Problem Statement:  In order to reach their goals and continue the ongoing learning process, universities, like other organizations, also need the effective use of knowledge management. In universities where research and development studies play an important role, knowledge management is of critical importance.

Purpose of Study:  In order to reach their missions, universities should have effective knowledge management. Since studies in this area are not sufficient in universities, in the development phase of knowledge management, universities should focus on areas such as how to use knowledge effectively and how to improve the current situation. The aim of this study is to find effective methods for instructors and universities’ boards of directors regarding knowledge management and the use of its tools.

Methods:  Qualitative research techniques have been used in this study. In this research, 35 different academic staff members from different countries (Russia, Turkey, the UK, and Canada) and from four different universities have been interviewed. The countries have been chosen according to their level of development. In the interviewing process of research, the questions were related to how knowledge management tools were used. The research data were collected between 15 March 2007 and 1 July 2008.

Findings and Results:   The results showed that knowledge management tools have not been used effectively by the universities of the developing countries in areas such as improvement of knowledge, acquisition of knowledge, sharing and evaluation of knowledge, and determining the deficiency of knowledge compared to the universities of the developed countries.

Conclusion and Recommendations:  The teaching  staff that represented Turkey and Russia said that they were not using these techniques; instead, they only brainstormed how to use and improve knowledge management tools. With the benchmarking method, universities in developing nations had the chance to compare themselves based on their performance. Accordingly, they had the chance to identify the areas that needed improvement, to raise their performance, and to improve the quality of education. By organising visits to each others’ universities, they would have the chance to compare different teaching techniques, and based on the data they obtained, they had the chance to make better evaluations.

Keywords: Knowledge, Knowledge Management Time Period, Knowledge Management Tools, Universities.