A main objective of Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council is to develop the researches on nanotechnology sciences at the Iranian universities. Therefore, the Council supports financially the university students at higher levels, whose theses are in the field of nanotechnology. The financial grants are given at three different levels (depending on the research level and subject), in two stages to the university students and the advising professors. The amount of the grant varies from $1200 to $6000. More than 1400 people had benefited from the financial grants by 2009.

The registration takes place online in the Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council databank. The databank includes information about all Iranian researchers, and it is available to all researchers. Such mechanism prevents repeated researches.

Supporting Science Production:

In addition to supporting the university students' theses, the Council supports financially other researchers' activities such as presenting ISI articles, presenting articles in the international conferences, and patenting inventions in the European and American countries. The purpose of the grants is to encourage and to motivate the researchers to produce science and technology. The articles are given up to $1500, and the inventions up to $9000. The mechanism of giving grants to articles, too, is online.

Supporting Training Courses for the University Students:

The Council supports the universities that admit PhD students and/or hold PhD courses in the field of nanotechnology. More than 10 universities held MS and PhD courses in the various fields of nanotechnology, and more than 150 students registered in those courses in 2009.

The manner in which Iran Nanotechnology Initiative Council supports the universities that hold PhD courses is as follow:
• Facilitating the cooperation between universities and the foreign research institutes;

• Facilitating the relation between universities and the industry in the field of nanotechnology;

• Paying for transport, residence, and current expenses of the invited foreign professors;

• Paying the invited foreign professors' fee;

• Covering the expenses of the research journeys of the university students to the foreign countries;

• Covering the expenses of the journeys of the Iranian professors in order to supervise their students' work.
In addition to the abovementioned, the Council supports the university students' forums, educational workshops, and scientific visits to nanotechnology centres. The Council intends to establish University Students' Club to enable the young researchers to communicate more in the field of nanotechnology.

* Statistical data until the end of 2009.