CHALLENGES OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN ENGINEERING FIELDS

In recent years, in the world as well as in Iran, there is little interest of engineering and basic sciences, and the number of high school students who choose mathematics and sciences is decreasing. Despite the fact that the number of engineering colleges in the country has increased in recent years, the number of applicants for education has decreased sharply. This decrease in the long term will cause a shortage of efficient specialists in the country’s industries because weaker students will be attracted to engineering fields, which will be rare talented among them even if the number of graduates does not decrease. There are many reasons for this decreases, which are discussed in this article. It is tried to find ways to increase the interest of students in the mentioned fields in the future and reduce the severity of the problems that the country will face in the coming years. Students’ lack of knowledge about engineering fields and the factors that lead to choosing other fields have been studied. It is found that investment in engineering education is the basis of economic development, and it is the existence of expert and skilled forces that makes the investment of large companies possible.