EPFL expands scientific collaboration with Iranian universities

27. Two collaboration agreements were signed in Tehran during the official visit to the country by Swiss president Johann Schneider-Ammann. The agreements forge ties with Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) and Sharif University of Technology, two high-level educational institutions in the fields of medicine and engineering. The Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) has signed academic collaboration agreements with Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) and Sharif University of Technology. "EPFL sees in these two universities - Iran's best in their respective fields - key partners in the pursuit of digital and personalized medicine of the future, which will require making smart and effective use of big data," said Karl Aberer, the EPFL vice president who represented the school during the State visit to Iran by the Swiss president from 26 to 28 February 2016. The partnerships will take shape as joint research projects are set up in the coming weeks and, in the longer term, through the expanded exchange of students and researchers. The idea is to capitalize on each partner's respective specialization: personalized medicine at TUMS and big data processing at Sharif University, and, at EPFL, genetic sequencing, cancer research and bioinformatics, among others.