Zohreh Hajiakhondi-Meybodi researched Bluetooth Low Energy, a wireless personal area network technology with potential uses in health care, smart homes and many other sectors.
Parastoo — the Farsi word for swallow, a bird that symbolizes good luck and positive change in Persian folklore — is an apt nickname for Zohreh Hajiakhondi-Meybodi, whose soaring ambitions as a doctoral student have been empowered by donor support.
Hajiakhondi-Meybodi earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering in her native Iran. And while she graduated at the top of her class, she struggled to find work that corresponded to her knowledge and expertise.
“The only way to achieve what I had always fought for was to leave my country and my beloved family,” says Hajiakhondi-Meybodi, the recipient of a Carolyn and Brian Neysmith Graduate Scholarship. “I came to Canada with a heavy heart, but with a lot of hope as well.”
That hope has been buoyed at the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, where Hajiakhondi-Meybodi is engaged in research on Deep Neural Networks and Bluetooth Low Energy, a wireless personal area network technology with potential uses in health care, smart homes and many other sectors.
The PhD candidate has taken ample advantage of the range of services on Concordia’s Sir George Williams Campus, from exercise classes at Le Gym to quiet time in the Zen Den located in the Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex.
“Sometimes I go there in the middle of the day when I feel overwhelmed,” Hajiakhondi-Meybodi says of the wellness hub for students.
What’s more, she adds, when COVID-19 restricted class and lab time, the ability to easily borrow equipment from the R. Howard Webster Library was a lifesaver.
Hajiakhondi-Meybodi’s time at Concordia has also been marked by valuable off-campus experiences. Three completed internships at technology firms have given her a wealth of industry exposure to help her spread her wings after graduation.
All of this, she notes, has taken place with the encouragement of new-found friends and like-minded academics. These include fellow Iranians like Hajiakhondi-Meybodi’s doctoral supervisor, Arash Mohammadi, and his partner, Farnoosh Naderkhani. The couple are both faculty members with the Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering.
“As international students, we are far away from our family,” Hajiakhondi-Meybodi says. “But one of the most important features of the Concordia community is that it is very supportive. It has become like a big family for me.”