Ali-Akbar Haghdoost; Behnam Sadeghirad; Mahasti Alizadeh; Mahmoud Reza Dehghani; Tahereh Eslaminejad; Hajar Shafian; Mahasti Alizadeh; Roqhayeh Ershad Sarabi
Volume 10, Issue 2 , August 2013, , Pages 120-129
Abstract
Background & Objective: In compatibility with the progress of universities and expansion of knowledge and science around the world Iran has also had significant academic progress in recent years However the vision of Iran for the following decades is very ambitious Much has to be achieved to reach ...
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Background & Objective: In compatibility with the progress of universities and expansion of knowledge and science around the world Iran has also had significant academic progress in recent years However the vision of Iran for the following decades is very ambitious Much has to be achieved to reach the highest position in the region in development economy science and technology This qualitative study was designed to explore the strengths and weaknesses of universities Methods: This qualitative study had three phases In the first phase we explored the topic in brain storming sessions Then the themes raised in phase one were discussed deeply in unstructured interviews with selective experts around the country In the last phase we asked 30 selective academic staff from different medical sciences universities to categorize the issues based on their importance and their solutions using Delphi method Results: Our findings showed that improvement of international affairs were frequently stressed by our respondents In this domain the English skills of academic staff and students big revision in rules and regulations and encouraging the establishment of close scientific communication with academic organizations around the world were highlighted In addition most respondents believed that problems were understandable but our main conflicts were in finding applicable solutions and implementing decisions Conclusion: Our results showed that for a better presentation of Iranian universities in the international environment a new approach to long term reform programs is necessary In this plan special attention must be paid to the educational and research infrastructures
Behnam Sadeghirad; Ali-Akbar Haghdoost; Majid Fasihi Harandi; Azadeh Rooholamini
Volume 6, Issue 1 , July 2009, , Pages 10-20
Abstract
Background & Objective : In this study we aimed to evaluate the status of Worlds leading universities in PhD students education and to compare it with Iranian universities applying the approach of educational status evaluation in a research based way Methods: Using a systematic review ...
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Background & Objective : In this study we aimed to evaluate the status of Worlds leading universities in PhD students education and to compare it with Iranian universities applying the approach of educational status evaluation in a research based way Methods: Using a systematic review all documents present in the webs and related links of universities of first 10 countries in Shanghais Academic Ranking of World Universities were systematically reviewed information related to PhD education was systematically collected and analyzed Results : Reviewing 28 leading universities revealed that the educational model in educating PhD students in 22 of them was research based and the rest are using course based model Passing taught courses as an index in course based model is considered to be among minimum course requirements in most of the universities which are using research based model In cases where passing such courses is voluntarily a consultant professor plays a significant role in guiding the students in selecting and attending theoretical courses Conclusion : Based on the above explanation and similar to other successful countries it seems that it is time to create various models for training postgraduate students to meet industrial needs With revisions in educational curriculums purposeful attempts should be made to solve possible problems and train people who meet countrys developmental needs in regards with the twenty year prospect