According to RCO News Agency, citing Jihad University, the press conference of the student science festival “Royana” at the Royan Research Institute of Jihad University with the presence of Abdul Hossein Shahvardi, the head of Royan Research Institute, Rohollah Fathi, the vice president of education of this research institute, Adel Tagvi, the head of the general directorate of guidance and strategic supervision of the educational vice-president of Jihad University, Mahmoud Asheri, the director general of the planning and development office of Jihad University, and Mostafa Pardeli, the head of the Center for Modern Sciences and Technologies of Iran. (Kafna) was held at Royan Jihad University Research Institute.
The beginning of the clinical trial phase of gene therapy in Royan Research Institute
Abdul Hossein Shahvardi, in his speech congratulating on the holidays, said: Since its establishment, Royan Group has been active in the fields of reproductive medicine, cell science and stem cells, and biotechnology, and has taken effective steps in the fields of education, research, and provision of specialized services. Fortunately, with the efforts of colleagues, this collection has been able to achieve valuable honors for the scientific community of the country and has something to say at the international level as well.
He added: Many activities of Royan Research Institute have become a symbol of “we can” in the country. One of the most prominent of these achievements was the birth of “Royana” as the first cloned animal in Iran, which showed that Iranian scientists are able to move in the frontiers of knowledge. This success was not just the birth of a cloned lamb, but the beginning of the development of advanced technologies in the field of gene therapy and manipulation of a human or animal genome in the country.
Referring to global advances in the field of gene therapy, the head of Royan Research Institute stated: Today, at the international level, the treatment of many diseases, especially some cancers, especially blood cancers, is being done using gene therapy methods, and these methods have been able to remove a heavy burden from the shoulders of patients and families. The foundation of these achievements is the basic knowledge in the field of cell and genome manipulation.
Shahvardi continued: The result of more than three decades of efforts of the researchers of Jihad University and Royan Research Institute has led to the beginning of the first clinical trial in the field of gene therapy in this research institute. We hope that the results of this research project will reach the dear people of our country as good news by the end of the year or the beginning of next year. The initial steps of this project have shown promising signs of success.
He emphasized: Achieving basic knowledge is the basis for doing great things in the country and we hope that the results of this research can reduce some of the sufferings of patients and its fruits will serve the people.
The head of Royan Research Institute also pointed to the necessity of educating the next generation of the country’s scientists and said: the continuation of the scientific movement requires support and culture building among the young generation. Based on this and with the cooperation of the Educational Vice-Chancellor of Royan Research Institute, the Educational Vice-Chancellor of Jihad University, the Ministry of Education and the Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents, the Royan Student Festival was held with the aim of promoting research culture and motivating students.
Students’ ideas turn into full-fledged research
He pointed out that this festival is not just a final ceremony for awarding plaques, but a year-long process during which students’ ideas are received, judged and guided. Selected ideas are turned into complete researches with the help of mentors and scientific advisors, so that students are familiar with research literature and modern sciences such as stem cells, cloning, and gene therapy from a young age.
Shahvardi expressed his hope that the young generation of the country can continue to raise the flag of science and technology in Iran with strength and expand the scientific achievements of the country in the new fields of biotechnology.
He continued: In this festival, the selected people will hold their final course in three days and will be introduced at the end of this stage. We hope that this action, which is a cultural work and promotes the culture of “we can” and an effective educational method, will be fully realized.
The head of Royan Research Institute expressed his hope that with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education, University Jihad and the Center for Intellectual Development of Children and Adolescents, this program will be held as a fixed, continuous and common event in the country so that we can identify student research teams even from areas far from the center and discover talents that will follow the future of this new knowledge.
“Royana” is a model for identifying the talents of underserved areas and promoting student research
In addition, Ruhollah Fathi, vice-chancellor of Royan Research Institute of Jihad University, referring to the holding of the final stage of the first period of the “Royana” student scientific festival, said: “We have reached the final stage of the first period of this festival and we hope that this event will become a stable model in the field of promoting research among students.”
Ruhollah Fathi stated that Royan Research Institute has played a role in holding scientific conferences, seminars and programs for students and researchers for years, and stated: We decided to design and implement the model of these programs for the future generation of the country and at the level of students as well. In a way, we modeled large scientific programs such as specialized and ultra-specialized symposia on a student scale; Including holding a cancer symposium at the student level, as well as conducting the Royan Research Institute summer school in a format suitable for this age group.
He added: About three years ago, the issue of holding a national student festival was raised with the honorable minister of education and was welcomed by this ministry. Based on this, a festival named “Royana” was designed at the national level and with an international perspective.
Simplifying the concept of research for students
Referring to the goals of this festival, Fathi clarified: one of the main goals was to simplify the concept of research for students; So that they can present and implement their ideas with simple tools and in an accessible environment, and at the same time benefit from the support of a scientific authority such as Royan Research Institute to strengthen their ideas.
