Assessing the Knowledge Translation Statusof Faculty Members (Case Study: ShahidChamran University of Ahvaz)

Today, there is a huge volume and complexity of knowledge produced by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology, and the problems and existing problems and limitations in providing resources and providing the necessary infrastructure, especially for engineering research in industries and organizations. Applying optimal knowledge is important for exploiting research results and achievements within the context of knowledge translation. So that investment in engineering and industry groups is not wasted, and these studies will be directed to commercialization. Accordingly, the present study aimed to determine the knowledge translation status of faculty members of engineering departments at the Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz.

The present study is applied in terms of purpose and has been developed as a survey with a descriptive approach. The research population consisted of faculty members of the Faculty of Engineering at the Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz.

The results showed that the performance of faculty members of engineering departments in the field of “research question” with a mean and standard deviation of 19.39 ± 5.11, for “knowledge production” with a mean and standard deviation of 24.98 ± 5.96, in the field of “knowledge transfer” with a mean and standard deviation of 39.52 ± 10.34, and a mean and standard deviation of 12.04 ± 4.50 for “promoting the use of evidence”, all of which are deemed to be at the desired levels. In the final assessment, the researchers' performance status in the entire process of knowledge translation was reported with a mean and standard deviation of 95.94 ± 23.25 was considered to be at the desired level as well.

First, the Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz must devise an appropriate structure such as a knowledge translation committee and provide the grounds for the participation of knowledge brokers in order to improve the state of knowledge translation to a very desirable level. Furthermore, the university must adapt the research organization to the extant needs by following the focused activities of the industry and community relations group.Accordingly, another remarkable factor in attaining the above end is the provision of costs and financial support for research in line with the aims of knowledge translation. In addition, the research grants for applied and operational projects can be increased, and some of the promotion and employment regulations can be directed towards knowledge translation to encourage researchers and motivate their decisions with the assistance of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology and the Vice Chancellor for Education.