Iran’s 2025 Technology Olympiad Closes with Call for Global Collaboration in Science

Tehran, Iran – At the closing ceremony of the 2025 Technology Olympiad on October 30 at the Iran International Innovation District (IIID), Hussein Afshin, Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-based Economy, urged participants to see science as a bridge between nations, stating that “this Olympiad was a contest of minds and horizons, showing that knowledge can dismantle walls and build connections.”

Afshin described Pardis Technology Park during the Olympiad as “a glimpse of the future, where borders are defined by ideas, not barbed wire, and nations cross them with creativity rather than passports.” He emphasized that unlike many international contests, this was “not a competition of muscles, but of intellect,” spanning programming, AI, robotics, drones, and IoT, where speed was measured in understanding rather than physical motion.

He highlighted the participants’ scientific and ethical maturity, noting that nations entered “not to exclude, but to contribute,” contrasting the collaborative spirit in Iran with global trends of isolation. “In a world where many build walls, here youth built bridges of science to span distances and create a shared future,” he said.

Afshin stressed the essential balance between power and ethics in science: “Knowledge that leads to power but not ethics is dangerous; knowledge that leads to ethics but not power is ineffective.” He described technology as “a mirror of a nation’s thinking” and praised the transformation of rivalry into cooperation: “Teams from diverse cultures and languages joined efforts to find new answers to difficult questions – the greatest medal here was understanding triumphing over distance.”

Closing his speech, Afshin underscored the future role of AI, warning that in unwise hands it becomes a threat, but in enlightened hands, a tool for salvation. “We want Iran to be a light others can see by – proving that progress must live alongside humanity,” he said, congratulating all teams, whether medalists or those who gained experience.