Iran Blockchain Labs

Blockchain Aware Strategy Development

Academy

IRAN BLOCKCHAIN LABS offers specifically designed C-suit courses, developer courses and e-learning held by recognized experts both from the IRAN and the Global communities.

Projects

IRAN BLOCKCHAIN LABS develops Projects and Proofs of Concept covering different industries and business areas by leveraging on the blockchain technology.

MARKET INTELLIGENCE

IRAN BLOCKCHAIN LABS provides recurring and focused reports, synthesizing all of the fundamental knowledge necessary for comprehending this complex ecosystem.

Iran BlockChain Labs

Iran Blockchain Labs is a research, advisory and innovation hub focused on blockchain technology. Established in Sharif University of Technology in collaboration with the Central Bank of Iran, the mission of the lab is to define a roadmap for the utilisation of blockchain technology within the country. Key focus areas of the lab include blockchain-based research, training, consultancy and facilitating relevant seminars/events to promote a blockchain-aware culture. Through these activities and collaboration with leading international and local players, Iran Blockchain Labs aims to develop novel blockchain-based products and services.

Our Team

Dr Mohammad Davatgar
Managing Director
After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree from one of Iran’s leading technical universities, Dr. Davatgar has held a variety of positions in addition to his ongoing academic career and tertiary teaching, spanning twenty five years; ranging from Graduate Mechanical Engineer to Co-Founder and Company Director of an Australian firm specializing in physical rehabilitation products. His last position before the current one, was working as a business consultant in different VC companies with the main focus on start-ups and accelerators.
PhD, University of New South Wales
MSc, University of New South Wales
BEng, Sharif University of Technology
m.davatgar@seerio.ir

Hamed Jamalifar

Chairman of the Board
Mr. Jamalifar is a technology entrepreneur and visionary team manager. With extensive experience in the private sector and hands-on proficiency in information technology, Mr. Jamalifar excels at developing and managing large knowledge-oriented teams. He is currently focused on developing blockchain-aware businesses and services.
MSc, Sharif University of Technology
BSc, Sharif University of Technology
h.jamalifar@blockchainlabs.ir

Ali Abbasi
Business Development Manager
Ali Abbasi received his MSc degree in information technology from Sharif University of technology in 2014. Ali is a university lecturer and an active entrepreneur in IT field. His research interests are in the areas of enterprise applications integration (EAI), recommender systems and systems analysis and design. He is experienced in various fields of industry such as designing mobile games, platform businesses, and FinTech, in which he has launched a few startups. Currently, he is the CEO of a payment-related private company.
a.abbasi@blockchainlabs.ir

Dr Ali Kermanshah
Member of the Board
Dr. Kermanshah is the former Vice President of Novel Technologies at the Central Bank of Iran. He was the chairman of Iran Industrial Management Institute (IMI) which is the oldest and largest Management Consultancy organisation in Iran. He has also been the Head of Education, Research and Technology Department at the Ministry of Commerce and two times Vice Minister at the Ministry of ICT.
PhD, University of Manchester
MSc, University of Manchester
BEng, Isfahan University of Technology
a.kermanshah@seerio.ir

Masoud Davarinejad
Member of the Board
Mr. Masoud Davarinejad is a freelance consultant advising government-related industries on strategy and policy issues. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Shahab Co. Until May 2005, Mr. Davarinejad served as the first head of the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Iran. He spent most of his 24-year career in the Iranian government in the Planning and Budget Organization. He was appointed deputy to the Vice-President in 1988 and he presided over the High Council of Informatics for eight years. He also chaired the Board of Directors of major government IT companies and directed Tehran’s SITTDEC office.
BEng, Murray State University

Dr Ali Naghieh

Member of the Board
Dr. Naghieh is a Research Associate at the Said Business School, University of Oxford. He is an expert in Change Management and his research focuses on examining the social and psychosocial processes of change to address challenges in systems and organisations. Ali has provided consultancy to transformation programmes focusing on multi-stakeholder system-level change for the UK private and public sectors including the NHS. Further, he has provided teaching and mentoring to executives of major companies in the field of Scenario Planning, including for Standard Chartered Bank, EY (Ernst & Young), and Scottish Water.
PhD, University of Oxford
MA, University of Wales-Bangor
MBA, University of Salford
a.naghieh@seerio.ir

