A high-ranking representative of the Namibian government recently met with the secretary of the Iran Nanotechnology Innovation Council (INIC), Emad Ahmadvand to discuss avenues to enhance cooperation between the two countries in nanotechnology, Business Express understands.
Iran has made nanotechnology its priority in recent years, achieving remarkable success. Nanotechnology research website StatNano has ranked Iran as fourth in the world in nanotechnology publications.
Namibia is now looking to leverage on the expertise of Iran to kick-start its nanotechnology industry.
Among Iran’s nanotechnology products, 42% are related to construction, 17% to petroleum and 13% to automobile manufacturing.
The engagement between Namibia and Iran which took place on June 15 yielded discussions on potential areas for cooperation and three areas were identified for collaboration.
The INIC offered to assist Namibians in making policies for the development of nanotechnology and to transfer Iran’s expertise to the country.
Referring to Iran’s experience in education, both at school and higher education levels, as well as post-graduate education and short-term training of professors, Ahmadvand suggested cooperation in the field of education.
Establishing a nano-tech research center, using Iranian-made nano-laboratory equipment, was another issue proposed for cooperation between Iran and Namibia.
Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on a near-atomic scale to produce new structures, materials, and devices. The technology promises scientific advancement in many sectors such as medicine, consumer products, energy, materials, and manufacturing. Nanotechnology simply refers to engineered structures, devices, and systems.
In the past two decades, the world has observed a steady increase in the number of industries producing nano-based products and the number of countries promoting nanotechnology.
More importantly, the ratio of nanotechnology to nominal GDP has increased significantly, suggesting that the contribution of nanotechnology to World GDP has increased. The growth of nanotechnology industries worldwide has contributed significantly to global GDP, job creation and scientific progress.
Iran’s success in the field of nanotechnology is attributed to its expertise and resources directed towards innovation and technology.
Iran’s nanotechnology expertise
The nanotechnology sector is a prime example of success in Iran, an arena consisting of expert and program-oriented human resources with significant goals that shine in the innovation and technology ecosystem of the country.
With the support of talented academicians and knowledge-based companies, the nanotechnology sector has indigenized many technologies to solve the main challenges of the country in various areas, including industry.
It is noteworthy that before the establishment of the national headquarters for nanotechnology development in 2000, the country ranked 58th in the world and 6th in West Asia, publishing just eight articles.
Policy making and planning for progress in nanotechnology started in 2003 with the formation of a special headquarters for the development of nanotechnology, and accelerated with the approval of the first 10-year document for the development of nanotechnology entitled “Future Strategy Document”.
In this document, Iran was targeted to be among the top 15 nanotechnology countries in the world and aimed to generate wealth and improve people’s lives. The general approach of the first ten-year document was the training of human resources and the provision of infrastructure for the development and commercialization of technology.
In order to continue the nanotechnology progress, the upcoming national document has been compiled with new goals and approaches such as being a reference in science and technology, industrialization, maximum impact of nanotechnology in priority industrial areas, and entry of nano products into the global markets and the promotion of people’s lives.
Iran’s ranking in nanotechnology articles citation in 2019 significantly improved compared to 2018, as it moved 26 levels higher, according to StatNano’s statistics collected from the Web of Science (WoS) database.
Based on a nanotechnology publications report, Iran ranked 38 worldwide for the average number of times the nano-articles have been cited in the Journal Citation Reports in 2019, while in 2018, it was placed 64.
In 2022, the number of articles indexed in the WoS by Iran was 11,473, equivalent to 4.9 percent of the total WoS-based nanotechnology articles in the world.
The country secured its fourth place among the top 20 countries in this field. According to the report, the number of articles published by Iranian scholars rose from eight in 2000 to 11,473 in 2022.
Some 32 percent of the Iranian articles were jointly written by other countries, mainly China, the United States, Turkey, Iraq, and Canada.
China, with a total of 22,995 published articles, ranked first, followed by India, the United States, Iran, and South Korea, according to the StatNano website.
In 2022, about 8.7 percent of all WoS-indexed articles were related to nanotechnology. Five Islamic countries including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, and Pakistan were among the 20 leading countries.
In the Iranian calendar year 1398 (March 2019-March 2020), the lowest share (7 percent) of nanotechnology products in the country’s nanotechnology market was recorded.
The exports increased by 53 percent in the Iranian calendar year 1400 (March 2021-March 2022) compared to the preceding year, ISNA reported.
Over the past year (ended March 20), the total sale of Iranian nano products has been equal to 115 trillion rials (nearly US$425 million).
The expansion of nanotechnology export programs in recent years and the establishment of bases for exporting nanotechnology products to China, India, Indonesia, Syria, Turkey, and Iraq have provided the opportunity for the entry of Iranian nanotechnology goods, equipment, and services into global markets.
For the time being, 358 companies are operating in the field of nanotechnology in the country and 1608 products and equipment have received nanotechnology certificates.
some 20 percent of the 358 nanotechnology companies operating across the country are related to the field of health, and around 200 health products are manufactured using nanotechnology.
Medical nanotechnology and pharmaceutical nanotechnology are currently being taught in over 15 universities in the country to postgraduate students.
According to Press TV, Iran now boasts of nanotechnology-related doctoral courses in 23 universities and master’s degree programs in 66 institutions. This feat is a clear indicator of the country’s dedication to creating a robust foundation for nanotechnology research and development.