Today education along with the use of information technology and communication in higher education in general, and medical education in particular, faces important challenges. Changes in health care systems and the advances in Medicine, together they increase the level of the services of the faculty members in different fields and as a result, it leads in the reduction of time in education. The importance of developing information technology and communication is so much that after the first decade of 21st century, there are a few education and research activities that are possible without internet and computer communication.
If education had only been possible by teachers and trainers and books had been considered as the main source of education in the past, today the new communicative instruments and environments would be used for education. Internet, multimedia, communicative technologies have projected tools and new methods for developers, planners, managers and representatives.
About SMUMS
The Smart University of Medical Sciences (SMUMS) is the first and only specialized university in e-learning and new technologies in the field of Medical Sciences in Iran. The SMUMS, initially known as the Virtual University of Medical Sciences (VUMS), was founded in 2016 in accordance with the Ministry of Health and Medical Education rules. Since its start, VUMS has been one of the primary suppliers of online education in Iran’s medical sciences sector, it has contributed to the growth of the country’s virtual education approach by developing software, introducing new teaching strategies, and compiling guidelines and regulations on virtual education.
The VUMS created the systems that are now widely used in medical science education. The development of the NAVID platform as a national Learning Management System (LMS) is a major accomplishment of the Virtual University of Medical Sciences, and it is now used by nearly 70 medical universities across the country. ARMAN, the first standard national Massive Online Open Course (MOOCs) platform, was also successfully designed and implemented by VUMS to provide nationwide equal educational opportunities. This platform offers a diverse selection of interactive courses. The VUMS provided a virtual master’s degree in “Medical Education,” exclusively for faculty members of medical universities. To date, over 1500 professors have participated in this program. A virtual residency program of “Family Medicine” was also created by the VUMS in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, and Medical Education. In 2020 the VUMS launched a Ph.D. program for “e-Learning in Medical Education”.
Education is experiencing enormous challenges due to the rising use of information and communication technologies in higher education, particularly in medical education. Merely building infrastructure won’t improve the quality of education. Digital technology utilization can only be successful when integrated with innovative teaching strategies. As a result, the VUMS’s mission was modified, and this university’s new strategy was established. In conjunction with the strategic plan modification, the university’s name was also changed from VUMS (Virtual University of Medical Sciences) to SMUMS (Smart University of Medical Sciences). Education is considered a part of the activities of the SMUMS; however, its scope of activities is broader than mere education. Indeed, the Smart University of Medical Sciences is chosen as the first university to employ advanced digital technologies in the field of medicine and is intended to serve as a hub for the smartening of all medical universities in the country.