Islamic Azad University (IAU)
Islamic Azad University is one of the largest universities in the world in terms of enrollment numbers. It is a non-governmental, nonprofit Iranian higher education provider established in 1982 as the first private university in post-revolutionary Iranian academia, in response to the then-growing population of the country and the dire need for higher education. IAU has educated and trained much of Iran’s experienced workforce today.
Over four decades, IAU has expanded to over 400 branches throughout Iran. All branches comply with the rules, regulations, and bylaws stipulated and mandated by the Central Organization of IAU, headquartered in the capital, Tehran.
Apart from the social and cultural suitability for the expansion of IAU throughout the nation, another primary reason behind IAU’s extensive growth lies in the integrated, centralized system of management launched and run by its first president, Dr. Abdollah Jassbi, who was in office from 1982 to 2012. Since then, IAU has had five different presidents. The incumbent president, Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, has been in office since 2018. Dr. Tehranchi aims to focus on the quality of education and boosting the knowledge-based economy.
The vision of IAU for the upcoming years, set by the board of trustees, is to leverage successful local experiences in higher education infrastructure development to focus on quality improvement and internationalization.
