فصلنامه آموزش مهندسی ایران
پیاپی 104 (زمستان 1403)

Ethics and ethical charters have a direct impact on the quality of architecture. The aim of this research is to conduct a comparative study of selected professional ethical charters in architecture in Iran and the West to improve and enhance the ethical charters of architecture in Iran. This research is of a comparative nature, and to achieve the research objective, the principles of professional ethics have been extracted based on theoretical foundations and background. Subsequently, a deductive approach was used to analyze the content of ethical charters in five architectural ethics charters from the West and two architectural ethics charters from Iran. The comparison of two ethical charters in Iran with the five studied ethical charters indicates that, in terms of the frequency of ethical components, the ethical charter for building engineering has more similarities with the ethical charter of the Society of Consulting Engineers than with the Western charters. The content of many ethical components in these charters is identical and synonymous, and in some cases, based on the context and existing unethical issues in architecture and construction in the country, they possess some unique ethical principles. The findings of the research indicate that ethical charters are largely formulated to serve the interests of the profession. The revision of architectural ethical charters should not only focus on serving the interests of the architecture profession and architects but also pay special attention to human values and dignity.

What knowledge, skills, and attitudes should students have acquired at the time of graduation? And how can we ensure that students achieve these abilities? These are the two basic questions that engineering education has sought to answer in the last few decades and has taken valuable steps to answer them. At the same time, two major questions in Iran’s engineering education are: What are the shortcomings of Iranian undergraduate engineering education programs? And how can the quality of engineering education be improved by eliminating these shortcomings? In the past few decades, the planning of engineering education in Iran has been centralized. As a result, a significant part of the strengths and weaknesses of the educational programs are common. The purpose of this research is to identify the shortcomings of engineering education programs and to provide practical solutions to resolve them. For this purpose, using two internationally valid models, the shortcomings of the programs were identified, and in each case, an executive solution was developed and proposed to resolve them. The suggested solutions were executed and their effectiveness was proven. Implementation of the proposed solutions is a positive step to move from quantity to quality in engineering education in Iran.

In this paper, the potential use of ChatGPT and Google Gemini in engineering education, design, and analysis is investigated and compared through a multiple case study method and the results of other studies are also used in this purpose.  For several different engineering cases, it is ilustrated how students and engineers can use them. The capabilities, limitations, advantages and disadvantages of using these chatbots in engineering research and education are also discussed, and practical strategies for the effective use of the two chatbots by engineering students, professors, and designers are presented. The results show that the use of sufficient and clear input information in the above chatbots plays a decisive role in reaching the appropriate response. Also, the two chatbots are not very successful in the face of complex engineering problems and in some cases, they refer the problems to expert consultation or to use other engineering softwares. On the other hand, for simple computational engineering problems, ChatGPT usually does not give correct answers, unlike Google Gemini. Overall, the mentioned chatbots can significantly facilitate the work of engineers in design, calculations, material selection, and other tasks, and also, provide significant assistance in the field of education.

One of the significant challenges facing the higher education system in recent years has been the declining social demand for engineering studies. This downward trend is also observed in other countries, even those with labor markets potentially capable of absorbing competent engineering graduates. This article examines the reasons behind the declining appeal of engineering education in several selected countries and then focuses on the state of social demand for this field of study in Iran. The study’s findings indicate that the proportion of engineering students in the overall student population, as well as in the youth population of the country, has been declining since 2010. This downward trend is observed across all educational levels in engineering, including associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, sequentially over time. Moreover, this trend is not confined to a single engineering discipline but is evident in six selected major engineering fields. A comparison of the situation of engineering graduates in Iran with those in other countries also points to ineffective policymaking in the country’s higher education system over the past two decades. The article also discusses the causes, consequences, and youth strategies in response to this phenomenon, using thematic analysis of the conducted studies.

The present research was conducted with the aim of investigating the structural similarity of civil engineering subjects in Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz and its compatibility with Iran and the world. The research is considered as a type of scientometric applied studies. The statistical population is made up of researches related to the field of civil engineering in the Web of Science database. In order to check the thematic alignment, the clustering method was done with VOSviewer software. The index of structural similarity of subjects has also been used to determine the level of research alignment. Researchers have sought to search the subject areas of the Civil Engineering Department in Shahid Chamran University, Iran and the world. With the percentage of structural similarity, it was found that over time, the subjects of civil engineering in Shahid Chamran University have been aligned with Iran and the world, as well as Iran with the world, but the alignment of the subjects of Shahid Chamran University with Iran and the world is low. In order to increase the alignment of researches, forums should be established between specialists, researchers, experts, students and professors of civil engineering to share opinions and common thoughts. It also seems that monitoring the research trends and their similarity with the world’s top research institutes puts a new perspective in front of research policy makers and is basically effective in finding the strengths and weaknesses of research approaches and future policies.

Entrepreneurship is a key factor for economic and social growth. Since this factor can be taught and learned, it is possible to create an entrepreneurial mentality, spirit, and competency in learners with new educational tools such as digital games. The main goal of the current research was to review the studies conducted in the field of using digital games for learners to improve their entrepreneurial mindset and answer the research questions. The study was done using a systematic method and the PRISMA protocol. The search strategies were conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, Wiley, and ProQuest databases with the keywords “Digital games, Cultivating entrepreneurial mindset, and Students”. In this process, 137 articles were found, and according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, some articles were removed; finally, the data from 21 articles were extracted, described, analyzed, and explained. The findings showed that digital games could be useful in improving entrepreneurial mentality due to features such as risk-taking, providing an environment similar to the real environment, improving strategic thinking, increasing control, increasing leadership power, and increasing participation. Also, the educational approaches following the entrepreneurial mindset included experiential and collaborative learning. From the analysis and explanation of the findings, it can be argued that the use of digital games has been considered to improve the entrepreneurial mindset due to providing the opportunity to take risks and the possibility of repeatability. It has also had a positive effect on the components of existential crystallization, which is one of the key elements of the entrepreneurial mindset.