He said about the stages of the festival: The festival was designed in three stages. In the first stage, student teams sent five-minute clips of their ideas, which participated in this stage from 23 provinces of the country. After the judging, 19 designs made it to the second stage.
The Vice-Chancellor of Royan Research Institute continued: The strength of the festival was its second stage; At this stage, a mentor was considered for each group from among the faculty members of Royan Research Institute and universities. These professors nurtured students’ ideas for 45 days to prepare for the second stage competition.
He pointed out that the second round of judging was done online and groups from different parts of the country defended their plans. Finally, 5 groups from the first high school courses and five groups from the second high school made it to the final stage. The noteworthy point is that none of the groups that made it to the third stage were from Tehran province; A topic that shows that the goal of the festival has been achieved in strengthening the scientific teams of remote areas.
Fathi added: The face-to-face competition of the final stage will be held on Tuesday from 8:00 am at the center of intellectual development of children and teenagers located on Hijab street. Also, two days of educational programs and specialized workshops have been planned for the selected groups at Royan Research Institute, and at the end, the closing ceremony and introduction of the winners will be held on Tuesday 28 Bahman from 10:00 to 12:00.
A three-month study opportunity in Royan for selected students
The Vice-Chancellor of Education of Royan Research Institute said about the festival awards: In addition to material prizes, the winners will have the opportunity to study for three months with the support of Royan Research Institute and they can implement a scientific project in the field of biological sciences together with the faculty members. Also, the winners will cooperate as judges for the next rounds of “Royana” festival.
He stated that the ultimate goal of the festival is to identify student talents and fulfill a part of the social mission of reference scientific centers in the development of educational justice and added: All the participants of the festival will become members of the student elite club of Royan Research Institute and will benefit from the scientific programs of the coming years.
In the end, referring to the question design process, Fathi said: The festival was designed for first and second high school students, and the question design group selected eight final questions from among the 85 proposed questions during about 10 specialized sessions. The participation of students in different fields including mathematics, art and literature was also free, because we believe that diverse views can provide creative and applicable answers.
“Royana” festival to become a continuous educational stream for students all over the country
Taqvi said about the role of the educational vice-chancellor of Jihad-University in the Royana festival: the role of the educational vice-chancellor of Jihad-University in this festival is to support and guide part of the educational activities, which is carried out based on the mission of this vice-chancellor in promoting specialized and specialized education for the general public and not only students.
He added: Jihad University has about 150 short-term specialized centers in various fields of basic, technical, engineering and medical sciences, some of which are attended by students and the majority of them are the general public. These centers provide the opportunity to improve the skills and knowledge of the learners, and the vice-chancellor of education is also responsible for creating culture and modeling the scientific and research activities of the group.
Taqvi continued: With the announcement of the readiness of the Royan Research Institute, the Vice-Chancellor of Jihad University attended the festival in order to create a more comprehensive and continuous festival to serve the students. Not just a short-term competition, but a complete training program where the maximum number of students can benefit.
In the end, he emphasized: The purpose of this cooperation is to promote scientific education and culture by following the example of veteran professors of Royan Research Institute and Jihad University, including the late Kazemi Ashtiani, Shahvardi, Vathouq and other colleagues, so that we can witness the growth and development of scientific talents in the country.
The development of educational justice is achieved through cooperation
Mostafa Pardeli, head of Iran’s Center for New Sciences and Technologies (KAFNA), said: “Since I was a student, I always liked to watch documentaries and videos related to Royan Research Institute, because it was difficult for us to access science in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine outside of Tehran.”
He added: Fortunately, in recent years, Royan Research Institute has created direct opportunities for students from different regions of the country to communicate with this scientific authority and benefit from scientific activities. During this period, scientific camps and online meetings were held in collaboration with Royan for students from underprivileged areas, which shows the research institute’s commitment to the development of educational justice.
Pardeli said about Iran’s Center for New Sciences and Technologies: It has been about a year since this center was formed and started its activities in various fields of emerging sciences, according to the needs of children and teenagers. Last year, activities were started in 10 different fields, the most important of which was the field of stem cells, and with the cooperation of Royan Research Institute, lesson plans and educational books for teenagers have been compiled.
He continued: “Cafnagap” scientific meetings are held for teenagers so that they can directly communicate with scientific experts and raise their scientific questions. Also, the first scientific magazine of Iran in the field of science and new technologies for teenagers has been published in this center, and its second volume will be exclusively about stem cells and biotechnology.
At the end, Pardeli said: According to the memorandum we have with the Royan Research Institute in the field of scientific and technological activities of children and teenagers, the ‘Royana’ festival is the beginning of work for teenagers in the path of research and problem solving. We hope that the capacity of selected students will be used in the field of stem cells and this cooperation will lead to the development of educational justice throughout the country.
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