Global Trends in Science and Technology and the futures studies of Higher Education in Iran: Priorities and Strategies

The higher education system, like other sections of Iranian society, is strongly influenced by the changes taking shape and taking place in the global sphere. The reflection of these changes can be seen in a range of constructive and destructive influences. The purpose of this article is to find out how to deal with these changes and the degree of readiness to take advantage of opportunities and reduce the impact of threats from change requires foresight. The occurrence of a crisis such as Covid-19 pandemic indicates that being affected by changes is a universal principle and it includes all societies, regardless of the level of development of the countries and the difference is in the extent to which it is affected by the change and influences its process. Therefore, the main question of this article is: what priorities and strategies for the futures studies of higher education research in Iran should be considered in the face of global changes in science and technology?

Trend analysis in the study of global developments in science and technology; interview, brainstorming, and expert panel for receiving the opinion of experts of the Iranian scientific and technological community regarding the future developments of higher education in Iran; scenario method for presenting alternative futures have been used.

The results show that there will be four determinants of the future of higher education in Iran at the same time: social responsibility and accountability of the institution of science; achieving national and international reputation and influence; transformation in education and participatory governance.

From a futures studies point of view, stakeholder participation in identifying factors of change, visioning futures, and how to create preferable future situations are key factors in the validity and reliability of the data obtained. In other words, reality, social responsibility, and future-orientation alongside data-driven decision-making are essential for the governance of higher education in Iran.