Iranian High Schools Establish Robotics Groups

Robotics groups have been established at Roshd, Al Zahra, Danesh and Shohadaye Karegar High Schools in Tehran and Mohtashemi High School in Kashan.  Each school has received the components for two School Robot machines and received the necessary training for operating these robots through various workshops. Currently, students are vigorously working to make these robots operational. The Science and Arts Foundation has also designed the School Robot website and is presently working towards its completion (http://robot.schoolnet.ir).

SAF Actively Pursues Biotechnology Education among Iranian Students

SAF's first biotechnology competition, part of the SchoolNet e-Club, is underway and receiving enthusiastic responses from students across Iran (http://biotech.schoolnet.ir).  A group of university students, all previously medal winning members of the Biology Olympiads and currently pursuing degrees in medicine and biotechnology, have supported the Biotech e-Club and its competition by conducting workshops at AlZahra and Nezam Mafi High Schools. These students have also established a group called Sharyan that focuses on topics pertaining to environmental issues and is planning for additional workshops to be held in other high schools.

The Chabahar IT Center Established and Running

With funding from SAF-Sweden and with the cooperation of the City of Chabahar and the Zahedan IT Center, SAF has established its second IT Center in the province of Sistan va Baluchestan in the port city of Chabahar.  Today, Sistan va Baluchestan ranks as the least developed province in Iran, making IT education imperative for its economic and academic growth.  This most recent IT center includes both a computer laboratory and a classroom where community members can receive training in both computer use and theory for a minimal
fee.  With IT training, community members can gain the skills necessary to participate and actively compete in the national and international economy, as has been indicated by the remarkable results achieved by the Zahedan IT Center.

Software Entrepreneurship Group Established at the Zahedan IT Center

A team of advanced students from the Zahedan IT Center have joined together to form a software entrepreneurship group.  These students have all successfully completed a series of computer programming training sessions using JAVA and J2EE technology.  With the support of the technical staff at Sharif University of Technology's Computing Center via the Internet, this team's current assignment aims to prepare it for future projects.  The ultimate objective of this group is for members to become entrepreneurs in the field of software
development using advanced technologies.

SchoolNet Launched in Isfahan

Isfahan SchoolNet has been launched with assistance from the Isfahan Math House with a number of SAF equipped schools linking to the new network (http://isfahan.schoolnet.ir).  In addition to the schools listed on the website, Shahid Hanaie Nejad, Hamedanian and Kashefi High Schools have also joined.  Furthermore, with SAF cooperation, the "Isfahan Math School" has become operational on the network.  This electronic school incorporates the components for an e-Learning platform and open courseware as well as forums, a
competition division and a project center.  The Isfahan Math House has also placed its educational programs, aimed at promoting problem solving skills and empowerment, on the World Wide Web.

Preparation for the Sixth and Seventh SchoolNet Conference Underway

The sixth SchoolNet conference will be held in December 2003 at Tehran's Shohadaye Karegar High School (http://www.schoolnet.ir/~shohada).  During this conference, a series of workshops will be conducted along with the presentation of a diverse range of projects.  The Science and Arts Foundation is also collaborating with the Isfahan Math House (http://www.mathhouse.org/), Isfahan's Department of Education and Isfahan University of Technology to prepare for the seventh SchoolNet conference to be held in July 2004.  Educational workshops will be administered and participating students will have the opportunity to become familiar with new and challenging projects for the summer months.  In addition, invitations for educational specialists from neighboring nations along with UNESCO and iEARN staff are being considered. Organizers are also hoping to arrange for the participation of students from across the globe living in cities considered to be sister cities with Isfahan (currently 13 cities are identified as Isfahan's sister cities). 

Source:
http://www.science-arts.org
http://www.saf.ir

... Payvand News - 11/11/03 ... --