Lessons from a dropped ICT curriculum design project: A retrospective view

Developing competent human resources is of crucial importance to policy makers aiming to move towards an information society. Universities are often designated the task of training Information Technology/Systems (IT/S) professionals for the economy of the future. This chapter critically reflects upon a dropped ICT curriculum design project which was to be used in ten Iranian universities. It aims to draw the attention of policy makers to the importance of practical considerations in issuing human resource development policies. The chapter focuses on the challenges of IT/S professionals’ training to the centralised higher education system, as well as the challenge of providing social skills for IT/S professionals and the importance of national language. An analysis is given of the implicit assumptions behind Iran’s national ICT policies and the deficiencies of those policies with regard to these challenges. Some practical recommendations and summary conclude the chapter.