Technology now reigns worldwide. Joining that wave of change, Iran has taken an unusual step to lift its computer-game industry to new heights: for the first time, the country is to launch a specialised university dedicated to computer games.
The Iranian news agency Mehr News reported this on Sunday. The deputy education director of Academic Jihad, Mehdi Basoli, confirmed the plan at a news conference held to mark the organisation’s 46th founding anniversary.
Skills development and new horizons
Basoli said the university was being established to skill up workers linked to the game industry and to spread specialised training in the sector. Its main goal, he said, was to build a broad network that would expand job opportunities for young people.
Describing the current state of its educational activities, he said Academic Jihad’s education system was currently run in two parts — higher education and short-term training. Under higher education, about 27,000 students are studying at two universities and five higher-education institutions, and 8,000 students have already graduated. In addition, various short-term courses are run at 162 centres across the country. Recently, the emphasis has shifted from general courses to skills- and demand-based training.
A self-reliant education sector and researcher recruitment
On the institution’s funding, Basoli said about 80 percent of the money to run its educational activities came from its own income, with only about 20 percent from government funds. Compared with last year, both the sector’s financial performance and the number of courses had risen. Last year, 1,338 training courses were run in line with the demands of society and the labour market.
The institution is also working jointly with the health ministry to improve the health sector. Four specialised working groups have been formed on sensitive areas such as infertility treatment and oral and dental care.
Efforts to build a skilled workforce have also been stepped up. Saying that the process of recruiting researchers and teachers was under way, Basoli said 1,441 people had applied for recruitment so far, of whom 191 applications were currently under review.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report