The Academy of Sciences of I. R. of IranIranian Journal of Engineering Education1607-2316187220170201What subjects are missing in engineering universities?What subjects are missing in engineering universities?1214096410.22047/ijee.2016.40964FAParviz DavamiProfessor, Emeritus from Department of Materials Science and Technology, Sharif University, Tehran, Iran.Journal Article20161129Scientific and engineering knowledge doubles every 10 years. This geometric growth rate has been reflected in an accelerating rate of introduction and adoption of technology. Product cycles continue to decrease and each cycle delivers more functional and often less expensive versions of existing products. The idea that a student learns all that he or she needs to know in a four year engineering program is just not true and never was. Not even the “fundamental” are fixed, and new information has to enter the engineer’s life. Engineers must accept responsibility for their own continual reeducation, and engineering schools are going to have to prepare engineers to do so by teaching them how to learn. This is also true for young engineers the engineering workforce, which is also changing at an increasing rate. <br />They will find a significant differences between the missions of academia and the new job’s environment. Engineers need to understand that to be successful in this new and different environment, he or she will need to learn many more new aspects of engineering. This article focuses on these vital subjects needed by a young engineer to succeed in their profession. <br /> <br /><br /> Scientific and engineering knowledge doubles every 10 years. This geometric growth rate has been reflected in an accelerating rate of introduction and adoption of technology. Product cycles continue to decrease and each cycle delivers more functional and often less expensive versions of existing products. The idea that a student learns all that he or she needs to know in a four year engineering program is just not true and never was. Not even the “fundamental” are fixed, and new information has to enter the engineer’s life. Engineers must accept responsibility for their own continual reeducation, and engineering schools are going to have to prepare engineers to do so by teaching them how to learn. This is also true for young engineers the engineering workforce, which is also changing at an increasing rate. <br />They will find a significant differences between the missions of academia and the new job’s environment. Engineers need to understand that to be successful in this new and different environment, he or she will need to learn many more new aspects of engineering. This article focuses on these vital subjects needed by a young engineer to succeed in their profession. <br /> <br /><br /> The Academy of Sciences of I. R. of IranIranian Journal of Engineering Education1607-2316187220170201Developing an index for quality assessment of engineering education considering uncertaintiesDeveloping an index for quality assessment of engineering education considering uncertainties23434079710.22047/ijee.2016.40797FAMohammad KaramozProfessor, School of Civil Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.Paniz MohamadpourMS, School of Civil Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.Zahra ZahmatkeshPhD, School of Civil Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, IranJournal Article20160426Students are a major human resource potential for economic, social and industrial development. However, the role of universities as the main medium for growth and faculty members who direct and motivate students greatly enhance their impact on society and development. In this study, the quality of students’ education and methods to improve that education have been investigated. For this purpose, the factors/criteria in which personal, professional and technical capabilities are formed, are identified and ranked. Multicriteria decision making (MCDM) is used for this evaluation. An index called the engineering education quality index (EEQI) was proposed and four universities were selected for testing purposes. These universities consisted of two major universities in Tehran and in another city and two engineering colleges. An uncertainty analysis was performed on major factors affecting the EEQI using the Markov chain method. In this way, the range of applicability of factors is captured. The results show that working environment, education infrastructure, students-professors interactions, personal life and motivation are among the important factors that should be improved in order to increase the quality of engineering education. <br /> Students are a major human resource potential for economic, social and industrial development. However, the role of universities as the main medium for growth and faculty members who direct and motivate students greatly enhance their impact on society and development. In this study, the quality of students’ education and methods to improve that education have been investigated. For this purpose, the factors/criteria in which personal, professional and technical capabilities are formed, are identified and ranked. Multicriteria decision making (MCDM) is used for this evaluation. An index called the engineering education quality index (EEQI) was proposed and four universities were selected for testing purposes. These universities consisted of two major universities in Tehran and in another city and two engineering colleges. An uncertainty analysis was performed on major factors affecting the EEQI using the Markov chain method. In this way, the range of applicability of factors is captured. The results show that working environment, education infrastructure, students-professors interactions, personal life and motivation are among the important factors that should be improved in order to increase the quality of engineering education. <br /> The Academy of Sciences of I. R. of IranIranian Journal of Engineering Education1607-2316187220170201Internal evaluation and quality of improvement of the curriculum in engineering departmentsInternal evaluation and quality of improvement of the curriculum in engineering departments45674046710.22047/ijee.2016.40467FAFatemeh Sadeghi MandiResearcher of the National Organization for Educational Testing, Tehran, Iran.Journal Article20160510Curriculum is one of the most important factors and inputs of educational systems. Today higher education institutions and universities use various ways to evaluate the quality of their curriculum and identify the strengths and weaknesses after implementing a new curriculum to improve the quality of education. One of these is internal evaluation. The purpose of this research is to study the quality of the curriculum in 80 engineering departments based on the results of internal evaluation reports. The methodology of this research is a document analysis using the meta-analysis method on 80 internal evaluation reports of engineering departments. We used 5 criteria and 40 indictors to study the current status of the curriculum in these departments. The analysis of data indicates that the quality of curriculum in engineering departments is far from a desirable level and in need of revision and reformation. Lastly, several recommendations have been presented in order to improve the quality of the curriculum in engineering departments. <br /> <br /><br /> Curriculum is one of the most important factors and inputs of educational systems. Today higher education institutions and universities use various ways to evaluate the quality of their curriculum and identify the strengths and weaknesses after implementing a new curriculum to improve the quality of education. One of these is internal evaluation. The purpose of this research is to study the quality of the curriculum in 80 engineering departments based on the results of internal evaluation reports. The methodology of this research is a document analysis using the meta-analysis method on 80 internal evaluation reports of engineering departments. We used 5 criteria and 40 indictors to study the current status of the curriculum in these departments. The analysis of data indicates that the quality of curriculum in engineering departments is far from a desirable level and in need of revision and reformation. Lastly, several recommendations have been presented in order to improve the quality of the curriculum in engineering departments. <br /> <br /><br /> The Academy of Sciences of I. R. of IranIranian Journal of Engineering Education1607-2316187220170201Evaluating the educational status of candidates from different ,majors (Humanities, technical and fundamental) at three degree levels (bachelor, masters and PH.D)Evaluating the educational status of candidates from different ,majors (Humanities, technical and fundamental) at three degree levels (bachelor, masters and PH.D)69943214010.22047/ijee.2016.32140FAJalil FathabadiAssociate Professor, School of Psychology and Education Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.Gholamreza Shams MorkaniAssociate Professor, School of Psychology and Education Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, IranZahra MaarefvandPhD. Student, School of Psychology and Education Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, IranJournal Article20160309The aim of this study was to evaluate the educational status of candidates from different majors (humanities, technical and fundamental) at all three degree levels (Bachelor, Masters and Ph.D.). The purpose is functional and was performed by data collection in a quantitative method. All national entrance examination candidates from humanities, technical and fundamental majors in 2013-2014 formed the participants. The research instrument was questionnaires. The validity of the questionnaires was approved by experts and scholars; the questionnaires reliability, using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, was more than 0/70. The questionnaires were distributed to six public and private universities conducting the upper and lower entrance exam for three academic degrees selected by purposive sampling, the participant sample was chosen using a stratified random sample of candidates accepted in existing disciplines at that universities. The sample size consisted of 2293 of those that were accepted. One sample t-test, t test for independent groups, ANOVA test, Tukey test and rank test Friedman was used to analyze the data. The results showed that all the Bachelor candidates educational status were significantly higher than average in various aspects of educational, psychological, familial, economic and cultural dimensions. The educational status of the Master and Doctoral candidate volunteers were significantly higher than average in all dimensions. Notably, the Master's candidates in Economics were significantly lower than the average, but the doctoral candidates were in the middle in the cultural dimension. The fundamental sciences and humanities candidates were in the medium level for the culture dimension.The aim of this study was to evaluate the educational status of candidates from different majors (humanities, technical and fundamental) at all three degree levels (Bachelor, Masters and Ph.D.). The purpose is functional and was performed by data collection in a quantitative method. All national entrance examination candidates from humanities, technical and fundamental majors in 2013-2014 formed the participants. The research instrument was questionnaires. The validity of the questionnaires was approved by experts and scholars; the questionnaires reliability, using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, was more than 0/70. The questionnaires were distributed to six public and private universities conducting