TEHRAN — Four professors from Amirkabir University of Technology were among the recipients of awards at the 16th awards ceremony of the Iran Section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

This article examines the case for integrating public and private universities in Iran through institutional mergers, federations, shared services, and coordinated resource allocation. It argues that a carefully designed integration policy could reduce unnecessary duplication, improve the utilisation of academic infrastructure, expand research opportunities, strengthen the recruitment of students and employees, and establish a more coherent national strategy for higher education. It further proposes that the historical and documentary heritage of public universities should be treated as a strategic national asset rather than merely as an institutional responsibility. However, integration should not be understood as the indiscriminate absorption of all private universities into the public sector. Its effectiveness would depend on transparent governance, sustainable financing, academic autonomy, institutional diversity, and evidence-based implementation.