The U.S. defense industry spends billions of dollars each year developing defense systems to keep the nation and allies secure. However, the failure rate of system development is notoriously high. Even when development efforts do succeed, they often do so with cost overruns and compromises in system performance. As a result, large amounts of money are wasted in defense acquisition, leaving the nation both poorer and less secure than it could be. Though this problem is certainly multi‑faceted, one way to approach the problem is to provide better systems engineering education to engineers. Systems engineering skills, generally considered to be key to the successful development of large scale systems, often require many years to acquire. However, recent research investigates the theory that these years can be reduced through the use of simulation software. This paper describes Project Robot, a defense systems engineering simulator designed to facilitate the acquisition of systems engineering skills at an increased rate. Project Robot was the co‑winner of the 2010 Experience Accelerator international systems engineering simulator competition held at Stevens Institute of Technology, NJ. The development of this simulator is a first step towards the design and development of experience accelerating simulations and software games that push the boundaries of engineering education to the next level using modern computer software techniques. The paper introduces the concepts of systems engineering and systems thinking, then discusses the Project Robot game concept, design, theory, and implementation, including detailed screen captures. The paper concludes with a discussion of the future of Project Robot and related research efforts to improve systems engineering education through simulation.

Keywords: systems engineering, systems thinking, systems approach, system dynamics, systems engineering education, systems thinking assessment, educational games, experience accelerator, experiential learning, game-based learning, system analysis and design, systems engineering and theory, simulation

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The Feasibility of E‑Learning Implementation in an Iranian University pp424‑433

M.H.Mirzamohammadi

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Abstract

The present research aimed to investigate the feasibility of e‑learning implementation in an Iranian comprehensive university (included medical and non‑medical fields) to provide appropriate solutions in this regard. To achieve this objective, seven research questions were formed. Surveying method was applied for data collection in this study. From the results, the readiness of the Iranian university to implement e‑learning was moderate to low. This means that the Iranian university is not prepared for this type of learning. Accordingly, five factors were evaluated of which three factors: human, infrastructural, and cultural factors were in moderate to low level, and two factors: pedagogical and support, were at a low level. Ten basic strategies for successful implementation of e‑learning were extracted at the Iranian university based on the studied five factors and they were presented according to the knowledge and research in the field of e‑learning in the world and in Iran. Some of these consisted of holding training courses at the university level, considering a special place for e‑learning in the university strategic plan, developing a mechanism for monitoring the activities of teaching and research in e‑learning environment for students and faculty, and allocating and spending an appropriate budget.

Keywords: Feasibility, e-learning, Iranian university, strategies

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