the upper and lower entrance exam for three academic degrees selected by purposive sampling, the participant sample was chosen using a stratified random sample of candidates accepted in existing disciplines at that universities. The sample size consisted of 2293 of those that were accepted. One sample t-test, t test for independent groups, ANOVA test, Tukey test and rank test Friedman was used to analyze the data. The results showed that all the Bachelor candidates educational status were significantly higher than average in various aspects of educational, psychological, familial, economic and cultural dimensions. The educational status of the Master and Doctoral candidate volunteers were significantly higher than average in all dimensions. Notably, the Master's candidates in Economics were significantly lower than the average, but the doctoral candidates were in the middle in the cultural dimension. The fundamental sciences and humanities candidates were in the medium level for the culture dimension.The Academy of Sciences of I. R. of IranIranian Journal of Engineering Education1607-2316187220170201Ranking Iranian universities based on their scientific engineering outputRanking Iranian universities based on their scientific engineering output951183197210.22047/ijee.2016.31972FAMohammad Reza ZarePhD. Student, Faculties of Industrial Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran.Mohammad Ali VahdatzadAssistant Professor, Faculties of Industrial Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, IranMohammad Saleh OliaAssociated Professor, Faculties of Industrial Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, IranMohammad Mehdi LotfiAssistant Professor, Faculties of Industrial Engineering, Yazd University, Yazd, IranJournal Article20160404Universities and higher education institutions, as knowledge-based organizations, have a critical role in the development of countries; therefore, it is essential that their performance is evaluated according to specific criteria. Among the various functions of universities, research and knowledge production is significant; so, evaluating their scientific outputs should be a substantial part of a performance evaluation system. One of the most well-known methods for a scientific production evaluation is the use of scientometrics measures. In recent years, the scientific production of Iranian universities in engineering has been favorable; hence, we selected and analyzed 85,097 scientific papers from Iranian universities under the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. The universities were ranked based important measures including: cumulative number of scientific outputs, number of citations, qualitative contribution, h-index, m-parameter, and g-index. Results show that the University of Tehran in both cumulative number of scientific outputs as well as number of citations, Sharif University of Technology in both h-and g- indices, Polymer & Petrochemical Institute in qualitative contribution, and Babol Noshirvani University of Technology in m-parameter as well as portion of engineering faculties in engineering outputs are the best among the surveyed universities. Moreover, our ranking has a significant correlation with that of the ISC ranking system according to the cumulative number of scientific outputs, number of citations, h-index, and g-index. <br /> Universities and higher education institutions, as knowledge-based organizations, have a critical role in the development of countries; therefore, it is essential that their performance is evaluated according to specific criteria. Among the various functions of universities, research and knowledge production is significant; so, evaluating their scientific outputs should be a substantial part of a performance evaluation system. One of the most well-known methods for a scientific production evaluation is the use of scientometrics measures. In recent years, the scientific production of Iranian universities in engineering has been favorable; hence, we selected and analyzed 85,097 scientific papers from Iranian universities under the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. The universities were ranked based important measures including: cumulative number of scientific outputs, number of citations, qualitative contribution, h-index, m-parameter, and g-index. Results show that the University of Tehran in both cumulative number of scientific outputs as well as number of citations, Sharif University of Technology in both h-and g- indices, Polymer & Petrochemical Institute in qualitative contribution, and Babol Noshirvani University of Technology in m-parameter as well as portion of engineering faculties in engineering outputs are the best among the surveyed universities. Moreover, our ranking has a significant correlation with that of the ISC ranking system according to the cumulative number of scientific outputs, number of citations, h-index, and g-index. <br /> The Academy of Sciences of I. R. of IranIranian Journal of Engineering Education1607-2316187220170201The importance and applications of3D computer modeling in engineering design and the necessity of teaching its principles to engineering studentsThe importance and applications of3D computer modeling in engineering design and the necessity of teaching its principles to engineering students1191363197110.22047/ijee.2016.31971FAAlireza JahantighHead of Engineering Graphics Center, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.Mohammad Ali DaeianInstructor at Engineering Graphics Center, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.Journal Article20160221The necessity of teaching 3D computer modelling to engineering students is studied in this paper. Firstly, the applications of 3D computer modelling in engineering design are described and then an investigation is carried out to understand how it can speed up and ease the design