Developing a Sustainable Engineering Education in the Middle East and North Africa Region

Abstract

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. In the turn of the 21st century, a significant number of engineering universities in the United States (US) and Europe have opened branches in the Middle East and North Africa region. In 2004, the American University of Kuwait (AUK), in collaboration and partnership with Dartmouth College, opened its doors to offer the first liberal arts education with an engineering program in the region. AUK and Dartmouth, which has the second oldest engineering program in the US, have recognized the demand for a sustainable institution that can educate the individual student as well as society as a whole. Engineering, technology and the way we do business is changing and growing at such a fast pace that we must in turn change the way we educate. No longer is it adequate to be main stream, we must be willing to foster and support creative programs which meet increasing demands for higher quality, broader knowledge base and global outreach. AUK's Computer Engineering curriculum is built on four pillars: Math and Science; Computer Engineering Design; Entrepreneurship; and Arts Humanities and Social Sciences. The paper presents AUK's experience in balancing core academics and non-technical skills of engineering students that include communication, creative thinking and problem solving, information management, leadership, organizational skills and teamwork. Furthermore, the paper presents AUK practices in offering cross-disciplinary training experience in which engineering students develop professional competence in areas outside their home discipline. The paper also studies the impact of globalization on engineering practices at AUK that is reflected through a unique engineering entrepreneurship program.