Karen Abrinia, secretary of the Iranian University Professors’ Trade Association, reported that at least 1,500 engineering professors from Iran’s top universities have emigrated over the past five years. Ebrahim Azadegan, a professor at Sharif University of Technology—one of Iran’s most prestigious institutions—also said that currently, one professor leaves the university every week.
The state-run news website Khabar Online published a detailed interview with Karen Abrinia on Monday, October 20, discussing the emigration of professors and students as well as the securitized atmosphere in Iranian universities.
They emphasized that security vetting processes often disqualify top academics and professors for reasons such as “signing a statement,” “being single,” or “having a photo taken in a café in the U.S.”
According to the secretary of the Iranian University Professors’ Trade Association, from the 2018–2019 to the 2023–2024 academic year, 25% of the six thousand professors in engineering and technical fields at top universities have emigrated.
Growing Wave of Professor Migration Poses Serious Challenge To Iran’s Scientific Future
At the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Tehran, about ten professors either took early retirement to continue their work abroad or went on sabbatical and never returned.
Citing official statistics, Abrinia stated that between 2000 and 2020, about 66,000 students emigrated from Iran.
However, unofficial figures suggest that around 200,000 students left Iran during the same period.
Academic Emigration Intensified After the Mahsa Amini Movement
Abrinia said that when university professors signed a statement in 2022 calling for a calm academic environment, it caused significant problems for them, and many young professors were told their contracts would not be renewed.
In an interview with Khabar Online, Ebrahim Azadegan emphasized that after the nationwide protests of 2022 and over the past three years, Sharif University of Technology has faced a “disaster.” Nearly 70 professors have left the university, and suitable replacements have yet to be found.
Azadegan added that these days, one professor leaves the university every week; they either take unpaid leave or go abroad for research opportunities and conferences—and never return.
Azadegan described the events of 2022 as some of the most difficult days for Sharif University, recalling that during the protests, the campus was attacked, many professors and students were “beaten without cause,” and an intense security atmosphere took hold.
On October 2, 2022, security forces and plainclothes agents of Iran’s regime surrounded Sharif University, arrested between 30 to 40 students, and opened fire on students attempting to leave the campus.
Azadegan said that even now, women stationed at the university gates “warn” students about their attire, the campus is filled with surveillance cameras, and students are still summoned to disciplinary committees for defying the mandatory hijab rules.
The Regime Welcomes the Departure of Critical Professors
Abrinia went on to say that in some cases, the authorities are pleased when critical professors emigrate, believing such individuals “cause trouble.”
The secretary of the Iranian University Professors’ Trade Association also cited the conduct of university security offices, the securitized mindset, and the humiliating treatment during faculty selection processes as key factors driving emigration.
Abrinia gave an example from the current administration, saying that a professor was once made to sit in a room, handed a Quran, and told to “read.”
In another case, a young professor was told, “Why haven’t you married yet? If you don’t marry by next year, we won’t renew your contract.”
She added: “The situation has become such that a professor educated at one of the world’s best universities is made to sit across from someone—I don’t even know if they have a high school diploma—to be interrogated and asked absurd questions that undermine their credibility.”
Azadegan also cited an example where Sharif University rejected a philosophy PhD graduate from Princeton University simply because of a photo showing him with several male and female friends in a café in the U.S.
However, according to him, the real reason was that the authorities did not want someone educated in the U.S. to teach at Sharif University and used the photo as a pretext.
He added that a philosophy graduate from the Sorbonne was told: “Why did you even come back? We will never allow your ideas to be taught at our university.”
After the War, Academic Emigration Declined Due to Visa Restrictions
Abrinia noted that after the 12-day war (a reference to the recent conflict in the Middle East), the rate of emigration among professors and students declined—not because the war discouraged migration, but because foreign countries have become less willing to issue visas to Iranians.
She recalled that when obtaining visas was easier, most professors emigrated to the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Australia, but recently many have also been moving to neighboring countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
Azadegan added that among those who left Sharif University’s philosophy department, most have relocated to the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany.
According to him, professors and students from technical and engineering disciplines emigrate more frequently than those from the humanities, and most end up working in private companies rather than universities.
