The Growth and Entrepreneurship Center of the University of Isfahan is a place for nurturing ideas in various fields such as engineering, humanities, basic sciences, medicine, and more, and turning them into products with minimal risk and optimal return. Our effort is to spread the seeds of innovation within the university and cultivate them until they become successful and profitable businesses. A beautiful and dynamic workspace, networks of consulting and investment, diverse events in various business fields, and the provision of various laboratory and workshop services are part of our value propositions to entrepreneurs, who are the true builders of this land’s future. To open minds to the bright horizons of entrepreneurship, we hold various foresight, future-building, future-holding, and future-assisting courses with the presence of prominent and experienced instructors at this center.
The Growth Center of the University of Isfahan, with an area of 6000 square meters and dozens of dedicated offices and cheerful and attractive public spaces, has provided an environment for entrepreneurs to operate. Additionally, by using the non-resident admission option, one can benefit from the center’s support without physical presence.
Some of the facilities and services of the Growth and Entrepreneurship Center are as follows:
Fully electronic admission process (visit the forms section of the Growth Center’s website, complete the specific form and business model canvas, and submit via the provided link)
Affordable workspace
Free internet account
Automation portal for information on events, workshops, and courses held across the country
Dedicated web page under the Growth Center’s website
Office equipment and telephone line
Meeting, consulting, and rest spaces
Discounted consulting services in collaboration with the Provincial Research and Technology Network
Participation in workshops, educational courses, and entrepreneurship events with special discounts
Discounts for using the central laboratory services and laboratories located in faculties and educational/research centers based on concluded agreements
Dedicated workshop and laboratory space of the Growth Center
Financial and credit facilities
Introduction for receiving various financial facilities from the Provincial Research and Technology Fund
Presence of two accelerator units
Introduction for participation in educational courses and specialized exhibitions
Facilitation of patent registration at national and international levels
Moral support (permission to use the Growth Center’s name and logo in advertisements, introduction of the technology unit in brochures and posters, etc.)
Facilitation of connections with academic communities, industries, executive organizations, research centers, and international communities
In line with developing the entrepreneurship ecosystem at the university, various activities are carried out, some of which are as follows:
Formation of the University Entrepreneurship Council
Formation of entrepreneurship clubs in faculties
Holding various courses and workshops on different business world issues
Supporting the organization of entrepreneurial events
Hosting consulting and brainstorming sessions
Establishing a business clinic to provide advice to interested individuals
Since 2013, the University of Isfahan has made serious investments in the field of computer games, continuously organizing game development classes and courses with the help of successful individuals in the gaming industry. Additionally, in 2016, with the support of the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, the University of Isfahan established a specialized center for computer games. This center has aimed to strengthen the infrastructure for education and entrepreneurship in this field by organizing educational courses and providing space, facilities, and specialized equipment for new game development teams. The impact of these efforts is now evident in the teams collaborating with the center. Holding four game development marathons at the University of Isfahan was a unique experience that significantly contributed to the expansion of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in this field and has now become one of the country’s prominent events.
Research in the field of gaming was previously rare and neglected in our country. In 2015, the University of Isfahan planted a seed by holding the “Computer Games: Opportunities and Challenges” conference, the first research-based event in this field in the country. This event was warmly received by researchers and has continued annually in 2016 and 2017 at the University of Isfahan and in 2018 at the University of Kashan. It has now grown into a tree whose branches extend over various fields related to computer games, including computer engineering, information technology, psychology, sociology, medicine, art, economics, management, law, and more. Alongside regularly holding this conference, numerous research projects in the fields of therapy and education are being carried out in collaboration with researchers from various fields at the center, adding a fresh perspective to traditional methods and gradually becoming a turning point in these areas. Achievements of our center include treating fear of flying and driving, improving patients with MS and children with autism and ADHD through computer games, and utilizing this modern medium for education and child development.
Currently, the University of Isfahan’s specialized center for computer games has become a hub for education, research, and entrepreneurship in the field of computer games. By launching game development programs at the undergraduate and master’s levels (the latter in collaboration with a South Korean university), it has aimed to strengthen the academic infrastructure of this emerging industry in the country.
Since 2019, with joint investment from the University of Isfahan and the Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, the computer games center has been transformed into the “Innovation Center for Entertainment Industries.” Equipped with modern facilities, a pleasant environment, and skilled and enthusiastic personnel, it has embarked on supporting the development of businesses related to entertainment.
At the Innovation Center for Entertainment Industries, the following facilities are available:
Shared team workspace
Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality Lab
Board Game Lab
Animation Production Studio
Motion Capture Lab
Performance Testing Lab
Sound and Music Studio
Educational Classes
Equipped Site
Render Farm
Meeting Rooms
Equipped Cafeteria
A sub-section of the University of Isfahan Innovation Zone, which has been allocated to the private sector, is the Mobarakeh Steel Technology and Innovation Development Company (MSTID). This center, with facilities such as conference halls, guesthouses, welfare services, personal development services, and university infrastructure including transportation, access to the university, internet, etc., has created a modern essence in the university’s scientific realm. With the committed participation of the private sector aligned with the University of Isfahan’s goals of converting knowledge into value, it takes a significant step towards a hopeful entrepreneurial future for the university.
