Enriching Engineering Education Programme Engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa
Engineering makes a crucial contribution to Across sub-Saharan Africa engineering skills the improving quality of life of citizens, and shortages are prevalent, and students are economic prosperity of nations, across the enrolling in engineering courses hoping to fill world. Engineering has an important role to this gap. play tackling challenges from food security Yet too-often, outdated equipment and and healthcare to sustainable energy, water, teaching methods at higher education and transport infrastructures. institutions mean that these students In developing countries engineering graduate without the skills and practical challenges are even more pronounced, often experience needed to prosper in engineering- coupled with the largest engineering skills based industries. shortages and skills gaps.
Industrialised countries have Africa’s graduate unemployment Welding taking place at the University of Dar es Salaam rate is between
20–50 % and %. scientists and engineers per 16 46 10,000 population. In the poorest African countries this is just one per 10,000.
Recession in the region from 2000 led to a brain drain with We noticed a mismatch between experienced professionals seeking work abroad. As a result, what industry wants, and what most higher education institutions have had to appoint fresh we’re delivering. graduate engineers with little or no practical experience to offer training to future engineers. Professor Nyichomba University of Dar es Salaam Engineer Nyemba University of Zimbabwe Programme Activities
The Enriching Engineering Education understand the requirements of, and build Programme is centred on a combination of two- important links with, the engineering industry. way secondments and collaborative workshops. Industry partners also have the opportunity These secondments and workshops have led to to be seconded into academia, where they improved industry-academia links and resulted mentor students, deliver lectures and advise on in wide-ranging benefits for both parties, for curriculum updates. example by aligning the curriculum more closely to national and regional development priorities. Workshops
Secondments Periodically, workshops involving the ‘Spoke’ universities are held to share and discuss the Elected ‘Hub’ universities arrange secondments lessons learned from the secondments. These Students being taught at the University of Zimbabwe with industry partners whereby members workshops enable all involved universities of university staff spend up to two months to hear from secondees from academia and working within their chosen partner industry, and consider how to implement organisation. While there, staff acquire positive change in their own institutions. hands-on experience, enabling them to better
The future of ZIMPLATS, and indeed every company, relies on adequately 6 trained human resources. To ensure workshops with that there is a pipeline of individuals participation with the right skills, we have a from 11 shared responsibility in developing universities our future engineers. The Enriching Engineering Education Programme has proved a fantastic way of joining up engineering education with the 2 needs of engineering organisations, ‘Hub’ Uganda and as a result, we have decided to universities Kenya invest in the programme, as well as support it. Zimbabwe 14 Tanzania staff secondments Mr Jeremy Langworthy Training Manager, ZIMPLATS
Mozambique Zimbabwe Namibia 7 Botswana countries have Tanzania been impacted by 6 the programme staff secondments
These figures represent progress made in the pilot stage of the Enriching Engineering Education Programme. Enriching Engineering Education
The Enriching Engineering Education the skills and knowledge required to meet Programme – supported by the Anglo the needs of industry and to tackle local American Group Foundation – was established challenges. by the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2013 To maximise the impact of this collaboration, to help address the engineering skills shortage the programme is implemented through two in sub-Saharan Africa and to showcase ‘Hub’ universities, the University of Zimbabwe, engineering’s role in driving economic and the University of Dar es Salaam in development in the region. Tanzania. These Hubs participate in staff By forming and strengthening relationships exchanges with local industry partners, and in between academia and industry, the turn, share their experiences with nine ‘Spoke’ programme aims to ensure that the higher universities across a further five countries in education system produces engineers with sub-Saharan Africa.
Makerere University (Uganda)
College of Engineering MOi University (Kenya) and Technology, University of Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (Kenya)
Royal Academy of Engineering (UK) Harare Institute of Technology (Zimbabwe)
Chinhoyi University of Technology (Zimbabwe)
University of Zimbabwe National University of Top: A staff member from the University of Zimbabwe on a Science and Technology work placement at a foundry in Harare (Zimbabwe) Bottom: Two students work together Namibia University of Science and Technology (Namibia)
University of Universidade Eduardo Botswana Mondlane (mozambique) Groundwater Project
The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) had Since becoming fully operational in early struggled for five years to get sufficient 2014, UZ has independently sourced enough water from the city of Harare, and water water to operate, bringing stability to shortages frequently delayed the start of campus life. semesters. UZ’s groundwater project involved Through the Enriching Engineering teamwork and, by involving students Education Programme, three technicians at every step of the process, gave the from UZ’s Engineering department were next generation invaluable exposure tasked with creating a solution with a very to engineering in practice. The project limited budget. Using the valuable expertise continues to offer inspiration today, with they had gained from their industry current student projects focusing on secondments, and working with a team of measuring and improving the system’s young students, the technicians created a efficiency. system of boreholes, a water reservoir and a pump station. Technicians test water from a borehole at the University of Zimbabwe
Dr Mwinuka, University of Dar es Salaam Since January 2014, the project has met a demand of Dr Mwinuka, a Lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam, spent four weeks for two consecutive years with TEMDO, a Tanzanian engineering company, under the Enriching Engineering Education Programme. 580
cubic metres of water per day when Through the secondment, I could establish the gap between what students are on campus, and the College [College of Engineering and Technology] is teaching and what industry is expecting from our graduates. It was very pleasing to propose and supervise several student projects which originated 100 from real industrial problems and later share the results with the cubic metres per day during engineering company (TEMDO). semester breaks: a total of around “I have since been involved in much wider areas of engineering which I was not dealing with before due to the specialist nature of my teaching and research. I am now undertaking projects and research 134,000 in new areas like renewable energy and refractory materials. The cubic metres (134 million litres) attachment has enabled me to co-author one conference paper in – enough to fill an Olympic swimming August 2014. Another paper will be ready for submission in a journal pool fifty times over. very soon. I can therefore say that the attachment has been very beneficial to me and my College. The Enriching Engineering Education If you are interested in getting involved or Programme is run by the Royal Academy of would like more information, please get in Engineering as part of its work targeted at touch: supporting and celebrating the next generation Meredith Ettridge of global engineers and building institutional International Policy Advisor capacity internationally. Royal Academy of Engineering The programme is run with the generous [email protected] support of the Anglo-American Group +44(0) 20 7766 0612 Foundation. @RAEngGlobal Following a successful pilot of the programme, the Academy is considering its extension and Website expansion within sub-Saharan Africa and other www.raeng.org.uk/internationaldevelopment nations around the world.
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