School of Engineering

Design, Manufacture, and Management Stream Level 4 Final Year Technical Project

An Investigation into Utilizing Current Information and Communication Technologies to Provide Engineering Education to Sub-Saharan Africa

Author: Nicholas T. Kirkland Supervisor: V. Vitanov Co-Supervisor: D. Schaefer Duration: July 2006 to April 2007

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank the following people for their contributions to the project: Dr. William Saint, Lead Education Specialist for the Africa Region, World Bank Dr. Mark Endean, Engineering Programme Director, The Open University Ms. Sarah McGowan, The Open University Ms. Maria Taylor, International Projects, IMechE Mr. James Elsworth, Representative for Tanzania, IMechE Ms. Katherine Dike, Library Information Officer, IMechE Dr. Sherri Johnstone, School of Engineering, Durham University Mr. John Garside, School of Engineering, Durham University

Very special thanks go to: Professor Valentin Vitanov, Durham University School of Engineering Dr. Dirk Schaefer, Georgia Institute of Technology, Savannah, USA The author would also like to thank all those companies who participated in the African Engineering Company Survey.

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Summary

Summary
This report seeks to confirm or refute the feasibility of the provision of tertiary engineering education through current information and communication technologies to Sub-Saharan Africa. Three main types of research carried out were: 1) Extensive literary review of all areas associated with the project. and identification of the current resource situation. 2) A survey of 250 engineering companies operating in the Sub-Saharan region to determine their skill requirements for engineers and interest in an ICT facilitated course. 3) Personal correspondence and interviews with experts in several areas relevant to the topic. This report concludes that while it is feasible to provide ICT-based engineering education within Sub-Saharan Africa, it must be developed and implemented along with a number of improvements. These include an increase in the available bandwidth through the formation of a bandwidth consortia and a rise in the number of computers available per capita. It would also be necessary to obtain financial support from local governments or donor organisations. This included the examination of concerns such as what has already been achieved

