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Engineering Education and Capacity Development for Contextual Innovation in Rural Africa

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Engineering Education and Capacity Development for Contextual Innovation in Rural Africa International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology. ISSN 0974-3154, Volume 13, Number 9 (2020), pp. 2385-2394 © International Research Publication House. https://dx.doi.org/10.37624/IJERT/13.9.2020.2385-2394 Engineering Education and Capacity Development for Contextual Innovation in Rural Africa Dr. Kehdinga George Fomunyam Teaching and Learning Development Center, Mangosuthu University of Technology, Durban, South Africa. Abstract several paths to innovation: attraction of technically oriented multi-national companies, who can invest effectively in the Addressing rural poverty and infrastructural lack calls for rural areas once there is a cadre of qualified local employees greater capabilities everywhere in society: in individual available; effective utilization of available funds and human capital, in communities, groups, organizations, sectors providing a legacy of appropriate infrastructure projects and and institutions. A comprehensive framework equipped to technically competent people to operate and maintain them; overhaul the deficient methods and structures currently and small business start-ups by technically competent adopted in Africa is needed. Thriving Innovation achieved entrepreneurs. Technical capacity building efforts should be through restructuring and adoption of modern engineering aimed at developing and creating incentives for well educated research and teaching techniques focused on addressing and certified engineering graduates to settle in rural areas. current and emerging issues in rural Africa through proper Effective and widespread engineering education is needed to capacity development methods is of paramount importance. develop technical capability in rural Africa to curb poverty This paper reviewed numerous published literature and and unemployment. African countries with a large pool of concluded that the poor educational system severely limits qualified engineers are more likely to innovate new capacity building processes in Africa as most countries fall technology and also engage effectively in the global economy. under the medium capacity bracket. It also outlines key Indigenous science and technology capacity is needed to initiatives and recommendations for African tertiary ensure that resources are utilized effectively and efficiently – institutions and public and private establishments geared for research and innovation relevant to rural economic needs, towards achieving better learning and research techniques, initial project implementation, for long-term operation and improved training methods and facilities as well as reduction maintenance, and for the development of capacity to do future in failure of infrastructure and an adoption of development projects (Jones, 2007). techniques and structures for the purpose of creating an enabling environment for contextual innovation to thrive in Capacity development is an endogenous process of improving rural Africa. individual skills and abilities, ensuring organizations that are productive, and creating institutions that optimize utilization Keywords: Capacity Development, Contextual Innovation, of human, financial and physical resources for attaining Engineering Education, Africa. individual, organizational, institutional and societal goals‖ (GTZ, German Technical Cooperation, 2009). 'capacity development' is believed to better express an approach that INTRODUCTION AND PROBLEM builds on existing skills and knowledge, driving a dynamic Much of Africa's challenge to successfully implement and flexible process of change, borne by local actors. development programmes especially in rural areas, which are Innovation encompasses anything from implementing new predominantly ignored and excluded, stems from capacity processes to completely re-inventing a business. Technology weaknesses, limited knowledge aa a result of poor education innovations need to be put into context for true value creation and inadequate funding. Mastering and understanding the (Lisle). Context first, then product. Context Innovation, fundamental skills, concepts and intricacies of engineering is because the innovation process doesn’t start with the an integral part of solving many of Africa’s technological and invention, it instead starts from classical branding research economic problems. Engineering can still be considered to be finding the true needs and great passion among a groups of at an embryonic stage in the majority of African countries. users. What is working well for them, later proves to be This is so because a lot of the tools needed to impact working well also for other groups of people with other lives knowledge in different subjects related to STEM are absent in and parallel interests (Brandflight, 2020). Rural the educational system in Africa. transformation ought to be seen as part of a broader process of Contextual innovation in rural Africa can be effectively economy-wide structural transformation, which alters the stimulated by building the technical capacity of their structure of landholdings, the technologies in use, the workforce, through quality engineering education programs. capabilities of rural women and men, and the distribution and A competent technical workforce base can then provide dynamics of the population and labour force (IFAD 2016). In 2385 International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology. ISSN 0974-3154, Volume 13, Number 9 (2020), pp. 2385-2394 © International Research Publication House. https://dx.doi.org/10.37624/IJERT/13.9.2020.2385-2394 2012, The Royal Academy of Engineering published a recruiting and retaining staff because of poor salaries and comprehensive report entitled ‘Engineers for Africa: employment conditions, weak university-industry partnership, Identifying Engineering Capacity Needs in Sub-Saharan lack of opportunities for industrial experience for engineering Africa’. The report is based on a literature review, an students (Mohamedbhai, 2014). Some of the causes for the electronic survey of 113 professional engineers and 29 low capacity include: a low level of public investment in decision-makers from 18 African countries, and interviews engineering infrastructure projects over several decades, lack with 15 engineering stakeholders with experience of leading of adequate legislation to uphold engineering standards projects in various SSA countries. The report covered mainly through requirements for professional registration, lack of Anglophone African countries. A key conclusion of the study regulatory laws to enforce foreign companies to effect is that there is a severe shortage of skilled and experienced knowledge transfer to local engineers, deficiency in resources engineers in SSA, and that “this lack at every level of the of the engineering institutions to support engineering profession is a substantive obstacle to achieving almost all the activities, poor quality of engineering education, based on development goals, from the provision of basic sanitation to outdated curricula and teaching methods not relevant to local the reduction of rural poverty”. needs, and being too theoretical as the tertiary education institutions lack resources for adequate laboratory One of the main features of inequality in developing countries experiments, acute shortage of opportunities for engineering is the persistent income and productivity divide between students to gain prequalification experience through short urban and rural residents, which results in concentrations of placement in firms, inadequate training once they graduate poverty in rural and peri-urban areas due in part to the fact and poor salaries for professional engineers, resulting in brain that a lot of the tools needed to impart knowledge in different drain of engineering talent to other sectors or countries. There subjects related to STEM are absent in the often deficient is also the overstretching of research and teaching- learning educational system in Africa. Confronting these challenges and managerial capacities (Ushie, 2016). require bold measures to accelerate rural transformation in order to increase the participation of rural communities in In his opening address at the Pan African Conference on mainstream economic systems of developing countries, and Education in April 2018, the assistant director general for improve the prospects of achieving many of the other education at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and sustainable development goals (IFAD 2016 ; UNCTAD Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Firmin Matoko, said: ‘We 2016). Increasingly, states are recognizing the potential value need to help Africa tap into scientific inventions and of harnessing innovation to the inclusive developmental task discoveries that are happening around the world, and step up in order to build sustainable communities. investments in scientific research to enable Africans be producers of knowledge rather than consumers by embracing Economic and structural stagnation as well as increased rate the advancement in technology and equipping the youth with of failure in engineering infrastructure in Africa necessitated relevant knowledge and skills the 21st century demands.’ the call for capacity development and identifying Africa’s (Accounting and Business Magazine, 2018). engineering capacity needs as tools to promote innovations and engineering solutions that directly address rural Africa’s Besides engineering skill and knowledge, the attitudes of both particular fundamental, foundational and structural challenges. teachers and students play a
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