Scholars, Industrialists and the Elevator Sector Come Together in Tehran

Seventh International Seminar on Elevators and Escalators focuses on closing the gap between the academic and business communities.

The seventh International Seminar on Elevators and Escalators brought together academics, industrialists and members of Iran’s elevator and escalator industry on February 16 at the Koosha Center of Applied Science and Technology in Tehran.

Among those in attendance were Dr. Bozorghadad, research and technology deputy of the University of Applied Science and Technology (UAST), and Dr. Delavar, director general of international relations at UAST.

The seminar began at 8:30 a.m. with a reading from the Quran and the playing of the national anthem. Then, Eng. Boroujerdi, deputy secretary of the seminar, declared that the seminar’s purpose was to develop knowledge and promote industry standardization, introduce technology and transfer innovations relevant to various aspects of elevator and escalator technology. He said the seminar also offered a chance to present articles and new conclusions, “with the presence of foreign experts, professors, students and elevator and escalator experts.”

He said the seminar has provided exceptional opportunities in the vertical-transportation industry for academic staff, elevator and escalator experts, industrial companies’ directors, technical managers, technicians and civil engineers to become aware of the industry’s knowledge and latest achievements.

Boroujerdi said 47 academic papers were accepted and that professional panels were held according to their abstracts.

Bozorghadad raised the issue of a gap in university-industry relations and said UAST can fill it. He said UAST can help Iran’s industrial sector, adding, “When one-fourth of the world’s citation is from Iran, why shouldn’t we make progress in industry? UAST has 10% of Iran’s students and 40% of higher-education institutes. Hence, if this potential is used properly, it can assist the industrial progress of the country.”  

Bozorghadad said UAST is one of Iran’s 12 selected universities in research and ranks first in publishing articles. “This university is appreciated in different areas, and it shows that the university can be a pioneer in this area,” he said, adding UAST could have three of the 30 projects the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology is sponsoring in this year’s research week.

Mr. Zohrevandy, manager of the syndicate of elevator and escalator companies, acknowledged achievements realized through university-syndicate cooperation.

Commercialization of Research Results

Eng. Samaneh Sajjady, college dean of the Koosha Center, said elevator/escalator experts from Italy, England, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey were at the seminar. She said a goal of the gathering was bringing together industry and the university to share information.

“At this year’s seminar, we could commercialize 14 research achievements of [the] Koosha Center,” she said. Among the potential products are elevator drives, doors, software, gearboxes, displays and more. She said the commercialization of such products “prevents currency exit and leads to exporting these products to other countries.”

Sajjady concluded by noting that UAST has 50 contracts and memorandums of understanding under implementation with industrial centers.

Professional Panels

After opening remarks, the seminar commenced a series of three professional panels. In the first, Albert Jan Van Ommen of Liftinstituut discussed the standards for EN 81-20 and -50. He also discussed a memorandum of understanding between UAST and Liftinstituut that would include education classes involving Dutch professors. He introduced the Koosha Center as an official representative of Liftinstituut.  

Dr. Ferhat Celik, appearing on behalf of Blain Hydraulics GmbH from Germany, discussed different hydraulic valves and the latest innovations in hydraulic systems. He was followed by Dr. Seyed Mirhadizadeh, head of R&D at Northampton University in the U.K., who gave a talk via videoconference. Because he is Iranian and works at a university prominent in the elevator and escalator industry, the audience showed great interest in his presentation. He presented an article with Dr. Stefan Kaczmarczyk, head of the engineering department at Northampton University, about elevator movement modeling and wind effects on wire rope and its vibrations. Their investigation involved simulations created with MATLAB software.

The first session of professional panels lasted until 11 a.m. After a 30-minute break, a second round of professional panels started. First up was Amir Hashemi, who spoke on the opportunities and challenges for the elevator and escalator industry in Iran. Then, Marco Baroncini from Sicor Co. in Italy spoke on calculations and formulas related to selecting gearless engines’ power ranges. He discussed the difference between gearless and gearbox engines, and noted some of Sicor’s latest achievements. Next, Hasan Efe from Arkel Co. in Turkey spoke about standards related to safety in control boards.  

The second round of professional panels ended at 1:30 p.m., and the final round commenced at 3:15. Umberto Del Prete, sales manager of Italian company Vega, gave a demonstration of cloud-based communication with an elevator in Italy, during which he moved the elevator. A closed-circuit television feed of the remote operation of the elevator proved fascinating to the audience. Addressing Iranian control-board makers, Del Prete said the online control system could be used in installations all over the world.

Ivan Cicero, a representative of Hydronic Lift Co. in Italy and an Italian Elevator Engineering Association agent, discussed hydraulic elevators’ share of the world market. He was followed by Mansour Taleshian, an elevator expert and sonnet poet who read a poem of his about the elevator industry. 

Eng. Mahdavi presented his articles about the necessity of standards and importance of creating safe conditions for installers. The final talk was given by Eng. Hosseini, who spoke on traffic analysis and the use of various algorithms.

The closing ceremony began with Fabio Cesari, who offered a lecture on professional ethics of trade related to Great Kourosh (Cyrus the Great) human rights. He concluded by reading part of a poem from Iranian poet Sohrab Sepehri: “Life is a kind of look that stays in memories.”

Awards were given for the best articles, and commendation letters were given to all foreign guests, elevator companies at the seminar, elevator and escalator industry experts, outstanding professors of Koosha College in the field of elevators, and presenters of the best articles.

Thanks were given for the cooperation of all industrialists and executive staff, especially Mr. Rahimi from Kopol Elevator Co. and Mr. Farrokhi from Hydriferko Co., who collaborated in international relations, and to Rajaei Anaraki for his cooperation in college relations with industry experts.

The eighth International Seminar on Elevators and Escalators is scheduled for February 18, 2018.