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Project Plan

Project Plan
Brief: An Investigation into Utilising Current Information and Communication Technologies to Provide Engineering Education to Sub-Sahara Africa. Project Supervisor: Professor Vitanov Problem Statement / Objectives While it has been demonstrated that ICT has the potential to deliver quality education, both broadly and more cheaply than traditional institutions, it is not yet clear whether it is a feasible means for providing engineering education in Sub-Saharan African countries. This report will examine whether this is the case and attempt to determine what would be required in order to develop and deliver ICT-based engineering courses in this context. The overall objectives are: - To determine the feasibility of using information and communication technologies1 to offer engineering education2 to countries that most need it based in Sub-Saharan Africa. - To submit these findings to appropriate journals / conferences, so they are of the most use. Background / Motivation Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the worlds least developed and poorest regions with an annual per capita income of well below 100 in many of its member countries. Both contributing to and resulting from this impoverishment is a sustained severe shortage of available human capital. Like other poor regions, most of Sub-Saharan Africa currently lacks the indigenous capacity to substantially increase its own human resources. It is not possible for most countries in the region to provide tertiary education to more than a very small fraction of their populations. Even in these cases, the resource constraints make it difficult for tertiary institutions to remain up-to-date in our rapidly changing world. This is particularly the case for the field of engineering. Engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa is extremely limited. It is virtually nonexistent in several countries while in others it is offered almost entirely by private institutions. It is unknown whether the graduates of these institutions even remain and work in their own countries. This is somewhat surprising, given the fact that engineering skills are those which are a critical factor of a countrys development. This dearth of trained engineers in Sub-Saharan Africa results in the importation of professionals from outside the region, often at considerable expense, in order to fill the gap. This costly reliance upon external sources for engineers is neither desirable nor sustainable for any country, in either the long or the short term. If we assume that
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) - Those technologies which facilitate the transfer of information, in this case to provide an education regardless of distance. This focuses primarily on the use of computers and the internet. 2 Engineering Education - This refers to obtaining knowledge in the area of engineering. The term is used with the understanding that a course in engineering education would lead to a full degree, with relevant skills.
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Project Plan the resource base for most Sub-Saharan African countries is unlikely to significantly increase in the foreseeable future, their development will require an appropriate and affordable means by which to dramatically increase their human capital base, including the number of trained engineers. Information and communication technologies have already shown the potential to meet this challenge. The use of these technologies for distance learning outside the traditional education setting has dramatically expanded worldwide over the last two decades, and more recently has even begun to penetrate into Sub-Saharan Africa with the rapid spread of the internet. The evidence to date, most of which has stemmed from developed countries, has shown that where ICT-based courses have been implemented, both at regional3 and local levels4, governments and residents alike have witnessed vast improvements in their access to education. Evidence also indicates that the quality of learning is comparable to that provided through traditional means. While there are development and maintenance costs associated with these programs, their broader reach substantially reduces the unit costs associated with the provision of these courses. At present there is no evidence that engineering education, at any level, is currently being provided using only ICT in Sub-Saharan Africa, although ICT is being used to provide other types of education and training. While Sub-Saharan African countries are faced with considerable constraints and, in many cases, have very different needs than developed countries, the potential of ICT to both expand and strengthen engineering education while making it more appropriate for the individual context of each country is undeniable. Actions All work done and every project meeting with Professor Vitanov and Dr. Schaefer were recorded from the beginning of the project. These can be found in Appendix 1. This report is based upon three main types of research. First, an extensive review of the available literature on the use of ICT for delivering education will be conducted. This review will examine this use of ICT both in developed and developing countries, with a particular focus on its use in the Sub-Saharan context. The review also seeks to identify the requirements for the effective use of ICT, what resources currently exist in Sub-Saharan Africa to support such a system, and the obstacles to its effective use. Second, the opinions of a number of experts on feasibility issues related to ICT-based education in Sub-Saharan Africa will be obtained through interviews and correspondence. Engineering organisations will be contacted and information will be sought through publications in periodical emails to members (an example of which can be found in Appendix 7). Third, because there is so little information available on the engineering profession in Sub-Saharan Africa, a survey of companies that employ engineers will be conducted to determine what skills were considered to be most pertinent and which were most lacking in engineers (and hence, in engineering education).
Bloom, D. et al. (2006) Higher Education and Economic Development in Africa. Boston, USA: Harvard University Press. 4 Thor, L.M. (2004) Mainstreaming Distance Learning Into the Community College in: Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks. Orlando, USA: Sloan Consortium Publishing, 2004.
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Project Plan Submission to Workshop / Journal During the course of the project, an engineering conference in California, USA was being held where the findings of the report could be presented. This workshop, hosted by Harvey Mudd College Center for Design Education, would bring together 50-75 professional engineers, designers, and academics to discuss relevant issues of globalisation and engineering design education. The official Call for Papers can be found in Appendix 8. Following the guidelines, an abstract was submitted to the Advisory Committee, which then compared it to many other submissions from universities around the world. A copy of this abstract can be found in Appendix 9. It was subsequently selected to be included in the conference, and over the Easter Holiday, during the time specified in the Gantt chart below, the final submission was completed. This paper can be found in Appendix 10. Unfortunately the author will not be able to attend the conference due to examination commitments. However, Dr. Schaefer will be presenting the paper. The workshop itself will produce a journal detailing its findings and discussions. The paper in Appendix 10 will be published in this journal. In addition, it is being submitted for publication in a Special Issue of the International Journal of Engineering Education.

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Project Plan Gantt Chart The chart, below, shows what was achieved during the project and when. A rolling Gantt chart was used which was updated whenever a deadline changed.

