TEHRAN - The 12th National Nanotechnology Competition will be held on June 22-24 with the aim of promoting nanotechnology in the country.The National Nanotechnology Competition is the largest scientific competition on the subject of nanoscience and nanotechnology among interested students and university graduates.The winners will receive special prizes including National Elite Foundation scores, medals, nano-startup entry licenses, nanotechnology teachers network entry licenses, research grants, training grants, and cash prizes.The first phase of the competition will be held online on June 22-24, and the top 300 people will enter the second phase, which will be held in person on July 21.The top 30 will advance to the third stage or practical competition camp.

The final ranking of the winners of the competition will be announced after the end of the third stage.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 shines like a jewel 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.The national document on promoting the application of nanotechnology has outlined the path to achieving the major goals of the development of nanotechnology in the country.According to the document, 12,199 articles by Iranian researchers related to nanotechnology were indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) in 2021, which was equivalent to 41.5 percent of all articles published in the nanotechnology sector.This share of the nanotechnology articles placed Iran fourth in the world in 2020 and 2021.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 the Middle East with publishing just eight articles.Iran currently ranks fourth in nanotechnology in the world after the United States, India, and ChinaCurrently, 66 Iranian universities accept students in the master's program and 22 universities in the doctoral program in various fields of nanotechnology.On November 28, 2022, President Ebrahim Raisi declared to implement the national document for promoting the application of nanotechnology.Consisting of 7 articles, the ten-year document aims to train human resources and provide infrastructure for the development and commercialization of technology.

Priority industrial areas are water and environment, energy, agriculture, health, and construction.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.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.By 2033, the advancements of nanotechnology in Iran will improve the quality of life and the production of wealth.

The country moves towards global authority in science and nanotechnology by producing innovative products while having a stable place in the market of other countries.MG