University of Maragheh

Hundreds of years ago, Maragheh was an important scientific center of Iran, especially because Maragheh Observatory was built in this city by Khwaja Nasir al-Din Tusi, an Iranian politician and scientist, in the 13th century CE. In addition to being a place for observing the stars, this observatory was also a place for meeting among world scientists of that day, from China to Europe. Even though the Maragheh Observatory does not exist anymore, Maragheh continues to encompass scientific centers of higher education, which are engaged in research and educating university students. University of Maragheh is the most important center of higher education of this city, which has been progressing significantly in the past few decades.

History

Maragheh Agricultural School was established in 1987 and 11 years later, the status of this school was promoted to that of a College of Agriculture in 1998. In the next stage, and after about two decades of activities and undergoing many changes and also the inclusion of several educational fields, this college was transformed to an “Institute of Higher Education” in 2005 and eventually became a university in 2009.

University of Maragheh is built on a land of 110 hectares and is about 130 kilometers away from Tabriz, the capital of West Azarbaijan Province of Iran.

Education and Research status of University of Maragheh

University of Maragheh has four faculties: “Humanities”, “Basic Sciences”, “Engineering”, and “Agriculture”. The number of students and faculty members of this university stands at 4 thousand and 160 respectively. More than 60% of students of this university are studying at the undergraduate level.

The research activities of University of Maragheh take place under the supervision of the Department of Research and Technology. This department considers promotion of knowledge-based activities and providing opportunities for scientific and research progress of its students and faculty members its main mission.

Keeping in view the historical background of Maragheh and its observatory, the Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics of the University of Maragheh was established in the year 2003, which has hosted many researchers from universities and research centers inside and outside Iran. In addition, many training courses have also been organized by this institute.

The center for the growth of technology units is one of the departments of the university, which was established in 2011 with the aim of supporting innovative ideas and creating a suitable environment for the expansion of emerging industrial units. During the course of its activities, this center has well supported the best ideas in the fields of industry and technology. There is a group called “Entrepreneurship and Communication with Industry” affiliated with this center, the activities of which include increasing the role of faculty members in practical projects, using the capacities of the university to solve industrial problems, and developing entrepreneurship concepts.

The Foundation of Maragheh Studies of the University of Maragheh has four working groups of "History", "Culture and Art", "Science and Technology", and "Native Literature" affiliated with it, which have been vested with the task of conducting research projects on the history and culture of Maragheh.

International Position and Activities of University of Maragheh

The Times Institute of Higher Education has ranked University of Maragheh 301 to 350 among Asian universities in 2023. Thus, this university is ranked 24th among Iranian universities. Keeping in view the relatively short history of the University of Maragheh as compared to many top universities in Iran, this ranking indicates its growing trend in the future.

The “Office of International Cooperation” of the University of Maragheh publishes a call for admitting non-Iranian students every year. This office is also responsible for concluding memorandums of understanding and defining cooperation with scientific and educational centers of other countries.