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Table Of Contents

Table of Contents
1 Introduction....................................................................................................... 1.1 Importance of Engineering Education for Sub-Saharan Africa.................. 1.2 Socio-Economic Situation of Sub-Saharan Africa....................................... 1.3 Advent of the Internet and ICT-based Education........................................ 1.4 Project Description...................................................................................... 1 1 2 3 4

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Research Methodology and Questions............................................................ 5 Literature Review............................................................................................. 6 Sources Of Primary Data................................................................................. 7 4.1 Survey Of Engineering Firms in Sub-Saharan Africa................................. 7 4.2 Interviews and Direct Contacts................................................................... 7 Applications for the Findings of the Report................................................... 8 Use of ICT to Deliver Tertiary Level Education............................................ 6.1 Definition of ICT.......................................................................................... 6.2 Importance of ICT....................................................................................... 6.3 ICT in Higher Education............................................................................. 6.4 Distance Learning Through ICT................................................................. 6.5 Learning Management Systems.................................................................. 6.6 What the Future Holds for ICT in Higher Education................................. 8 8 9 9 10 11 12

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ICT-based Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa................................ 13 7.1 Current Obstacles........................................................................................ 13 7.1.1 Low Technical Resource Environment............................................... 13 7.1.2 Computer Access................................................................................. 14 7.1.3 Computer Requirements for an ICT-based Engineering Course......... 14 7.1.4 Available Bandwidth........................................................................... 15 7.2 Socio-Economic Issues................................................................................. 17 7.2.1 Government Regulations..................................................................... 17 7.2.2 Cost of Course Development and Operation....................................... 18 7.3 Overcoming Problems Facing ICT-based Engineering Education............. 19 7.3.1 Use of ICT-based Education is Increasing.......................................... 19 7.3.2 Role of Sub-Saharan Universities in Internet Development................ 19 7.3.3 Increased International Donor Support for ICT in Africa................... 20 7.3.4 Progress in the Regulatory Environment............................................. 21 7.3.5 Increased Bandwidth........................................................................... 21 7.3.6 Role of Bandwidth Consortia.............................................................. 21 7.3.7 Increased Attention to ICT Capacity Development............................ 22 7.4 Unique Situation of South Africa................................................................. 23 Engineering Education In Sub-Saharan Africa............................................. 23 8.1 Dearth of Institutions Providing Engineering Education............................ 24 8.2 Status of Engineering Education in Sub-Saharan Africa............................ 24 8.3 Relevance of Engineering Education to Local Context............................... 25 - vii -

Table Of Contents 8.4 Lack of Engineers........................................................................................ 26 9 ICT-based Engineering Education................................................................. 27 9.1 ICT-based Engineering Education in Sub-Saharan Africa........................ 28 29 29 29 30 31 32 33 34 34 38

10 Engineering Firms Survey............................................................................... 10.1 Relevant Studies......................................................................................... 10.2 Methodology of Survey.............................................................................. 10.2.1 Objectives of Survey........................................................................ 10.2.2 Limitations....................................................................................... 10.2.3 Questionnaire Development............................................................. 10.2.4 Pearsons Correlation and Cross Tabulation.................................... 10.3 Survey Results and Analysis...................................................................... 10.3.1 Direct Data Analysis........................................................................ 10.3.2 Correlation & Cross Tabulation Analysis........................................

11 Discussion.......................................................................................................... 39 12 Conclusions....................................................................................................... 44 13 Further Work................................................................................................... 45 14 References......................................................................................................... 46 Appendix 1 : Logbook of Meetings with Supervisor.............................................. Appendix 2 : Company Cover Email for Questionnaire Survey........................... Appendix 3 : Web Questionnaire............................................................................ Appendix 4 : Responses to Survey Questionnaire................................................. Appendix 5 : Correlation / Cross Tabulation Analysis of Results........................ Appendix 6 : Course Delivery Through VSAT Diagram...................................... Appendix 7 : Higher Education Academy Bi-Weekly Email................................ Appendix 8 : MUDD Design Workshop VI Call For Papers............................. Appendix 9 : MUDD Workshop Abstract Submission.......................................... Appendix 10 : MUDD Journal Official Submission.......................................... 51 57 58 65 77 81 82 86 88 91

