TEHRAN – Iranian students grabbed 3 gold medals in electronics, artificial intelligence, and programming at the India International Innovation and Invention Expo (INEX 2021), IRNA reported on Monday.

Mehrbod Bani-Amerian and Arvin Yaghoubi won the gold medals and the special prize of the competition. A team consisting of Behnam Karimi and Alireza Jafari was the other gold medal winner.

Hassan Kakanejadi and Koosha Rostami also won a gold medal in this competition.

Held on December 13 to 16, the INEX 2021 is planned to be organized in Hyderabad, India under IFIA’s patronage.

This competition is held every year with the support of the World Federation of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Organization, in cooperation with the Inventors Organization of India, and this year was held in person and online with the participation of students from 30 countries.

Rapid development of innovation

Knowledge-based companies and creative startups have grown over the past five years, and Iran has risen 45 places in the Global Innovation Index, according to the UNESCO 2021 Report.

The Global Innovation Index in Iran from 2015 to 2019 has risen from 106 to 61 with continuous improvement, showing 45 steps growth.

The development of accelerators and innovation centers over the last five years has led to a rapid increase in startups and knowledge-based companies.

Between 2014 and 2017, exports of knowledge-based goods grew by a factor of five, before slumping in 2018 after the U.S. withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (2015), commonly referred to as the nuclear deal, and re-imposed sanctions.

The report states that innovation in Iran has developed rapidly over the past five years, and by the end of last year, 49 accelerators and 113 innovation centers had provided services to start-ups with the participation of the private sector.

FB/MG