity.

10. What are the plans at Razi University to actively participate in the exposition?

Last year, our TPSOL and Consulate Centers were selected as outstanding centers among all the other ones in Iranian universities. This indicates the capabilities available at Razi University. Given the proper potentials in our International Affairs office, we hope that we will have an exemplary presence in the exposition. All university vice presidencies have been asked to collaborate with the International Affairs office in this regard.

We need to pay attention to several points. First, Kermanshah is a historical city. We need to do our best to introduce the tourist attractions of Kermanshah in the exposition. If the Organization for Student Affairs helps us by giving us an appropriate booth, we will use everything in our capacity to suitably present our province and university.

On the other hand, we are going to send some of our faculty members who are active from an international perspective as well as domestic and international students at Razi University to the exposition. They will visit our booth and those of other universities. This is another way to help the Organization for Student Affairs in holding the event in a more glorified way.

11. What are your suggestions for enhancing the impact of the exposition?

The Organization of Student Affairs and its head, Dr. Dadashpoor, are role models in generating ideas and they don’t need our suggestions. Nonetheless, because the exposition is meant to present the attractions of studying in Iran, we expect that the ambassadors and cultural attachés of all countries be invited to the event. All key players who are involved in the affairs related to foreigners in Iran [should be invited to the event]. Authorities in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially those who are involved in establishing connections between universities in Iran and universities in other countries should be invited. Moreover, international students ought to have a notable presence in the event. At the same time, in the meetings that are held during the event enough time should be allocated to the key players to share their problems in the process of admitting international students.