Figures / Tables:
Figure 1 : Professional Skills................................................................................... Figure 2 : Managerial / Soft Skills........................................................................... Figure 3 : Other Skills.............................................................................................. Figure 4 : Qualities Lacking.................................................................................... 36 37 37 38

Table 1 : Computer Component Requirements........................................................ 15

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Abbreviations

Abbreviations:
The following is a list of all abbreviations that are used in this report. ANSTI AVU CAD GB Gbps GHz HEI ICT ISP Kbps LMS MB Mbps MHz NGO OU UN UNDP UNECA UNESCO USAID VSAT African Network of Scientific and Technological Institutions African Virtual University Computer Aided Design Gigabyte (measure of computer storage space) Gigabits per second (measure of bandwidth) Giga-Hertz (measure of processor speed) Higher Education Institution Information and Communication Technology Internet Service Provider Kilobits per second (measure of bandwidth) Learning Management System Megabyte (measure of computer storage space) Megabits per second (measure of bandwidth) Mega-Hertz (measure of processor speed) Non-Governmental Organisation Open University United Nations United Nations Development Programme United Nations Economic Commission for Africa United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation United States Agency for International Development Very Small Aperture Terminal

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1 Introduction
One of the key challenges facing Africa lies in finding ways to strengthen engineering education. (Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development, Harvard University)1

1.1 Importance Of Engineering Education for Sub-Saharan Africa

By all accounts, engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa is extremely limited. A recent study found that of 27 of the largest universities in 13 Sub-Saharan countries, only three offered engineering related degrees [Murphy, P. et al. (2002), pp. 6]. Engineering education is virtually non-existent in several countries while in others it is offered almost solely by expensive private institutions. At the same time, there are concerns about declining quality of science and engineering education and the loss of leading science and technology expertise to other regions of the world2. Most Africans seeking to study engineering already do so abroad and often stay in their country of study, depriving their home nations of much needed skills. The dearth of trained engineers in Sub-Saharan Africa results in the importation of engineers from outside the region, often at considerable expense, in order to fill the gap. This costly reliance upon external sources for engineers is neither desirable nor sustainable in either the long or the short term. The importance of engineering education, especially in the advancement of countries in the Sub-Saharan region, is now broadly recognized, particularly by the development community. It has been shown that there is a strong correlation between education in mathematics, science and engineering and improved economic performance, and that the number of scientists and engineers per capita in a country is positively associated with economic growth [World Bank (2005), pp. 173]. Unfortunately, African universities as a whole have not made large efforts to reform their curricula in response to rapidly expanding scientific knowledge and changing economic opportunities [Bloom, D. (2006)]. Education programs in Africa, in

Juma, C. (2006) "Engineering Education Vital for Africa's Growth." in: The East African Newspaper. Nairobi, Kenya. The East African. 2 Georghiou, L. and Harper, J.C. (2005) Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Synthesis Report. Manchester: Manchester University. pp. 5

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Report particular at university level, have tended to be largely irrelevant to local African needs in that they have concentrated on the social sciences and humanities when the really pressing needs are for graduates in engineering, the sciences, and business3. Especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, this situation has been hindered by the fact that while there are now numerous universities and a growing number of research institutes, few have proven capable to date of undertaking the long term research and producing the results needed to develop or adapt locally usable, productivityenhancing technologies4.

