Two members of our Institute, Rozina Dombi and András Barati, spent 10 months in Iran between November 30, 2015 and October 1, 2016. They had been granted a bilateral scholarship by the Tempus Public Foundation and were supported by the Avicenna Institute of Middle Eastern Studies. During their research trip, our colleagues primarily collected data for their doctoral dissertations.

András Barati successfully acquired unpublished resources, historical works, certificates, charters and correspondence for his dissertation entitled The 18th-century History of the Western Khurāsān in the Light of the Sources. He visited major libraries in Tehran and Mashhad, as well as scientific institutions such as the Malek National Library and the Library of Astan Quds Razavi.

Rozina Dombi studied the available literature and searched for the best publications of the primary resources needed for her dissertation, which is entitled Word Composition as a Stylistical Mark in Classic and Modern Persian, in Iranian libraries, including the National Library of Iran and the Central Library of Shahid Beheshti University.

Moreover, our colleagues were able to gain an insight into the education at the host university (Shahid Beheshti University) as well as consult several Iranian experts on research issues and develop their doctoral dissertations.

During the research trip, in addition to writing their doctoral theses, they developed their Persian language skills, learned about the dialects of the New Persian language, and deepened their knowledge of cultural traditions in Iran. A great emphasis was placed on visiting major historical monuments, so they travelled to countless cities in Iran, e.g. Mashhad, Yazd, Kerman, Hamadan, Kermanshah, Sanandaj, etc.