New Steps Towards International Cooperation Between PNU and CINVU / CINVU's Agreement to Host the Fourth General Assembly by PNU
- 2024/12/16
The expansion of international cooperation resulted from a meeting between the board of directors of PNU and the managers of CINVU. This cooperation includes hosting the Fourth General Assembly of CINVU and an exhibition of knowledge-based achievements of Islamic countries, establishing a comprehensive CINVU center at PNU, utilizing CINVU's technological infrastructure and international evaluation and accreditation mechanisms, and collaborating on the establishment of CINVU international smart university.
The proposal and readiness expressed by the board of directors of PNU to host this university's unified Fourth General Assembly of CINVU led the Secretary-General of CINVU to agree to the proposal for unified hosting by PNU due to alignment in approaches and programs, as well as the history of PNU hosting the first and second general assemblies of CINVU. Previously, several Iranian universities, including the University of Tehran, had expressed readiness to host the Fourth General Assembly of CINVU; however, due to the integration in holding public and expert sessions with an exhibition of knowledge-based achievements, hosting this event was assigned to PNU.
According to the CINVU Public Relations Report, President of PNU of Iran, Dr. Mohammad Hadi Amin Naji stated at this event that the environment is conducive for university collaboration with the CINVU and said: The Graduate Studies Center and the International Affairs Center at PNU can implement collaboration and communication step-by-step and directly with CINVU.
He also expressed readiness for PNU to host the Fourth General Assembly of CINVU and the exhibition of knowledge-based achievements of Islamic countries and emphasized that PNU has allocated suitable administrative space for carrying out international activities to establish a comprehensive CINVU center.
Secretary-General of CINVU, Dr. Karim Najafi Barzegar presented a report on the performance and achievements of this network since its inception at this event, referring to the background of selecting PNU as an international hub in Iran's development program and stated: CINVU will implement the smart international university project in collaboration with PNU in Iran.
He continued by stating that CINVU is ready to provide all its capacities to PNU and added: In the process of bilateral cooperation, there is the possibility of accepting several million students and implementing educational and research projects utilizing the facilities and investments from the Islamic Development Bank for PNU.
Najafi Barzegar also appreciated the valuable support from the President of PNU, especially for proposing to host the Fourth General Assembly of CINVU and establishing a comprehensive CINVU center at PNU.
Executive Strategic Deputy and Head of the Permanent Secretariat of CINVU, Dr. Ali Karimi Morid provided a report on the latest programs, achievements, and infrastructural projects of this network at this event and said: The international evaluation and accreditation mechanism for educational services, the international evaluation and accreditation mechanism for professors, and the CINVU Plus academic super application are part of the international program to create technological infrastructures and standardize education in Islamic countries that has been implemented by CINVU.
He referred to the CINVU Plus super application as the first academic platform in the Islamic world and continued: All academic, educational, and knowledge-based members of CINVU have their special pages in the CINVU Plus super application and can introduce their educational and skill content across a vast range of Islamic countries.
Karimi Morid noted that the Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMSTECH), in addition to the status of CINVU, has approved a program to create an international super university, which will be a new starting point for bilateral cooperation and reminded that: Due to its international credibility, CINVU can not only establish connections and exchanges between PNU and a wide range of universities and higher education institutions but also provide access to the AAOU, which includes East Asian countries.
Director of Education at CINVU, Dr. Ahmad Pourghasem stated at this event that CEAQUALES and CEATQUALES are two innovative educational mechanisms of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, resulting in an international evaluation and accreditation mechanism in higher education across the Islamic world and said: The implementation process for these two programs has now begun with the cooperation of twenty-four Islamic countries, with the first step in CEAQUALES being second language education, which will expand to other training after structural testing.
He emphasized that CINVU is ready to establish departments and educational programs and stated: PNU can offer beneficial special educational programs to universities in other countries in collaboration with CINVU.
Director of Research at CINVU, Dr. Elham Gharami stated at this event that the Language Education Center of CINVU offers courses in Persian, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic: In the section for teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers, three programs—AZFA, BAZFA, and FARSERA—have been implemented with an approach to teach language learners both online and offline in the shortest possible time that features such as an artificial intelligence assistant, online quizzes, and a question bank are among the outcomes of these programs.
She also stated that in all language training courses of CINVU, international certificates are awarded to language learners, and continued: CINVU has a special academic English language training program for PhD students.
According to this report, the proposal and readiness expressed by the board of directors of PNU to host this university's unified Fourth General Assembly of CINVU led the Secretary-General of CINVU to agree to the proposal for unified hosting by PNU due to alignment in approaches and programs, as well as the history of PNU hosting the first and second general assemblies of CINVU. Previously, several Iranian universities, including the University of Tehran, had expressed readiness to host the Fourth General Assembly of CINVU; however, due to the integration in holding public and expert sessions with exhibitions of knowledge-based achievements, hosting this event was assigned to PNU.
The Fourth General Assembly of CINVU will be held on February 4th and 5th, 2025, with elites, scholars, presidents, and representatives of universities and educational institutions, along with ambassadors and high representatives from Islamic countries, both in-person and virtually/online, providing a unique opportunity for key discussions about the future of education in the Islamic world.
It is worth mentioning that the COMSTECH Inter-Islamic Network on Virtual Universities (CINVU) is an international educational, research, knowledge-based, and technology network affiliated with the Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (COMSTECH), which is hosted by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology of the Islamic Republic of Iran. With the idea of creating educational equity, CINVU is a base for expanding universal public education based on smart and online technology that by networking of capacities, uses the power of education, research, innovation, and technology, in line with the approach of helping to empower and advance the countries of the Islamic world.
The expansion of international cooperation resulted from a meeting between the board of directors of PNU and the managers of CINVU. This cooperation includes hosting the Fourth General Assembly of CINVU and an exhibition of knowledge-based achievements of Islamic countries, establishing a comprehensive CINVU center at PNU, utilizing CINVU's technological infrastructure and international evaluation and accreditation mechanisms, and collaborating on the establishment of CINVU international smart university.
