As we face the end of
the first decade in the new
millennium, we must come together to share ideas and resources so we
can plan and create a better future for the next generation of
students, faculty, and researchers. In the tight, competitive global markets of
the 21st century, the leading companies in various
industries have embarked on massive reorganizations, mergers,
partnerships, and cutting-edge collaborative projects with their
like-minded peers—including their rivals—primarily to survive
but ultimately to grow. These innovations are evident in
the industrial world, including the creation of a Sky Team in
airline industries, various mergers and partnerships in the
telecommunication industry and many others.
As industry
changes so must academia. However, academic
organizations, journals, and conferences have been hesitant to make
changes. As the founder of two start-up companies and a major
international journal, I realize that academia needs a major
umbrella consortium to bring together groups of journals,
professional organizations, and conferences to offer a
global network for all of these entities to collaborate, share
resources, grow, and become more quality-driven.
Beginning in
2004, the editorial board of the International Journal of Modern
Engineering (IJME) embarked on groundbreaking and unprecedented
efforts to establish strategic partnerships with other major
journals and organizations to share resources and offer authors a
unique opportunity to participate in one conference and then publish their
papers in several diverse journals. These efforts resulted in an
innovative joint international conference in 2006 that included a number of
organizations and journals.
The 2006
IJME-Intertech International Conference was a tremendous success. It
brought several journals and conferences together in a joint venue for
the publication of scholarly work in engineering and technology
education, creating excitement in academic communities around the
world. This provided the motivation to found this new organization
called the “International Association of Journals and Conferences”
(IAJC).
There are many
conferences held each year around the world offering authors the
opportunity to publish in conference proceedings. However,
unfortunately due to the looming global recession, massive budgets
cuts, and other issues, most of today’s conferences are quantity-
rather than quality-driven. This should not come as any surprise as
it is very expensive to hold a conference these days. As a result,
many have noticed a decline in the quality of the conferences they
attend each year. This is also due in large part to the fact that
journal publication in becoming more and more the primary metric for
faculty scholarship at colleges and universities. However, many authors, especially junior
faculty, are not completely familiar with the journal publication
process. The protracted timeline associated with traditional journal
submission is a barrier for many faculty members. They still need
to attend and publish in a quality-driven conference first in route
to journal publication. IAJC, thorough its unique “From Conference
to Journal Publication” concept, offers authors this opportunity.
IAJC is a
first-of-its-kind, pioneering organization. It is also a
global, multilayered umbrella consortium
of academic journals, conferences, organizations, and individuals
committed to advancing excellence in all aspects of
technology-related education.
Unlike other
professional organizations that offer few tangible benefits to their
members, IAJC will offer its selected members many benefits including a
multilayered review process in preparing manuscripts for
journal publication, help in finding the right journal for timely
publication in one of our many member journals, discounts at sponsored conferences, and a host of
other benefits. As we build this pioneering organization, we hope
you’ll join us in this exciting endeavor so together we can reshape
and create a better future for the next generation of students,
faculty, and researchers in academia and industry.
Mark Rajai,
Chairman and President, IAJC
