Training for necessary capacity-building of over 65 researchers, academicians, technicians, and engineers from different scientific institutions of Iran was conducted during the five-day national workshop on ‘Repair and Maintenance of Scientific Engineering Equipments in Universities, Research Institutions and Small Scale Industries’ in Karaj, Iran, from September 28 to October 02, 2014.

Held under the COMSATS-ISESCO biennial cooperation programme (2014-15), the training workshop was co-organized with COMSATS’ Centre of Excellence in Iran, the Iranian Research Organization for Science & Technology (IROST); Standard Research Institute (SRI), Iran; and the Instructors Training Centre (ITC) of the Technical and Vocational Training Organization (TVTO), Iran. The University of Tehran and ITC were the host institutions for the workshop.

The training was conducted by two resource persons from Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR), Dr. Muhammad Yaqub and Mr. Arif Karim. The 10 technical sessions of the workshop comprised of lectures and hands-on training on troubleshooting and repairing of the systems including: spectrophotometers; flame photometer systems; pH meters; colorimeter, laboratory balances, gas chromatographic systems; HPLC systems; thermal equipment (oven & furnace); thermal analyzer; electron microscopes; atomic absorption microscopes and XRF system. During the course of the event, the participants also visited different labs of the University of Tehran and ITC for consolidation of the knowledge acquired during the training sessions. Using the knowledge and techniques learnt during the workshop, the participants successfully repaired/made operative some of the expensive equipment that were lying faulty for many years. The equipment fully repaired during the hands-on sessions included: Flame photometer, Electric Ovens (02 numbers), Analytical Balance, pH meter and Electrophoresis Apparatus.

The closing ceremony of the event was held on October 02, 2014. Dr. Mahmoud Molanejad, the Acting President for International Cooperation, IROST; Dr. Mehdi Rajibi, Programme Officer, ISESCO Regional Office in Tehran; and Dr. Maryam Jalili (SRI) gave votes of thanks on the occasion, while Mr. Nisar Ahmad, the Deputy Director (Systems) COMSATS, presented the technical report of the workshop.

The ceremony concluded with the distribution of certificates among the participants and a group photo. The participants expressed their gratitude to COMSATS and ISESCO for organizing the workshop and providing an opportunity to make new learning and enhancing their expertise.