فصلنامه آموزش مهندسی ایران
پیاپی 34 (تابستان 1386)

Although the relation between industry and university has always been a very important issue, today, in a knowledge–based and innovative economy, it is considered to be vital and inevitable. These two institutions are the main actors in national innovation systems and their redefined relation plays the most important role in commercialization of scientific knowledge and in economic development. Besides their traditional mission in higher education and research, universities hold new responsibilities in technology development and in entrepreneurship. They produce knowledge with economic value, providing background for knowledge–based innovation for industry and economic firms. Fortunately, the approach of the 4th Five Year Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plan in our country is toward the knowledge–based development. The most important requirement for this mode of development is redefinition of the role of university and industry and facilitation of internalized relation between these two organizations. In order to explore the main obstacle of university–industry relation, the cycle of knowledge production and the demand for knowledge should be analyzed precisely. For years, universities were mainly involved in education and fundamental research, whereas the content of this education and research was not always necessarily relevant to the needs and expectations of industry. Regarding the demand for knowledge, on the other hand, industry was mainly based on the technology imported from abroad, and needless to the scientific achievements of universities and research centers, it was proceeding its own policies. This defective cycle has pushed the universities to the margin of the society and also has caused the industry to suffer from lack of technological innovations. As a consequence, the technology development system has not been established in the country and the concepts like entrepreneurship and innovation have not found an appropriate position in our economic system. In this article some factors which have disturbed the cycle of production and the demand for knowledge and weakened university–industry relation are reviewed. Also some capacities of 4th Five Year Development Plan to facilitate and strengthen this relation are explored.

Connections are very important in steel structures and if they are not designed and built properly, their behavior differs from the designer’s expectations and even may lead to disaster. Therefore, achieving a good knowledge and understanding of the connections and proper details of the connections are very significant to structural engineers and students. However, such a deep understanding is not available in the course of few modules executed in technical universities, mostly because of serious instrumental and time deficiencies. One of the methods of overcoming this deficiency is to use proper models which can provide three dimensional views of the connections to students. In this paper, the application of some models of structural steel profiles and connection means are tested during the teaching of the steel structures’ connections. The results of utilizing models in teaching were successful, so that, it not only eased the teaching process, but also caused the students to attend more eagerly in the classes. In the paper, the procedure of choosing the parts, dimensions and quantities of the models are explained. Also, the results of a test carried out for the comparison of efficiency of the use of models are presented and discussed.

Recent advances in computing, communications, and software technologies have introduced to students and experts new opportunities to expand control applications in education, industry and economy of the society. In this paper, first, the importance of virtual and real-time environments in education and advancement of virtual and remote control laboratories is discussed. Then procedures to create an environment for virtual, real-time; and remote control of a typical standard experimental process commonly used for linear control course in the undergraduate program of electrical engineering are demonstrated. In addition some examples of applications of these laboratories are presented. This research and experience can pave the way for the establishment of virtual and remote laboratories for most undergraduate laboratory programs in universities and in industries.

Higher education plays a pivotal role in the fulfillment and success of developmental plans and policies of a country. In this respect, and in order to accomplish their missions and fulfill their tasks especially with regard to industrialization goals, universities and higher education institutions, in general, and engineering sciences educational programs, in particular, are faced with major challenges in improving and enhancing their quality. Recent research and studies strongly suggest an urgent need for change and reform in engineering and vocational education. Also, higher education stands notably high and bears a significant level of importance in public opinion owing to its prominent role in national development and the allocation of a noticeable amount of financial resources to meet its objectives; therefore, it is expected to prove its efficiency and effectiveness. Quality then as a combination of efficiency, effectiveness, accountability, transparency and liability in a dynamic and evolving environment needs to be carefully planned for since it does not come about spontaneously. Developed countries and most of the developing ones have not only planned and put in place the required systems for quality assurance but also placed atop the list of their priorities the need for establishing a quality control and evaluation-oriented culture. This article is an attempt to address quality and its importance in engineering education. First, it will show the trend of quantitative growth of higher education in engineering sciences in Iran. Then it will look into the accreditation models and their implementation, relevant national and international experiences, and the role of academies and scientific organizations in quality assurance of engineering education. Finally, it will propose its own scheme to achieve this goal. Therefore, the principal aim of the article is to offer a model for the mechanics of accountability and empowering relevant academies and scientific organizations in Iran in order to establish and preserve quality assurance in engineering education.

With a systematic view to the set of government; university and industry, the relation between them would be clearer and the knowledge of this relation increases the value of these three entities. Although the innovation of science is usually practiced in education and research institutes but duration of them depend on their corporation with industry and society and the competition of industrial products is highly related to the demanded researches done in the universities. With an analysis of effective elements in relation between industry, university and government; the systematic approach gives us this opportunity to recognize practical obstacles and present the possible solutions in order to make closer connection between them. In this paper the tripartite relation of the above entities is observed and after scientific investigation from some scholars in each of the above organizations we assess the results and give proper recommendations to perform Better Corporation between them.

For the effective performance of engineering jobs general aptitude has the principal role. However, in selecting engineers in Iran, only scientific tests and personality–based interviews have been used. In the current study, the relation between engineers general aptitude and their job performance in saipa car company (N=106) has been investigated. Engineer's general aptitude is measured by General Aptitude Tests Battery (GATB) which was the main official selection instrument in the five last decades. Psychometric characteristics of these tests (reliability and validity) were established on industrial companies engineers in Isfahan, then engineers job analysis was performed via Position Analysis Questionnaires (formerly performed in Iran Gas Company by Oreizy 1383, Nouri & oreizy, 1385), and the relation between job dimension and aptitudes was determined. At last, Suggestions were made for GATB in Iran industry.

The trade policy review mechanisms purpose is to improve transparency, to create a greater understanding of the policies that countries are adopting, and to assess their impact. GATT and the WTO have helped to create a strong and prosperous trading system contributing to unprecedented growth. The WTO agreements are the result of negotiations among the members. Through these agreements, WTO members operate a non-discriminatory trading system that spells out their rights and their obligations. Each country receives guarantees that its exports will be treated fairly and consistently in other countries to do the same for imports into its own market. WTO also gives developing countries some flexibility in implementing their commitments. It encourages countries to settle their differences through consultation. Failing that, they can follow a carefully mapped out, stage-by-stage procedure that includes the possibility of a ruling by a panel of experts, and the chance to appeal the ruling on legal grounds. Trade friction is channeled into the WTO dispute settlement process where the focus is on interpreting agreements and commitments, and how to ensure that countries trade policies conform to them. That way, the risk of disputes spilling over into political or military conflict is reduced. By lowering trade barriers, the WTO system also breaks down other barriers among peoples and nations. Over three quarters of WTO members are developing or least-developed countries. All WTO agreements contain special provision for them, including longer time periods to implement agreements and commitments, measures to increase their trading opportunities, provisions requiring all WTO members to safeguard their trade interest, and support to help them build the infrastructure for WTO work, handle disputes, and implement technical standards.

One of the most important objectives of universities is to train their students in a manner that they could find a job related to their educational background after graduation. But one of the difficulties that most academic sectors are faced with is that their graduates cannot easily find a job related to their educational background. Implementation of Problem Based learning with a high degree of focus on the integration of real life engineering problems. A case study from Aalborg University also shows how establishing a university in a region with only little industrial activity can stimulate and to a high extend be the basis for a development of this region to an industrial community with world class competence. The students participate in courses in which they face the real life engineering problems and this will help them to have better opportunities to find a job in industrial sectors after graduation.