Dr Hamed Shahidipour
Member of the board
Dr. Shahidipour has previously worked at Citigroup and Vodafone UK. He is the founder and CEO of Femto Ltd., a London based technology consultancy firm. He has also served as a consultant with the prestigious management consultancy firm L.E.K. Consulting. Doctor Shahidipour holds a PhD in nanoelectronic engineering from the University of Southampton.
h.shahidipour@blockchainlabs.ir

Dr Fardad Zand

Member of the Board
Dr. Zand is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Technology, Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the University of Delft. He is currently a Senior Advisor with Arthur D. Little and prior to this he was an Engagement Manager and Senior Associate at McKinsey & Company.
Post-Doc, MIT Center for Digital Business
PhD, Delft University
MSc, Delft University
BEng, Amir Kabir University
f.zand@seerio.ir

Dr Mehrdad Sepahvand

Member of the Board
Dr. Sepahvand has more than two decades of experience in the financial services and banking industry spanning investment strategy, corporate governance and risk management at senior management level. He was director of foreign investment department of the NDFI, Iranian sovereign wealth fund with over $60 billion in assets. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Nottingham. His career began in England lecturing at both Nottingham Business School and Leeds Business School for several years. He occasionally lectures on Asset and Liability Management and Liquidity Management for bankers and financial managers.
PhD, The University of Nottingham
MA, Allameh Tabatabaei University

External associates

Prof. Tomaso Aste

Director UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies

Professor of Complexity Science

Head Financial Computing & Analytics Group

Tomaso Aste is professor of complexity science at UCL Computer Science Department. A trained Physicist, he has substantially contributed to research in financial systems modeling, complex data analytics and machine learning. He is passionate in the investigation of the effect of technologies on society and currently he focuses on the application of Blockchain Technologies to domains beyond digital currencies. He is Scientific Director of the UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies; Head of the Financial Computing and Analytics Group; Programme Director of the MSc in Financial Risk Management; Vice-Director of the Centre for doctoral Training in Financial Computing & Analytics; Member of the Board of the ESRC LSE-UCL Systemic Risk Centre. Prior to UCL he held positions in UK and Australia. He is consulting for financial institutions, banks, FinTech firms and digital-economy startups.

Gerard Dache

President at Government Blockchain Association

Gerard is a Portfolio Manager and has three organizations in his portfolio. One company provides consulting services to large organizations and the other business provides support to individuals who want to start a business. Gerard also leads an industry association called The Government Blockchain Association. He travels all over the world speaking in public, consulting and evaluating organizations.Gerard has a passion to help individuals and organizations succeed. He has helped organizations win business, develop innovative techniques and capabilities, improve processes, quality and profitability. Gerard also helps individuals start and successfully run e-commerce businesses.Gerard is a CMMI High Maturity Lead Appraiser and Certified Instructor for both the development and services models. He travels around the world helping individuals and organizations succeed. He is also a Blockchain consultant.

Prof. Dr. Andranik Tumasjan

Professor of Management and Digital Transformation, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Gutenberg School of Management and Economics

Andranik’s research and teaching focuses on digital transformation, blockchain technology applications, and entrepreneurship. His work has been published in leading academic management journals and covered in the media, such as the Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Wirtschaftswoche, or Huffington Post. He graduated from the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich and received his doctoral degree and habilitation degree in management from the Technical University of Munich. As a fellow of the China Scholarship Program, he studied at Nanjing University (China) and was a visiting scholar at Columbia University (New York) and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Marcella Atzori, PhD
Blockchain and GovTech Advisor, European Commission Blockchain Expert

University College of London

Marcella Atzori is a blockchain governance expert and an academic researcher, currently affiliated with the University College of London, Center for Blockchain Technologies. She is specialized in technopolitics and alternative models of governance, with a focus on blockchain-based applications and decentralized architectures for Public Administration and e-government. As a Blockchain and GovTech expert, she regularly advises governments, institutions, SMEs, academic communities, and other relevant actors.

