Iranian Graduate Students Foundation (IGSF)

The Iranian Graduate Student Foundation (IGSF) is a volunteer graduate student organization supported by the University of Maryland. IGSF has begun its activity since March 2003, and its goal is not only to improve the quality of education and life of the graduate students but also to introduce the Iranian culture and community to the other students coming from different backgrounds. IGSF leads this mission with holding events to introduce the Persian culture, customs, literature, and arts to the non-Iranian students on the campus. A board of five graduate students takes initiative in the planning and organizing the events, and a group of 5-10 occasional volunteers helped them. Currently, we have about 800 active members (around 120 students on campus and the rest is either Alumni or other people following us on social media) and have organized more than 100 activities so far. The activities of IGSF for graduate students include: Cultural Events: Parties for Celebrating Persian events like Nowruz (The Persian New Year Eve), Yalda (Winter solstice). Persian Literature: Poetry Nights, reading Persian literature with explanations for the non-Persian speaking Audiences. Social Events like Movie Nights. These events include the award-winning Persian movies with English caption and explanation of the Persian customs for non-Persian speaking participants. Game nights are another example of our activities geared toward socialization and networking opportunities for all grad students on campus. Sporting Events: Basketball, Volleyball and Soccer games; Chess, Backgammon and Ping Pong leagues. Outdoor Activities: Barbecue, Hiking and Biking Trips and Picnics. Academic and Technical Events: Roundtables to help the new or prospective graduate students so that they can do research and publish their works. Having general workshops in different areas like arts and humanities, science and engineering are also part of IGSF academic activities.