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Nearly ninety years have passed since the beginning of modern higher education in Iran. During this period, engineering education in the country, along with a large quantitative expansion, has gone through many ups and downs. Improving engineering education depends on identifying its challenges and providing solutions to overcome them. And this is possible only with organized research. One of the envisaged measures in this field is to create a center for communication between the activities carried out in the engineering education of the country and the educational centers of other countries and international organizations. In this connection, following the approval of the United Nations Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UNESCO Chair on Engineering Education was established at the University of Tehran. The UNESCO chair, as a think tank, has put research and futures studies in various fields of engineering education, at the top of its goals. In this paper, while introducing the objectives and scope of activities of the UNESCO Chair on Engineering Education, the achievements of a decade of its activities have been reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering education, alongside various fields of engineering, requires research and importance. In engineering sciences, numerical simulation using computer software is one of the important research tools for engineers. MATLAB/Simulink software is one of the practical engineering software. Due to its wide range of applications, training in this software is of particular importance. In this paper, a training method based on a coherent set of blocks used for engineering systems is introduced. This method is based on images and the goal is to implement the blocks in the Simulink environment. Factors such as the name, appearance, and performance of block components are important. The proposed method is effective in improving the recognition and mental maintenance of these factors. Examples of implementing this idea at different levels are introduced as assignments or tests. The experience of implementing this method over several semester shows that it can be easily implemented on various engineering systems. The results from surveys on sustainability, recognition, and psychological aspects are analyzed. The effectiveness of the proposed package is investigated through pre- and post-test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, e-learning has become an essential aspect of education and learning. Being informed of the key factors of e-learning advancement is of high importance to determine the vision, strategies, and policies in top-level organizations, companies, educational institutions, and enterprises involved in education. In this paper, we discuss technological drivers of e-learning and extract the most important factors according to technology hype cycle. The research has been performed through archival and documentary research and using information attained from published scientific references, reports, documents, and press releases. Main goals of this paper are (1) identifying technological drivers of e-learning and (2) analyzing status of Iran’s higher education according to the identified drivers. The result of the study shows that technological drivers of e-learning are: personalized and adaptive learning, mobile learning, social learning platforms, blended learning, gamification, simulation, cloud computing, integration and interoperability, xAPI standard, virtual reality, massive open online courses (MOOC), and video content management. Moreover, investigation shows that these technologies have not been used extensively in Iran. The current status of e-learning in Iran shows that the activities done in this area are not so coherent, systematic, and unified with the technology transitions. What is necessary to rectify this situation is to change the point of view to the e-learning and exploit the technology in a systematic way in policies, plans, and implementation. Being at the start of the new century and simultaneously formulating Seventh National Development Plan creates an opportunity for universities and Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology to include national policies and programs in that plan. Consequently, they can provide the possibility of rectifying the current path in electronic education in Iran and exploiting its advantages for education system, in a period of 5 years duration.

The classic approach in engineering education starts with basic definitions, principles, mathematical modeling and formulation of an individual course and is well documented in textbooks. New engineering problems are normally beyond a course or an engineering area and graduates need to involve in a multidisciplinary team to analyze and solve these problems. To prepare for this team collaboration, students need to get familiar with an integrated education and research approach during their studies, as well as sensitivity analysis, interdisciplinary thinking, and understanding the value chain. In this approach, the instructor raises applied research questions and problems while presenting the course curriculum in association with broader engineering and technology value chain. In this paper, first the importance of a converging view in engineering education is presented. Then, by focusing on reservoir engineering course as part of the petroleum engineering curriculum, the technology chain of gas industry is described. Next, the link between topics of this course with such areas as chemical engineering, process design, is clarified. After that, real cases are presented to further discuss on the link between reservoir engineering and fluid flow hydrodynamics, carbonated reservoirs, engineering science history, intelligent techniques, and engineering mathematics. In each case study, the student becomes familiar with the output of research studies related to the subject and learns inherently the research methodology in engineering. The presented examples cover the reservoir engineering and value-chain topics from reservoir to refinery. The engineering education aligned with research empowers the student in integrated thinking, understanding different features of new reservoir engineering problems and reservoir economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying, cultivating, and developing critical thinking competencies is one of the most important success factors of engineers in problem-finding, problemoriented, problematizing and recognizing innovative solutions and solving complex problems. For this purpose, in the present study, an attempt was made to analyze the place of critical thinking in engineering education by identifying its outcomes. For this purpose, in a systematic review based on the guidelines of PRISMA, the articles indexed in Scopus, Google Scholar and Science-Direct databases in the period from 2010 