Wednesday
Sep022009
Iran: Busted! Would-be Minister of Science Rewrites His "Ph.D."
Wednesday, September 2, 2009 at 17:20
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"Dr." Kamran Daneshjoo, nominee for Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, we're really sorry.
We gave you a chance last month when other media were excitedly running the story that you might have lied about holding a Ph.D. from a British university. OK, so your university profile lists, for your Ph.D., the non-existent "Manchester Imperial Institute of Science and Technology". We thought that maybe there had been a mis-translation back from Farsi to English of "University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology".
And when no one could locate a Ph.D. thesis under "Daneshjoo" in the University of Manchester system, we thought that catalogues are not always complete and they might not have checked alternative spellings like "Daneshjou", and we did find one of the articles (from 2005) that you claimed on your profile.
In short, we were happy to give you a break because, if you couldn't prove you had a Ph.D., we couldn't prove that you didn't have one.
But then you had to mess it all up and make us look foolish. Seems your university profile has suddenly changed (the new profile can be verified at the website of "Iran University of Science and Technology", which does exist).
Now your Ph.D. is from "Imperial College London". Which does exist, but is about 200 miles from Manchester. And which cannot be a simple transliteration mistake from "Manchester Imperial Institute of Science and Technology". And which also does not seem to have a copy of your doctoral thesis.
Gosh, it would have been so much easier if you had just changed the entry to "UMIST". Then you could have been approved by the Parliament tomorrow with whatever diploma you have hanging on your wall, and we could have ignored this little incident.
As we tell our own Ph.D. students: "First rule in writing a thesis: if you're going to lie, keep it simple."
Receive our latest updates by email or RSS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FEED
Buy Us A Cup of Coffee? Help Enduring America Expand Its Coverage and Analysis
"Dr." Kamran Daneshjoo, nominee for Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, we're really sorry.We gave you a chance last month when other media were excitedly running the story that you might have lied about holding a Ph.D. from a British university. OK, so your university profile lists, for your Ph.D., the non-existent "Manchester Imperial Institute of Science and Technology". We thought that maybe there had been a mis-translation back from Farsi to English of "University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology".
And when no one could locate a Ph.D. thesis under "Daneshjoo" in the University of Manchester system, we thought that catalogues are not always complete and they might not have checked alternative spellings like "Daneshjou", and we did find one of the articles (from 2005) that you claimed on your profile.
In short, we were happy to give you a break because, if you couldn't prove you had a Ph.D., we couldn't prove that you didn't have one.
But then you had to mess it all up and make us look foolish. Seems your university profile has suddenly changed (the new profile can be verified at the website of "Iran University of Science and Technology", which does exist).
Now your Ph.D. is from "Imperial College London". Which does exist, but is about 200 miles from Manchester. And which cannot be a simple transliteration mistake from "Manchester Imperial Institute of Science and Technology". And which also does not seem to have a copy of your doctoral thesis.
Gosh, it would have been so much easier if you had just changed the entry to "UMIST". Then you could have been approved by the Parliament tomorrow with whatever diploma you have hanging on your wall, and we could have ignored this little incident.
As we tell our own Ph.D. students: "First rule in writing a thesis: if you're going to lie, keep it simple."
Reader Comments (9)
This is so funny. Where does Ahmadinejad find these people?
Mr. AN finds these people in the ranks of Pasdaran sir. It is common knowledge that a Pasdar or Basiji will get allotment for a University spot. This has been going on for over 20 years since the end of the war. These kids get to University yet are unable to cut it, then they get a free undergrad degree and are off. Yet they have a major inferiority complex, cause they are uneducated, they lack culture and sophistication and many people in the society at large look down on them. Credentials, posts, titles are a way of making up for these insecurities. Purchase of a PHD paper is a common thing in Iran. Almost 90% of all the cronies in Iranian politics have a PHD or for that matter an Undergrad or a Masters certificate that will be unsubstantiated. As such you get this issue.
Let me also note that this is not just an issue with the AN crowd, perhaps worst even the Rafsanjani clan have many PHD imposter's amongst them. Even the reformers are guilty at times of this same shenanigans....
The only true Iranians that obtain a PHD, are either off on the first plane to west, or stay behind as professors and as academia.
Think of the problem this way. To get a real PHD, takes close to 8 to 10 years. 4 year undergrad work, followed by 2 years post grad work and then the 3 to 4 years to get the PHD. Many of these politicians hold 3 or 4 posts in parallel while getting a PHD. It is near impossible to manage, and besides they need the credentials in 2 to 4 years. PHD farms are where they turn to.
A few years back there was the University of Hawaii mess and now we seem to have an equal English University mess brewing...
Thanks for the detailed explanation. No wonder the basijis have been cracking down heavily on university students. I did not know the inferiority complex angle. This is what happens when you put them in a situation they can't succeed, perhaps instead of a university, they could be placed in a trade school to learn something that could be more beneficial.
Has anybody noticed that on his profile under "Current Research" he lists "Long-rod penetration" !!!! Does that mean that he is one of the interrogators of the detainees?
Now you've done it... I have to go & find a towel to wipe the coffee off of my screen
whereismyvote
We must have a lot of your PhD's in the US. Most of the Iranians I've known here have post graduate degrees (the real deal). I tend to assume Iranians are highly educated bec I haven't met any who weren't.
It's sad to think what the country loses this way. What does the regime think it is gaining?
Just curious... are the degrees of the assorted the Larijanis real?
[...] Kamran Daneshjoo - Minister of Higher Education and the same man who oversaw the notorious elections just three months ago and another GENIUS with a fake degree! [...]
@Amy
Tehran Bureau has a good article on the Larijani clan. One of the brothers was very close to completing his PHD, but never did the defense... The rest I am not sure.
For one thing, I tell you, I know very credible first hand witness that told me Mr. AN was in Makeh becoming a Haji while in parallel doing his defense and also being governor of Ardebil province. In other words, the week he had to defend his thesis, he was in Makeh. This sets the precedence as to what is more important to him. 8 years of work as an academic, or circling the Kabeh...
Second point, to do a PHD, takes dedication and hard work, and to run a province some 1500 KM away from your University can be considered a full time job. It is hardly likely that one can do both simultaneously.
LOL-"This sets the precedence as to what is more important to him." If he claims to have a PhD, he shows that truth ranks low in precedence.