Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the process of the thesis research in the industrial engineering related master's programmes in Chalmers University of Technology for benchmarking implementation in Islamic Azad University, South Tehran Branch (IAU-STB), taking into consideration the different conditions of two universities and respective countries of Sweden and Iran. Design/methodology/approach -In this research, case study strategy was employed. In total, 17 thesis reports from 2003 to 2006 and other related published/web-based documents were studied to explore the theses' execution procedure, research method and report organization. To gain primary data, some interviews were carried out. Qualitative research method, along with descriptive statistical method was used to illustrate structural points. Findings -The results of the study help to develop group work in thesis execution, to identify the role of qualitative strategy in industrial engineering research, and to adopt a flexible approach in organization of thesis report provided that some mandatory regulations are followed. In addition, it helps to build research-oriented inter disciplinary departments vs traditional education-oriented departments on the basis of the requirements of ongoing socio-economic processes in national economy.Research limitations/implications -The acquired knowledge has been partly adapted and adopted by departments of industrial engineering in IAU-STB. The main implication is the need to explore how the entire industrial engineering departments (IEDs) in Iranian universities can efficiently and effectively adapt and adopt such knowledge for thesis research. Practical implications -This work provides effective assistance for IEDs in Iranian universities embarking on their benchmarking journey on thesis research. Originality/value -This study represents a knowledge gap and offers practical help to IEDs in Iranian universities to leverage the skills and expertise of their faculty members together with the talents of their students and consequently to maintain and enhance their thesis research capability.

Introduction: E-learning is a new emerging phenomenon that has attracted the attention of higher education authorities and researchers in this field. The aim of this study is to identify the challenges of implementing e-learning curriculum of Shahid Beheshti University from the perspective of faculty members and students. Methods: The descriptive-survey method was employed in this study. Two researcher-made questionnaires were used for data collection. The study population comprised 48 faculty members and 635 students of virtual education. Statistical samples according to Morgan table were 42 and 237, respectively indicating that sampling was done by proportional stratified random sampling. The validity of research questionnaires was approved by professors and domain experts and by using Cronbach's alpha; the reliability coefficient was calculated to be 89% and 85%, respectively. For data analysis, SPSS version 21, descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (one-sample t-test and t-test) were used (P < 0.05). Results: The findings indicated that from the perspective of faculty members, the implementation of e-learning curriculum is being faced with cultural (P < 0.001), legal (P = 0.001), infrastructural (P < 0.001) and financial (P = 0.005) challenges and from the perspective of students are cultural (P < 0.001), infrastructural (P = 0.033), cognitive (P < 0.001), financial (P < 0.001), and legal (P < 0.001) challenges. These results with respect to the level of significance that is less than P < 0.05 are certainly 95% significant. Conclusions:The implementation of e-learning curriculum of Sahid Beheshti University faces challenges in which the problems and obstacles can be solved through the adoption of decisions that are consistent with the research results.

Introduction: Instruction and learning play an important role in the twenty-first century which has been named the knowledge society and knowledge economy. The present research seeks to design and implement a blended instructional model based on the theories of Reigeluth, Merrill, and Keller and investigate its effect on students' learning in a biology course. Methods: In this research, the pretest-posttest, quasi-experimental method with control was used. The population consisted of all second year high school students studying at Imam Khomeini high school in the 2013 -2014 academic year. Using the random sampling method, the sample was selected and consisted of two classes, one of them as the control group and the other as the experimental group. Reliability of the research was calculated as 0.82 using the split-half method. Abundance, mean and standard deviation from descriptive statistics, and covariance methods were selected from inferential statistics, and SPSS version 20 was used to analyze data. Results:The results revealed a meaningful and significant difference between the learning levels of the experimental group and the control group in a biology course (F1, 37 = 23.808; P < 0.01). The group which taught using the blended instructional design model based on the models of Reigeluth, Merrill, and Keller achieved a higher level of learning than the control group. Based on the results, it can be said that the research model has a good fit with real world data. Conclusions: Use of the blended instructional design model based on Reigeluth, Merrill, and Keller's models in a biology course was more effective than conventional methods. The findings indicate that the blended instructional design model is an effective and efficient method for teaching a biology course.