The roundtable entitled “Reinforcing Scientific and Technological Cooperation between Italy, China and Iran” was held on 2 August 2021.

It was the first event organized following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by SPICI, ITTN and IRAMOT to strengthen the collaboration and co-creation of joint technology and innovation cooperation programs between Italy, China and Iran.

The event was coordinated by SPICI and jointly promoted by the International Technology Transfer Network (ITTN), an organization founded under guidance of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), and by the Iranian Association for Management of Technology and Innovation (IRAMOT), the non-profit organization which promotes education, training and research in the fields of technology and innovation management.

The roundtable was addressed to members of the Iranian scientific ecosystem and focused on the presentation of the Chinese and European policies and ecosystems related to innovation.

The opening remarks were made by Ms. Mitra Aminlou, Secretary General of IRAMOT.

Dr. Kamran Bagheri, Head of International Committee of IRAMOT, then gave a general introduction of IRAMOT and of the opportunities offered by the Iranian innovation ecosystem with a special focus on the existing collaboration with Italy.

Dr. John Zhang, Secretary General of ITTN, presented the Chinese innovation ecosystem and highlighted examples of successful international cooperation initiatives before giving an overview of the Chinese policies on ST&I.

Dr. Vincenzo Lipardi, President of SPICI & Ms. Chiara Romano, Head of the Internationalization Department, presented the European innovation network and the opportunities of collaboration, especially with China and Iran, and introduced the upcoming internationalization programs that SPICI is managing.

During the event all the speakers reiterated their willingness to strengthen cooperation between their respective organizations by setting up joint program and projects in the fields of technology and innovation.