process. Later, three main stages of the engineering design process, i.e. "Ideation", "Refinement" and "Implementation" are introduced, and consequently the results are presented in the form of 6 statements. These statements demonstrate the essential role of 3D computer modelling in the process of engineering design, and outline the importance of learning its scientific principles, and working with the relevant computer tools in this area. Twenty-five examples of relevant to 3D modelling courses at a number of top ranked universities worldwide are provided. Finally, according to the results of this study, the need to plan for and establish a program for teaching the principles of 3D modelling and relevant computer tools to engineering students is emphasized. Lastly, the authors provided recommendations and directions for future research in this field.The necessity of teaching 3D computer modelling to engineering students is studied in this paper. Firstly, the applications of 3D computer modelling in engineering design are described and then an investigation is carried out to understand how it can speed up and ease the design process. Later, three main stages of the engineering design process, i.e. "Ideation", "Refinement" and "Implementation" are introduced, and consequently the results are presented in the form of 6 statements. These statements demonstrate the essential role of 3D computer modelling in the process of engineering design, and outline the importance of learning its scientific principles, and working with the relevant computer tools in this area. Twenty-five examples of relevant to 3D modelling courses at a number of top ranked universities worldwide are provided. Finally, according to the results of this study, the need to plan for and establish a program for teaching the principles of 3D modelling and relevant computer tools to engineering students is emphasized. Lastly, the authors provided recommendations and directions for future research in this field.The Academy of Sciences of I. R. of IranIranian Journal of Engineering Education1607-2316187220170201Personal Workspace in an Architectural Design Studio as an Efficient Behavior SettingPersonal Workspace in an Architectural Design Studio as an Efficient Behavior Setting1191364046610.22047/ijee.2016.40466FAMasoomeh AhmadiPhD student, School of Architecture an Urban Development, Tabriz Islamic Art University, Tabriz, Iran.Maryam FarhadyAssistant Professor, School of Architecture an Urban Development, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.Journal Article20160201Built environments are formed through definition of public and private territories and organization of spatial hierarchies. Appropriate definition of space increases people's sense of belonging to their environment. Educational environments, including architectural schools, also need the above territories. This study introduces the personal workspace, as a supplement to the public workspace in a design studio, as an effective factor on the quality of the environment for architectural education. In this regard, this study aims to introduce the personal workspace as an efficient behavior setting in the architectural design studio. The descriptive analysis in this research is achieved through library studies on theoretical background, observations and interviews on 12selected architecture schools in 10 countries. The necessity of personal workspace in design studios is discussed from two approaches: architectural education and behavioral sciences. The selected cases are analyzed according to the formation of personal workspace as a behavior setting. The results reveal that the personal workspace is configured according to the students' real needs. Also, it has a positive effect on their learning quality and increasing the sense of belonging to the educational environment. However, based on educational policies and spatial potentials, the personal workspace forms a territory with a range from physical to psychological boundaries. Finally, defining personal workspace with clear boundaries, while also considering its flexibility and connection to the public workspace, would better determine the efficiency of the personal workspace in the design studio.Built environments are formed through definition of public and private territories and organization of spatial hierarchies. Appropriate definition of space increases people's sense of belonging to their environment. Educational environments, including architectural schools, also need the above territories. This study introduces the personal workspace, as a supplement to the public workspace in a design studio, as an effective factor on the quality of the environment for architectural education. In this regard, this study aims to introduce the personal workspace as an efficient behavior setting in the architectural design studio. The descriptive analysis in this research is achieved through library studies on theoretical background, observations and interviews on 12selected architecture schools in 10 countries. The necessity of personal workspace in design studios is discussed from two approaches: architectural education and behavioral sciences. The selected cases are analyzed according to the formation of personal workspace as a behavior setting. The results reveal that the personal workspace is configured according to the students' real needs. Also, it has a positive effect on their learning quality and increasing the sense of belonging to the educational environment. However, based on educational policies and spatial potentials, the personal workspace forms a territory with a range from physical to psychological boundaries. Finally, defining personal workspace with clear boundaries, while also considering its flexibility and connection to the public workspace, would better determine the efficiency of the personal workspace in the design studio.