1.2 Socio-Economic Situation of Sub-Saharan Africa

The dire socio-economic situation of most of Sub-Saharan Africa poses a major obstacle to rectifying the educational state of affairs. Despite the provision of substantial donor resources over decades, economic development in Africa has stagnated with average per capita income in the region remaining at nearly the same level it was in the 1960s [Lancaster, C. (1999), pp. 2]. Half of Sub-Saharan Africas 700 million people live on less than US$1 per day, making the degree of impoverishment in this region greater than in any other part of the world. It also remains the least industrialized of regions and the most heavily indebted [Lancaster, C. (1999), pp. 2]. Both contributing to and resulting from this impoverishment is a continuing severe shortage of available human capital, especially engineers. Like other poor regions, most of Sub-Saharan Africa currently lacks the indigenous capacity to substantially increase its own human resources in practically all areas. Kofi Annan, while UN Secretary General, noted that The University must become a primary tool for Africas development in the new century5. However, due to the regions low resource base it is simply not possible for most Sub-Saharan African countries to provide tertiary level education to more than a small fraction of their populations. In more than one third of African countries less than half of the child population was found to receive primary education, and in only six countries were more than 20% found to be attending secondary schools, while in the year 2000 more than 40% of those aged 25 and over
Lancaster, C. (1999) Aid to Africa London: The University of Chicago Press Ltd. pp. 52 Lancaster, C. (1999) Aid to Africa London: The University of Chicago Press Ltd. pp. 54 5 United Nations Information Service (2003) Improving Technology Should be Used to Tap Knowledge from Greatest Universities to Bring Learning to All. Geneva: United Nations.
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Report in Sub-Saharan Africa had not completed any formal education whatsoever [Meredith, M. (2005), pp. 283; World Bank (2005), pp. 138]. Fuelled by the continuing rapid population growth in the region (2.5 %, or a doubling in 28 years), this situation is not expected to improve dramatically anytime soon. At the same time that population growth has increased pressure on the available tertiary education institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa, public expenditure per tertiary student has fallen to less than US$1000 per student per year in many countries, considered less than the minimally acceptable level needed for tertiary education. By all accounts then Sub-Saharan African countries will be incapable of significantly expanding their tertiary enrolments using conventional face-to-face teaching methods and the current residential campus model. This situation can also be assumed to restrict any expansion of engineering education by these institutions.

1.3 Advent of the Internet and ICT-based Education

In the last two decades, the advent of the internet, the World Wide Web and associated Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have created the very real possibility of providing education at a reasonable cost to populations residing in the most remote areas of the world. In particular, ICTs have been adapted and are increasingly widely used for distance learning outside the traditional education setting. While most of this expansion has taken place in developed countries, the evidence to date has shown that where ICT-based courses have been implemented, both at regional and local levels, governments and residents alike have witnessed vast improvements in their access to education [Bloom, D. (2006), pp. iv; Thor, L.M. (2004), pp. 24]. Evidence also indicates that the quality of learning is comparable to that provided through traditional means. Beginning primarily in the 1990s with the assistance of donor organisations and local entrepreneurship, the use of ICTs has spread widely in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2000, Eritrea became the last country in Africa to offer public access to the internet with help from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Leland Initiative [Jensen, M. (2003), pp. 59]. Most African countries gained access to the internet over the previous decade, as the importance of these technologies became apparent. During this same period a number of development agencies, in particular -3-

Report those of the United States of America, United Kingdom and the World Bank, began to explore the possibilities of using ICT to provide more accessible and lower cost training and education in sectors related to the advancement of the countries in this region. While it appears that a number of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have made progress towards developing and utilizing ICT-based educational programs, with the exception of South Africa most are still in the very early stages of doing so. Only the University of South Africa was found to provide ICT-based engineering education, but even here the courses are more of a supplemental nature and not intended to provide a full engineering education. If we assume that the low resource base for most Sub-Saharan African countries is unlikely to improve significantly in the foreseeable future, then meeting the challenge of strengthening and expanding engineering education in the region will almost certainly require developing and delivering appropriate and affordable ICT-based courses. The question is whether or not this is achievable.

1.4 Project Description

The project which is the subject of this report had one aim: to determine the feasibility of using current ICTs to deliver tertiary level engineering education in the SubSaharan Africa region. To achieve this it was necessary to not only understand the technical requirements for viable ICT-based educational programs, but also the context in which these programs would have to operate. Since the focus was on engineering education at the tertiary level, it was also necessary to determine what the basic academic and skill requirements were to be able to successfully undertake such an ICT-based course and if the required knowledge and skills could be effectively provided by this means. Due to the very limited information available on the experience of using ICT-based education programs in Sub-Saharan Africa it was necessary to draw upon the extensive literature regarding ICT-based distance learning in developed countries, including the UK. The ready availability of the UKs Open University (OU) afforded the opportunity to obtain information first hand of its experience in providing education over a distance. The dearth of available information on engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the almost total lack of information on ICT-based engineering education in this region meant that it was -4-

Report necessary to undertake primary data collection to determine the feasibility of using such an approach. Prior to initiating this study, however, a thorough review of the available literature was undertaken to ensure that no similar investigation had already been conducted.

