Shahrood University of Technology

The Shahrood University of Technology was established as the Shahrood College of Mines in 1973 and was granted university status in 1994. It is a public university in Shahrood, Semnan Province in Iran and gained the title of a university of technology in 2015. The Shahrood University of Technology currently operates 11 faculties, with 32 degrees at bachelors, masters and PhD levels. It was the first university in Iran and the fourth in the world to offer robotics engineering at bachelors level. The university faculty of mining and agriculture is among the best in Iran, with numerous courses offered up to PhD level. There are 11,700 students and 291 academic staff at the Shahrood University of Technology. The current president of the university is Dr. Mohammad Mehdi Fateh. The university is located in the city of Shahrood (or Shahrud/Sharoud), the capital of Shahrud County, Semnan Province. The main launch site of the Iranian Space Agency is near Shahrud and it is well renowned for the cultivation of its own unique grape variety, so is often known as the City of Grapes. Some 410 kilometres to the east of Tehran, halfway between the capital and Mashad, and on the junction with the Gorgan Road, Shahrud is surrounded by the Alborz mountains from the north and by arid salty deserts to the south. In 2006, traces of a prehistoric, 8,000-year-old settlement were found in Shahrud. This is the pre-historical site of Deh Kheyr, Semnan, located in Shahrud Plain, 15 kilometres from the city of Shahrud. The discoveries included ovens, craft workshops, and other evidence of settlements.