Danova 2025 Closing Highlights New Generation Driving Iran’s Knowledge-Based Economy at IIID

The closing ceremony of the fourth national Danova program was held on 20 November 2025 at Iran international innovation district (IIID), bringing together students, teachers, families and innovation ecosystem stakeholders. Organizers highlighted Danova’s rapid growth into the country’s largest student technology event and a key platform for preparing teenagers to participate in Iran’s emerging knowledge-based economy.

The Executive Secretary of Danova 2025 announced that this year’s edition brought together 350 on-site student projects selected from a pipeline of 6,500 submissions, with more than 16,000 student visitors over three days. The event has evolved from a small initiative into a national laboratory for spotting and nurturing young talent in science, technology and entrepreneurship.

The President of Pardis Technology Park (PTP) underlined IIID’s role in supporting the country’s knowledge-based economic agenda. PTP currently hosts close to 500 knowledge-based companies, more than 2,000 technology products and exports to 40 countries worldwide. He noted that many of today’s founders and specialists started their journey as students similar to the participants of Danova.

He stressed that when curiosity for science starts in school, today’s teenagers can become tomorrow’s entrepreneurs, managers and scientists. This vision has shaped the design of Danova as a flagship student innovation program hosted at IIID.

A roadmap to 50,000 specialists

Referring to future plans, the PTP President explained that, based on a decision by the Cabinet of Ministers, IIID is expected to host around 50,000 specialists in the coming years as knowledge-based companies continue to grow. In his view, this makes it essential to train today’s teenagers to become the founders, leaders and expert workforce of those companies.

From a small idea to a national student innovation ecosystem

The Executive Secretary of Danova explained that the name “Danova” (short for “innovative student” in Persian) was chosen by students themselves, reflecting the core message that every student has talent. Danova started in 2022 with only 65 projects. Strong interest from schools and students led to rapid expansion: from 350 submitted projects in 2023 to more than 6,500 in 2025.

This growth, he argued, signals the emergence of a national student innovation ecosystem that is gradually spreading across schools, universities and educational centers throughout the country. The long-term objective is to ensure that in a few years these teenagers will be technology-literate, skilled and entrepreneurial—creating companies, not only joining them as employees.

How Danova 2025 was organized

Compared to previous years, Danova 2025 was broader in scale and more professional in its processes. A multi-stage screening and expert review system was used to evaluate submissions, leading to the selection of 350 finalist projects for on-site presentation at IIID.

Judges spent full days alongside students—first visiting booths, then inviting qualifying projects to in-depth, in-person evaluations. This close interaction allowed for detailed technical feedback and helped students refine their ideas, prototypes and presentations.

16,000 student visitors and three parallel tracks

This year, more than 16,000 students from over 500 schools across various provinces visited Danova at IIID, setting a new record for participation and outreach.

Danova 2025 was structured around three parallel student programs:

• Danova innovation and research track – student projects in 10 thematic domains, from health and medical technologies to cybersecurity, AI, robotics, electronics, chemistry and new materials, creative industries, mechanics, transport and environmental solutions.
• Danova Teen Expo – a business-focused showcase where around 30 youth-led product and startup ideas were presented, emphasizing innovation, product development and commercialization potential.
• Danova Cup – a student robotics competition with 100 teams from different cities competing in three leagues: warehouse robots, soccer robots and combat robots.

End of one chapter, start of a longer journey

The closing ceremony of Danova 2025 concluded with the announcement of winners across the three tracks and appreciation for the months of effort by judges, mentors, teachers, students, parents and the organizing team.

However, organizers framed the event not as an endpoint but as the beginning of a broader journey: building a generation of teenagers who are deeply familiar with technology, confident in their abilities and ready to create the next wave of knowledge-based companies in Iran’s innovation ecosystem.