to 2023, using the combination of keywords "Critical Thinking" OR "Engineering Education" OR "Critical Thinking in Engineering Education" AND "Outcomes OR results" AND "Engineering Education" OR "Engineering" and Benefits, AND "Limitations OR Critical Thinking" were identified and retrieved. Finally, 21 articles were selected for the final analysis after checking the entry and exit criteria. The articles must meet the four conditions including 1. Be related to the research topic; 2. Be published between 2010 and 2023; 3. The articles have reached the final publication; 4. The articles must have the words critical thinking, engineering education. The findings identify nine outcomes, use of critical thinking in engineering education. The results show that for effective teaching of critical thinking and its inclusion in engineering curricula, a more coherent approach is needed to provide a useful and effective formal platform for promoting knowledge, insight, values and skills throughout the curriculum. The needs of students should be considered; therefore, it is necessary to present the methods of teaching critical thinking to engineering professors and provide a concrete, practical and understandable context for cultivating this competence in engineering students. It is clear that considering the vital achievements of critical thinking, the examination and preparation of the requirements and conditions needed to review and update educational policies and micro and macro guidelines to empower engineering professors in cultivating critical thinking in engineering students is not only necessary but undeniable; It seems that not only these requirements have not been paid attention to, but even in practice, they have been neglected, and for this reason, this authentic competence has not been cultivated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous assessment of the quality of engineering education is one of the necessities of improving the quality of the engineering education system. Despite national and international emphasis on internal and external evaluation in higher education, the use of this approach has not yet been a common practice in Iranian engineering education system. One of the reasons for this is the complexity and timeconsuming implementation of this approach. But one can use alternative approaches that are easier to implement. Among these approaches is the survey of student engagement at university life. In this approach, two main questions are answered: (a) what are the activities of students in the university environment, and learning environments in general, and what is their quality?; and (b) what measures academic institutions take to enhance student learning? Towards applying the above-mentioned research, a descriptive-analytical research project was carried out with the aim of conducting a survey of student engagement at the engineering colleges of the country. The population under study was the students of engineering colleges affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. The necessary data was collected through a questionnaire administered to a sample selected from the entire engineering education system of the country. The results showed that the level of active academic participation of engineering students is not favorable. In addition, the interaction of students with academic members is rather weak and engineering students do not have a very satisfactory experience of university education. Also, their learning is not at the level that expected. Finally, students believe that the university has not improved their knowledge and skills to the level that they could enter the labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality is essential for the survival of modern educational institutions and a gateway to the globalization of higher education. In the last few decades, engineering has gone through many changes and certain criteria have been proposed for a standard engineering education. Today, leading engineering education schools have revised their educational programs to enable graduates to enter the national and international engineering job market. This situation calls for prioritizing improvement in educational program quality. One of the most common methods for identifying the quality of education is to pass the accreditation process successfully. In modern "accreditation", instead of measuring what the university offers, the focus is on "outcomes" or what the graduates have gained. To judge the extent to which students achieve the desired outcomes, two methods of evaluation have been developed: "internal assessment" or "self-assessment" by the educational institution; and "external assessment" by independent accreditation bodies. This article first reviews the status of engineering education accreditation in the world and explains the mechanism of internal and external assessment. Then, measures that have been taken in the last decade to evaluate engineering education in Iran, according to the common criteria in the world, are explained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of engineering education has become problematic. A kind of forgetting about the authentic narratives of learning the science has cast a shadow on our higher education system. We need a quality story. This study is an attempt to understand the collective memories leading to the repeated production of quality in the periods of growth and dynamism of engineering education in our country. The case of University College of Engineering, University of Tehran has been selected. An integrated methodological approach has been used in the form of documentary analysis, experts and key informant' in-depth qualitative interviews and qualitative content analysis of narratives, documents, texts, and sources. Interviews were conducted with faculty members and managers who had significant experience of studying in various technical-engineering fields of Tehran University. Up to 21 participants based on the purposive sample frame to the extent of data saturation and theoretical saturation have been carried out. By using the »CIPP«framework, it was found that the core concept of engineering education quality during the period of grouth and flourishing was the penetrating experience in science learning. The dimensions of external and internal contexts of concern about the quality engineering education was found. Inputs, processes and outputs were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A framework has been proposed to improve the content of civil engineering undergraduate education with a focus on transferring entrepreneurial skills. Using a mixed-exploratory research method, 11 university experts were interviewed and a conceptual model with 9 components (ecosystem, tests and evaluations, structure, incentives, general/theoretical courses, projects (structural and road design), internship, complementary courses and Kehad, extracurricular activities) was