Tapping Iran's Dynamic Education Sector

This is a very important moment for Iran. The country’s expanded education capacity, continuing demand for education, and greatero penness to the world – all combined with pressing economic and social challenges at home – will likely ensure that Iran figures more prominently in international education markets in the years ahead figures Vibha Singh
 

- Vibha Singh

Four decades of economic sanctions and political isolation have affected every facet of life in Iran. Yet despite the obstacles, science and research have flourished. According to Towards 2030, a UNESCO science report, ‘the sanctions … have accelerated the shift from a resource-based economy to a knowledge economy by challenging policymakers to look beyond extractive industries to the country’s human capital for wealth creation … between 2006 and 2011 the number of firms declaring R&D activities more than doubled.’

Looking ahead, British Council forecasts have it that outbound postgraduate mobility from Iran will reach 26,000 by 2024, for a projected average annual growth rate of 3.4% (from 2012 to 2024). “In 2024, the US is forecast to be the top destination of the six selected markets for Iranian postgraduates, of whom 11,900 will study in the US. Other strong postgraduate flows of Iranian students will be to Germany (5,700), Canada (2,800) and the UK (2,700). The strongest annual average growth rate will be seen in postgraduate student flows from Iran to the US (+4.3%), Germany (+3.6%), and Canada (+2.4%).” What is the scenario?

The same report highlighted that in 2017, Iran ranked seventh worldwide for the number of scientific papers related to nanotechnology. However, it would be a mistake to consider sanctions as a positive force for science and research in Iran. Although paralyzing sanctions pushed the education system to be more creative, they have posed numerous challenges for students and scholars. For example, as a result of the sanctions on the Iranian banking system, many universities lost their subscriptions to international academic journals, simply because they could not transfer the money to pay for access to the journals.