Dr. Roozbeh Rajabi, a faculty member and Director of the Office of Industry Relations at Qom University of Technology, noted in an interview with the university's public relations office that entrepreneurship is a field for risk-taking individuals. He stated that many of the successful businesses that have emerged worldwide today and achieved significant progress are the product of teams and ideas that were once formed during startup weekends and entrepreneurial gatherings.
He added that Qom University of Technology, through the ongoing endeavors of the esteemed university president, Dr. Rezaei Nour, has successfully attracted necessary funding from the Scientific and Technological Deputy of the Presidency to establish a startup empowerment club (Beta), and currently, in the first phase of this initiative, the construction of the first co-working space in Qom province is on the agenda, which hopefully will be inaugurated by June 2019. He highlighted that one of the main services of Beta includes providing co-working spaces, consultation, training, acceleration, and attracting investors.
The Director of the Office of Industry Relations at Qom University of Technology continued by mentioning the participation of the university's entrepreneurship center in the national plan for monitoring the employment of university graduates and reported that the employment rate of graduates from Qom University of Technology last year was nearly 80%.
Dr. Rajabi listed providing entrepreneurship courses as one of the actions effective in strengthening students' entrepreneurial knowledge and stated that in 2019, with the support of the esteemed Vice President for Education and Research and the efforts of the experts at the university's entrepreneurship center, two entrepreneurship courses titled: "Fundamentals of Starting New Businesses" and "Designing and Developing New Businesses" were offered, which were well received by the students.
He further explained the formation of student industry helper teams under the supervision of a faculty member, saying that engineering students, by attending training courses centered around a faculty member, will form industry helper teams, and the Office of Industry Relations will introduce these teams to industries and companies based on their needs to examine and solve industrial problems, noting that last year, two industry helper teams were introduced according to the needs of the industries.
Additionally, Dr. Rajabi mentioned other achievements of the Office of Industry Relations, including signing four research contracts with faculty members and industries worth 1,850,000,000 rials and four patents registered. He considered the establishment of an office cooperating with the Intellectual Property Center of Iran at Qom University of Technology to facilitate the registration of foreign patents for professors and students as an effective step, stating that one request for foreign patent registration in 2019 was part of the activities of this office.
Dr. Rajabi regarding the organization of scientific visits in 2019 stated: More than 20 scientific visits by students were conducted in 2019, and an electronic mechanism is planned for 2020 to facilitate the process of professors and students registering for these visits. Additionally, a visit to the Azadi Innovation Factory and attendance at the Inotex exhibition, which is a unique event in the field of innovation and technology in the country and is held annually with the enthusiastic participation of components of the country's innovation ecosystem, was conducted by the Office of Industry Relations at the university in 2019.
He discussed the signing of cooperation agreements in 2019, stating: We signed five cooperation agreements with various companies, industries, and organizations, including the National Oil Products Distribution Company, the Academic Jihad Organization, the Martyrs' Elite Office for Shahid Fahmideh in Qom, the Navy Research Office of the Revolutionary Guard, and the Fadak Farm in Qom, and drafts for five cooperation agreements with the Manganese Mining Company, Arin Paj Sheet Company, the Urban Studies Office of Tehran, the National Gas Company of Iran, and the Water and Wastewater Company are in progress.
The Director of the Office of Industry Relations at the university stated: One of the responsibilities that has always been regarded as the most important for this office is the issue of student internships, which they are generally required to complete in the final years of their undergraduate studies. In 2019, we organized around 400 students seeking internships, and for the next year, we will publish a special internship newsletter as part of the "Karipurt" plan aimed at sharing students' experiences and creating a database. In this plan, students will fill out and submit forms regarding their introduction to the internship location, sharing their experiences, and outlining their time during the internship in their own words.
Other programs of the Office of Industry Relations and Entrepreneurship in 2019 include holding innovation cafe sessions in student dormitories by the entrepreneurship experts of this office, which will, with more precise planning next year, be held with the presence of top provincial entrepreneurs in student dormitories.
Dr. Rajabi then discussed the establishment of the Cargo System, stating that this system was launched in collaboration with the university's informatics unit, aimed at presenting job opportunities, internships, and supporting student theses. Industry owners can input their needs into this system, which serves as a bridge between industry and university for providing job opportunities and internship placements.
Dr. Rajabi mentioned that in 2019, the Office of Industry Relations formed a student robotics team under the supervision of one of the faculty members. This team attended the Robochallenge Innovation and Prosperity Fund Exhibition to become acquainted with the technological needs of companies and industries and held ongoing sessions to acquire robot construction projects.
Furthermore, the Office of Industry Relations organized skill enhancement workshops titled Idea Development Workshop, Personal and Social Skills Workshop, Idea Market Event, and a panel introducing actors in the innovation ecosystem, featuring a number of provincial and national entrepreneurs.
He added: Another significant action by the Office of Industry Relations is participation in the Technology Market Exhibition held annually during the Research Week. Dr. Rajabi noted that this year, support was provided for student startups by offering an independent space for introducing their products at the exhibition.
At the end of this interview, Dr. Rajabi credited the success and accomplishments achieved by the Office of Industry Relations in 2019 to the support of university officials and the collaboration of distinguished professors, expressing gratitude for the efforts and dedication of his colleagues.
