Paziresh
از PazireshWiki
Mission
Paziresh is an informative website in Farsi, dedicated to provide primary information about different aspects of graduate studies abroad for individuals in Iran. The site has grown out of the voluntary work of some Iranian students and graduates, outside of Iran, that would like to share their knowledge and experiences about studying in a foreign country with those in Iran, thinking to step into this path. Paziresh is a nonprofit site
The site mission is to provide general information and basic tips for Iranians who are not familiar with ins and outs of graduate studies and admission process in other countries, i.e. the novices who are thinking to continue their studies abroad but do not know from where and how to start. Although university websites provide a vast amount of detailed information nowadays; however, beginners in other countries normally encounter a gap between their knowledge and the information widely presented in the university websites that prevents them from efficient use of the available resources. This gap exists due to lack of familiarity and experience with the educational system in a foreign country as well as language skills to know the related terminologies
Paziresh literally tries to bridge over this gap and provide initial information, tips and insight for its visitors to educate them about where to start, what information to seek among tons of information on the internet, how to use this information and weigh different factors to make optimal decision about the program or the university they want to apply for; hence, the site can not be esteemed as an inclusive source of information or a substitute for the detailed information provided in the university sites. The contents of the site contain a variety of information from the educational system and admission methods, criteria and steps to important facts about student life in a foreign country
History
Paziresh was co-founded by Pantea Vaziri and Babak Hamidian on December 16, 2006 with the collaboration of some volunteers, as the first informative website in Farsi that provides information related to graduate studies outside of Iran. The idea was firstly initiated by Pantea, namely WorldEducation4iran.info, and posted in her weblog after which Babak joined her in developing the project. The first version of the site, named as Paziresh, was designed by Saba Masjedian and edited by Parastoo Dokouhaki and launched on December 18, 2006. The initial site onlyincluded information about graduate studies in US provided by 15 volunteers. The big number of visitors as well as their positive feedback encouraged the founders to quickly extend the scope of information to other countries and also include an interview section for the second version of the site
Paziresh had a static web design in versions 1 and 2, causing the page updates and edits be performed only by Webmaster after receiving the text and essays from volunteers. In order to expedite the development process, Paziresh 3rd version was equipped with Wiki engine by Babak Salamat and launched on April 15, 2008. This feature made the site dynamic, allowing users to directly create, update or edit pages by themselves. The new site skin was donated by Balatarin