2 Research Methodology and Questions

The research for this study was undertaken in five stages. First, a set of research questions was formulated to guide the investigation process. These questions were intended to provide the parameters for the collection of information and data to ensure they were relevant for achieving the project objective. Second, an in-depth review was carried out of the available literature in those areas relevant to answering each research question. Third, based upon the identified gaps in the information available, primary data were collected through means of a survey of engineering firms in SubSaharan Africa. Fourth, relevant individuals in organizations who were felt to have first-hand knowledge and experience in areas relevant to the research topic were contacted directly. Fifth, all information and data were analyzed to arrive at a determination of the feasibility of using current ICTs to deliver tertiary level engineering education to Sub-Saharan Africa. The following questions were formulated to guide the research and data collection process: (1) What is the current state of tertiary level education in Sub-Saharan Africa, with particular emphasis on engineering education? (2) How relevant is current engineering education for Sub-Saharan African countries, i.e., are the engineers trained by Sub-Saharan African institutions provided with the right skills? (3) Do any Sub-Saharan African universities and institutions currently produce a sufficient number of engineers with the skills required to meet the needs of their countries? (4) Is ICT being effectively used to deliver tertiary education in Sub-Saharan Africa, and if so, are there ICT-based engineering programs that can be built upon? -5-

Report (5) If ICT-based engineering education is being offered, is it effective and can it be expanded to meet Sub-Saharan African countries needs? (6) If it is not being offered, what would be required to establish viable ICT-based engineering education programs?

3 Literature Review
A thorough review of the literature relating to all aspects of delivering engineering education by means of ICT, and in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa, was conducted. In doing this, it became obvious that answering the research questions posed above would require an in-depth understanding of considerably more than simply the delivery of engineering education by means of ICT. It required an understanding of the following: (1) The current situation of Sub-Saharan Africa from a development standpoint. (2) The state of tertiary education in Sub-Saharan Africa. (3) The experience to date, both in the developed and developing worlds, of using ICT to deliver tertiary education. (4) The capabilities of Sub-Saharan African universities to effectively utilize ICT-based education programs. (5) The current status of engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa. (6) The role that ICTs are currently playing in delivering tertiary level engineering education, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Because of the extensive nature of the literature reviewed, it was not appropriate to summarize the findings in a single section of the report. Therefore, the literature relating to each section or topic of the report is reviewed and referenced in that particular section.

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4 Sources Of Primary Data

4.1 Survey of Engineering Firms in Sub-Saharan Africa
To obtain information directly from engineering employers and practitioners in SubSaharan Africa a survey was conducted of engineering firms currently operating in the region. The survey was designed to determine: (1) The relevance of the skills that engineers currently employed by SubSaharan African firms have. (2) The kinds of proficiency training which would need to take place. (3) The interest of these firms in an ICT-based engineering training. (4) The attraction of a continuing education program and the willingness to pay for it. (5) The importance these firms placed on quality university-level engineering education. (6) The interest firms have in helping to make engineering education more relevant for their needs. This information was considered essential in helping determine if ICT-based engineering education at the tertiary level could provide the skills these firms considered most necessary, and to ascertain if there was sufficient interest in using and supporting the development of such programs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Details on the background and conduct of the survey and its findings are covered in Section 10.2 of this report. The relevance of the findings for determining the feasibility of using ICT-based tertiary level engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa is further discussed in Section 10.3. The survey questionnaire can be found in Appendix 3.