developed. Based on the sub-components, solutions have been presented for improving the content of civil engineering undergraduate education by transferring entrepreneurial skills. Then, based on the model, a questionnaire including 35 Likert-scale questions and 2 ordinal questions was designed and distributed to a sample of working civil engineers (experts). The obtained data were analyzed with the Friedman test, and the questions were ranked according to the priority of the experts. Finally, based on the top 20 priorities, suggestions were made to policymakers, professors, entrepreneurs, and students. For example, visiting construction sites as extracurricular activities was the suggestion of professors and the first priority of experts, also, the lesson proposal under the title "Innovative Project" was one of the 20 primary priorities of experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The globalization of economy, incredible advances in technology and social sciences, and the international move toward outcome-oriented evaluation of education programs greatly necessitate changes in the traditional model of engineering education. Key elements for effective execution of changes in engineering education are faculty members and educational staff and authorities. From a survey on Iran's engineering education staff, it was found that regardless of their location of employment (whether universities or industry), these groups came from a diverse academic background, which is often irrelevant to the concept of education. Their priority seems to be acquiring specialized professional trainings. A similar requirement in other countries has led to the establishment of higher education programs in engineering education. The goal of these programs, which are usually conducted in engineering faculties, is to train those who can be in charge of arrangement, coordination, guidance, execution, evaluation, and documentation of education. Furthermore it is aimed to enable the trainees to enhance the quality of education presentation in educational institutions, as well as the industry. The graduates of this program will also be able to propose mechanisms to overcome the country's engineering education challenges and promote its quality through systematic research. In this paper, the work on feasibility, design and legislation of the "Master's Program in Engineering Education" is explained. The first master's degree program in engineering education began in October 2019 at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Tehran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the important categories in education is the process of teaching and learning. All educational activities are to lay the right foundation for the realization of this process. This study aimed to identify the components affecting the teachinglearning process for the training of efficient engineering technical students with high employability. In this research, a qualitative approach and content analysis method were used. The study participants were purposefully selected and a semi-structured interview was conducted with 15 informants’ people who had lived experience in engineering education. Also, the documents of 11 universities and colleges active in engineering education with high employability were analyzed. Results includes 6 categories or domain : Teaching method, with 16 subcategories or dimension; Curriculum with 8 subcategories; Characteristics of the teacher and how to communicate with the student with 11 subcategories; Evaluation with 3 subcategories; Strengthening skills and characteristics that should be considered in the classroom with 13 subcategories; Learning support services with 14 subcategories. This study showed that several factors affect the effectiveness of teaching-learning process that should be considered by policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classic approach in engineering education starts with basic definitions, principles, mathematical modeling and formulation of an individual course and is well documented in textbooks. New engineering problems are normally beyond a course or an engineering area and graduates need to involve in a multidisciplinary team to analyze and solve these problems. To prepare for this team collaboration, students need to get familiar with an integrated education and research approach during their studies, as well as sensitivity analysis, interdisciplinary thinking, and understanding the value chain. In this approach, the instructor raises applied research questions and problems while presenting the course curriculum in association with broader engineering and technology value chain. In this paper, first the importance of a converging view in engineering education is presented. Then, by focusing on reservoir engineering course as part of the petroleum engineering curriculum, the technology chain of gas industry is described. Next, the link between topics of this course with such areas as chemical engineering, process design, is clarified. After that, real cases are presented to further discuss on the link between reservoir engineering and fluid flow hydrodynamics, carbonated reservoirs, engineering science history, intelligent techniques, and engineering mathematics. In each case study, the student becomes familiar with the output of research studies related to the subject and learns inherently the research methodology in engineering. The presented examples cover the reservoir engineering and value-chain topics from reservoir to refinery. The engineering education aligned with research empowers the student in integrated thinking, understanding different features of new reservoir engineering problems and reservoir economy.

In developing the models and approaches for engineering education, in addition to having technical knowledge (engineering science) there is a specific focus on skills and attitudes (engineering practice). Hence, the determination of engineering education objectives with regard to the required knowledge, skills, and attitudes for engineers is the basis of many studies in the present century. The aim of this paper is to determine the objectives of engineering education based on content analysis of present documents. The society in this research includes present documents in the context of engineering education objectives in which seven documents as purposeful samples and desirable cases were selected for analysis. The instruments for data collection were a checklist and researcher-made forms. The data was analyzed and interpreted by open coding and axial coding. Based on the performed content analysis, 24 objectives were determined for engineering education, which were classified into five categories. Then it was determined how the established objectives were supported by present documents. At last, based on the performed research in the field, the relation between assumed objectives with present documents was determined.