The main objective of hosting this company at the university is to provide extensive financial support for major agreed-upon trends aligned with the missions of the University of Isfahan’s faculties. In this regard, industrial research projects will be defined, and financial support for theses will be provided as well. Joint investment in innovative ideas is another agreed-upon mission to meet the real needs of the country’s steel industries. Accordingly, joint laboratories will be equipped and utilized. This complex will be responsible for establishing connections between faculties and the steel company.
The general framework of this complex’s research grants is as follows:
- Industrial tours
- Support for theses
- Allocation of funds for industrial study opportunities
- Scholarships for graduate students
- Support for university laboratories
- Support for international study opportunities
One of the most important institutions for understanding and recognizing scientific development, as well as empowering and training a skilled workforce tailored to the needs of society, is the university. It must redefine its goals and mission in line with global changes, the discourse of science and technology, and the transition to a knowledge-based economy.
Despite the existence of various fields and specializations in universities and the increasing specialization of job requirements in organizations and industries, organizing and developing skill enhancement and empowerment courses for students, continuously tracking graduate employment, and establishing career guidance centers and specialized job placement services in universities can be significant steps towards reducing the gap between industry and academia and creating opportunities for higher education graduates to enter industrial, commercial, and job markets.
The “Career Guidance and Specialized Job Placement Center” is a scientific-executive center established in 2020 under the framework of the regulations of the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology (MSRT) and as a subset of the Office of Industry and Society Relations at the University of Isfahan. This center closely collaborates with the university’s Vice-Presidencies for Research and Education and other relevant units, including the Office of Industry Relations, the Growth and Entrepreneurship Center, the Student Counseling Center, the Center for Open and Electronic Education, the Career Development Center, and other related entities both inside and outside the university to achieve its set goals.
Due to the numerous centers with career and entrepreneurship objectives at the university, a High Council for Employment Policy was established in November 2022, centered around the Career Guidance and Specialized Job Placement Center at the University of Isfahan. This council includes four additional centers (such as the Counseling and Lifestyle Center, recognized as a national hub for career counseling, the Career Development Center (CDC), the Center for Open and Electronic Education and Specialized Services, and the Innovation and Technology Zone at the University of Isfahan). Representatives from each vice-presidency (Student Affairs, Education, Research, Finance, and Legal Affairs) serve as ex officio members, along with one or more faculty members specializing in career fields and several talented students in this area as individual members. The council was formed to synergize, coordinate, and facilitate career and entrepreneurship activities, avoiding isolated and redundant efforts among the university’s career centers.
Objectives:
- Facilitate the process of employment, job placement, successful transition from university to the workplace, and skill training for students and graduates.
- Train specialized, skilled, and efficient human resources in line with the current and future needs of the job market, combining education, skills, and collaboration with economic enterprises to utilize their capacities.
- Establish continuous and reciprocal connections between the university and industries and organizations.
- Sign cooperation agreements with industries and organizations to expand the university’s relations with industry and society.
- Send students to visit organizations and industries and complete internships (Rahian-e-Pishraft (“Progress-Seekers”) tours).
- Implement internship and apprenticeship regulations.
Innovation Center for Entertainment Industries
The University of Isfahan started its serious investment in the field of computer games in 2013 and started to hold continuous classes and courses on game development training with the help of successful people in the game industry. On the other hand, the specialized computer games center of the University of Isfahan was launched in 2016 with the support of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, which prioritized strengthening the infrastructures for education and entrepreneurship in this field by organizing the training courses and also providing the establishment space, as well as specialized amenities and equipment for New game-maker teams, that became an "Innovation Center for Entertainment Industries" by developing activities and the renewed support of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology, whose task is defined as developing an ecosystem for the entertainment industry in Isfahan and neighboring provinces.
This center is currently a unique pole for education, research, and entrepreneurship in the field of game development in Iran, and its laboratories have a brilliant research history and equipment that are rare or unique in the country.
Duties and goals:
This center has focused its activities on three areas:
A. Developing educational infrastructures
Holding dozens of game-making workshops and training courses at different levels on various aspects of this industry-art-media, such as technical, art, psychological, sociological, medical, economic, etc., and holding five game-making summer camps.
B. Developing research infrastructures
Holding the country's only international article-based comprehensive conference in the field of computer games for seven consecutive years (from 2015 to 2021) as well as setting up the leading laboratory of serious entertainments in Iran, which has more than 50 products in the field of serious objective-based games (therapy, education, making culture, etc.), which is an important trend in interdisciplinary research, are two of the most important research activities of this center.
C. Developing entrepreneurial infrastructures
Dozens of events and challenges have been organized by the center since its inception, with the aim of developing networking among those who are interested in game-making, which has resulted in the formation of dozens of teams and individuals specializing in this field who are currently known at the national and international levels.
Services:
Everything needed for developing the games has been prepared in the Entertainment Industries Innovation Center of the University of Isfahan:
• Active and dynamic shared workspace
• Board games laboratory
• Motion recording laboratory
• Virtual/mixed/augmented reality lab
• Animation production studio
• Sound and music studio
• Training classes
• The space for providing sports-movement games services for children
• Computer-equipped site
• Conference room