SUMS International Contracts and MOUs
Today’s mounting health crises call for a more integrated multinational approach to medical education, research and practice. Accordingly, there is a general trend towards forming networks and engaging in more concerted efforts to address pervasive health challenges. With this vision in sight, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) has set out to explore new avenues for international collaborations and partnerships.
Since its inception as a medical school in 1946, SUMS has come a long way to establish itself as a leading medical university in Iran and the wider region. An essential step in this journey has been to enhance the University’s regional and international presence. To that end, SUMS has for many decades engaged in academic and research collaborations with partner institutions across the world. New partnerships and projects are actively pursued in keeping with the University’s internationalization strategy. SUMS is always open to joint initiatives, which can be implemented and developed within the framework of MOUs or legally binding contracts.
What is a Memorandum of Understanding?
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is a legal document describing a bilateral agreement between two or more parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action, rather than a legal commitment. MOUs are not legally enforceable in a court of law or by some other legal process.
What is a Memorandum of Agreement?
A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties that creates an obligation to do or not do a particular thing. MOAs are legally enforceable in a court of law or by some other legal process. A pre-requisite to sign a MOA at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS), is to have already signed a MOU to make sure that all the parties have a general understanding and a framework for the types of collaboration they are about to initiate.
Activities included in MOUs and MOAs:
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Staff and Student Exchange
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Joint Degree, Dual Degree and Cotutelle PhD Programs
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Joint Research Projects
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International Human Capacity Development
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Clinical or Practicum Abroad
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Distance Education
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Joint workshops, Seminars, Symposiums and Conferences
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Clinical Trial Agreements
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Capacity Building Projects
What is a Non-disclosure Agreement?
A Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA) is an Agreement where at least two parties agree on a legal contact which contains important confidential information for a certain project or certain purposes where the parties do not intend to disclose it to the third parties. At SUMS, NDAs are usually signed when a joint research leads to any sort of research output (Books, Book Chapters, Article, etc.) or a patent.
In the following table an exhaustive list of MOUs and Agreements between SUMS and other Universities can be found:
The following table features the previous MOUs and Agreements between SUMS and other universities. At the moment, negotiations have started with the listed universities to renew the MOUs and Agreements.