A group of experienced faculty members from the Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS) has visited the production lines of the Iran Transfo company. This visit was conducted to strengthen the connection between industry and academia, to become more familiar with advanced manufacturing processes, and to implement the provisions of the memorandum of understanding between the two, as coordinated by the Office of Industry and Society Relations.

Part 1: Production line visit

In this section, the distinguished faculty visited all stages of transformer production, from initial steps to the final testing and product dispatch phase. During this visit, detailed technical explanations were provided by the company’s expert staff, which included the following:

• Explanation of the manufacturing processes: examination of step-by-step production stages and the standards governing them.
• Product introduction: familiarity with the types of transformers produced by the company, their applications, and their precise manner of operation in the power grid.
• Industrial equipment: introduction of advanced devices and specialised machinery used in the production line, and each one’s role in increasing the quality and efficiency of the transformers.

Part 2: Specialised working groups

After finishing the tour of the production sections, a specialised meeting was held in the form of three scientific working groups. In these sessions, faculty members and experts engaged in discussions and exchange of opinions in the following groups:

1. Information Technology (IT) working group: reviewing software infrastructure and intelligent systems in production management.
2. Chemistry and Environment working group: analysing raw materials, transformer oils, and insulating compounds used in the industry.
3. Electromagnetics and Optimisation working group: examining design challenges, analysis of electromagnetic fields, and solutions for improving device efficiency.

At the end, a joint session was held with the Managing Director of the Iran Transformer Research Institute, Dr Faridi, during which the challenges in these areas were discussed, scientific solutions for improving processes and solving problems were put forward, and a visit was also made to the company’s First Manufacturing Exhibition. This visit provided a valuable opportunity for synergy between academic knowledge and industrial experience, and paved the way for future collaborations to solve technical problems through the knowledge of academic elites.