The Institute of Nanotechnology, as lead partner in ICPC Nanonet, was given an unmissable opportunity by the Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council to have a booth at the Iran Nano Festival 2011 from 5th - 9th October 2011 at the International Exhibition Fairground, Tehran. Hosted in parallel with the Grand Industries Exhibition and the 8th Asia Nano Forum, the Festival was the most successful yet. The five-day annual event brought nano to the public, including features such as a large scale exhibition, a public show, workshops and the nano awards ceremony. While the Festival’s mission is to contribute to the commercialization of nanotechnology, its goals entail discovering research and industrial potentials in the field of nanotechnology and introducing them to the market; fostering research-industry linkages and collaborations in the field of nanotechnology; providing nanotechnology companies with the opportunity to participate in international markets and raising public knowledge on nanotechnology. The main body of the festival consisted of twelve pavilions designed to demonstrate and present products of companies active in various fields of nanotechnology such as: Water & Environment & Energy, Healthcare, Automotive Industry, Construction Industry, Textile Industry, Petroleum & Related Industries, Agriculture & Packaging, Nano-material Suppliers, Machinery & Lab Equipment Manufacturers, Tech-Market Services Corridor, Public Education and Trading Companies. Also universities, incubators, tech-parks and research centres participated in the festival to display their achievements in different areas of nanotechnology. One of the main sections of the Festival was the Corridor of Technological Services to the Market. This was originally established as one of the sections of the Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council in order to complete the missing links of "idea to the market" and in order to support the technicians and knowledge-based companies on the commercialisation path. At present and in addition to the necessity of teaching nanotechnology in schools and universities, promotion of this technology among the public has special importance to the Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council, because the end users of nanotechnology products are people in society, and they must be familiar with the properties, applications and safety points in this field. On the other hand, university students and people who are active in the country's industries need something more than familiarisation, and the need for specialised and meaningful education is felt more than ever. Public education and promotion is one of the most important and most extensive programmes of the Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council. Thus, the public education pavilion includes: The Corridor of the Familiarisation with Nanotechnology; Nanotechnology Students Club; Specialised Bookshop; and Students’ Nanotechnology Societies. Also, several workshops on different topics were held during the Festival. |
