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educational model or more precisely the paradigm (or ways
of thinking) about higher education expansion in Iran has
been and mostly will be based on the traditional campus-education.
A paradigm that was imported some 70 years ago when close
to 80% of Iranian population was engaged in the agricultural
sector of the economy, and the country aimed to step into
an industrial development. A paradigm that is outdated today
by any standard, and that drains huge resources, and less
fits to the needs of the country’s today and future
economy.
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The nation’s fourth economic and social development
plan (2005-2010) intends to build up a knowledge-based
economy with a special emphasis on Information and
Communication Technology. Alborz
ICT University recognises the needs of a knowledge
economy and the fact that more than half of newly
created jobs at global level are somehow related
to Information and Communication Technology.
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Our
challenge at Alborz ICT University was to design an educational
system which is more closely aligned with the country’s
target “knowledge-economy”. In other words,
the challenge was to devise a new educational paradigm for
the Information Age, taking into account Irani’s available
technology infrastructure, social and cultural diversity
and the way Iranians are growing to live, work and learn.
Unlike
traditional universities in Iran, Alborz ICT University’s
formal undergraduate and postgraduate programs and other
educational services have been tailored to train and develop
skilled specialist, committed to continued and independent
learning and equipped with a capacity for team work and
modern ICT skills and knowledge. The training and development
of these skills have been recognized as critical issues
for the nation by the Iranian government.
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