Marcella is a blockchain Advisor for various international organizations, such as the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the British Blockchain Association. She is also the International Coordinator of TrustedChain, the first permissioned blockchain of the European Trust Service Providers, a spin-off of her scholarly research specifically designed for highly sensitive services (PA and e-government, banking, e-health and industry). In 2018, she joined the round table on blockchain and global governance at the World Economic Forum.

Jean-Étienne Durand

Head of Blockchain at Fusion

Ecole nationale supérieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne

Jean-Etienne is the Founder & CEO of Wopata, a creative company specialized in developing user-centered web applications. While his passion is and has always been adventure, Jean-Etienne’s diverse background includes more than a decade of experience in agile methodology, web-based technology and entrepreneurship. On a personal front, Jean-Etienne is an avid adventurer having pursued his passion in over 50 countries.. He is also Head of Blockchain at Fusion.

Prof. Krzysztof Piech

Director at Polish Blockchain Technology Accelerator

Director at blockchain Technology Centre at Lazarski University

CEO at Blockchain Technologies sp. z o.o.

Krzysztof has more than 20 years of experience in lecturing on economics and management in Po land and in some other countries. with several expert and research projects for ministries and other public institutions in Poland and abroad, he is the business leader of a team of c. 80 persons working pro bono within the stream ͞Blockchain and cryptocurrency͟ of the government programme ͞From paper to digital Poland͟. Krzysztof is also establisher of Polish Blockchain Accelerator.

Dr Hossein Sharif

Senior Lecturer in Digital Business, Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK

Dr Hossein Sharif is a Fellow of British Computer Society. He has nearly two decades of experience in digital technologies and ventures as a specialist, researcher, innovator, consultant, entrepreneur and executive. His involvement encompasses private, public and not-for-profit sectors in the UK, Europe and globally.
Presently, Dr Sharif is engaged in research, consultancy and technology commercialisation projects as well as providing education and training for executives, MBA and postgraduate candidates.
PhD, University of Manchester
BEng, University of Liverpool
h.sharif@seerio.ir

Activities

MARKET INTELLIGENCE

IRAN BLOCKCHAIN LABS provides recurring and focused reports, synthesizing all of the fundamental knowledge necessary for comprehending this complex ecosystem. As a complement to the reports and presentations, we have developed a Knowledge Database, where we keep track of research trends and results, technical material and hottest projects, as well as events and business ventures taking place in this ever changing environment.

ACADEMY

IRAN BLOCKCHAINLABS offers specifically designed C-suit courses, developer courses and e-learning held by recognised experts both from the IRAN and the Global communities.

SPONSORSHIP

We organize monthly meetups with the local blockchain technology community in order to grow and nurture it – exposing it to the most prominent experts and professionals from all over the world. In the blockchain technology environment there are therefore extraordinary opportunities for our clients to get recognition and prime visibility, both at the events and within IRAN BLOCKCHAINLABS structures.

PROJECTS

IRAN BLOCKCHAINLABS develops Projects and Proofs of Concept covering different industries and business areas by leveraging on the blockchain technology. We provide strategic and technical advisory – custom tailored for our client’s needs – with an approach to opportunity identification and problem solving, thanks to the vanguard expertise of Lab’s resident and visiting experts.

SKILL BUILDING

IRAN BLOCKCHAINLABS provides with learning on the job internships at the Labs’ structures. During this period the developers can learn and grow their competences through the Labs’ contamination process. From thereon, we help our clients by spotting the most promising profiles in the field and by connecting them to one another.

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Thanks to our network we are able to get to connect with the various startup teams and thereupon we assist our clients in structuring the best investment deals.

Collaboration Opportunities

We believe in the power of a strong network and welcome cooperation and partnership with top intellectuals and institutions that empower us to take on some of the most novel, unique and challenging problems in our key service areas. If you would like to join us and are interested in any form of collaboration, please contact us at:
info@blockchainlabs.ir

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