4.2 Interviews and Direct Contacts

Although the bulk of the primary data collected for the study were obtained from the survey, other data and relevant information pertaining to the research topics were sought from a broad range of individuals and institutions. A personal interview was carried out with Mr. John Garside, who heads up the relations between UK industry -7-

Report and engineering at Durham University. In addition, email questionnaires were completed by Mark Endean, Engineering Programme Director for the Open University, and Sherri Johnstone, head of admissions for the Durham University School of Engineering. Information was also obtained by means of letter correspondence with William Saint, Lead Education Specialist for the Africa Region for the World Bank Institute, and Maria Taylor, International Relations Representative for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Attempts to contact and obtain information from a range of other organizations, such as the Gates Foundation, UN Economic Commission for Africa, the Institute of Engineers (Tanzania), and the African Virtual University (AVU) proved unsuccessful.

5 Applications for the Findings of the Report

The project was undertaken with the view that should the findings prove positive they might be used to interest UK higher education institutions, such as Durham University, in the development of appropriate ICT-based engineering education programs for Sub-Saharan Africa. Also, given the fact that donor organizations such as the World Bank, the U.K.s Department for International Development and U.S. Agency for International Development are all interested in expanding and strengthening tertiary education in Sub-Saharan Africa, the findings might also provide an impetus to secure support for the development of such courses. Lastly, the results of this study should provide a foundation on which to formulate a plan for carrying out additional research which would be needed to develop appropriate ICTbased engineering education modules suitable to the Sub-Saharan African context.

6 Use of ICT to Deliver Tertiary Level Education

6.1 Definition of ICT
Information and communication technologies is a term used to describe a range of technologies for gathering, storing, retrieving, processing, analysing and transmitting information6. Some organizations have even developed their own definition. For example, the University of Wolverhampton uses the term to describe exciting and innovative ways to provide lifelong learners with global access to information,
6

Queensland Government (2007) Glossary. Available At: http://www.smartstate.qld.gov.au/strategy/strategy05_15/glossary.shtm [Accessed: 20 October, 2006]

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Report learning and support.7 ICT includes not only software but also office equipment such as copiers and fax machines and analogue devices such as a telephone. For most people, however, ICT is most associated with computers and the internet. It is this aspect of ICT which is of primary concern in this project.

6.2 Importance of ICT

Information and communication technologies have had a tremendous effect on the world over the past 30 years. The amount of instant communication many people take for granted today was beyond the scope of even the most futuristic thinkers less than half a century ago. The power of sending information from any point on Earth to any other point in seconds has revolutionized many aspects of life. People are no longer limited to local resources, and the advent of the World Wide Web has made it even easier to access instantly a virtually limitless tome of information on practically any subject. The ability it provides to easily handle countless types of data in an extremely cost effective way is, however, possibly the most important aspect of modern information technologies. Live communication, such as streaming audio and video, can be recorded and delivered at no real cost, allowing massive amounts of instant information exchange.

6.3

ICT in Higher Education

powered paradigmatic shifts in education (Theodore W. Frick) 8

Throughout the history of human communication, advances in technology have

ICT is an integral part of all universities in developed countries. It is used for both communication, including emails and chat rooms, and the day-to-day running of many vital functions, such as finance and grading. Higher education has always led the way in the development and usage of such technologies. The internet itself was designed in part as a quick way to communicate and share scientific data between educational institutions [The Internet Society (2007)]. Over time it has evolved to be much more than this, connecting not only distant locations but also allowing students and staff to interact constantly, even outside of term. Through email, for example, questions may
University Of Wolverhampton (2007) ITS Services Jargon Buster. Available At: http://asp2.wlv.ac.uk/its/website/everyone/its_jargon.htm [Accessed: 20 October, 2006] 8 Frick, T.W. (1991) Restructuring Education Through Technology. Bloomington, IA: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. pp. 16
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Report be answered instantly by a lecturer or tutor, superseding the need to meet face to face. This saves time for both parties while providing an equivalent outcome. More recently information technologies have been used to expand the reach of higher education, entering the realm of distance education. The original offerings of single, one-off modules and lessons have evolved into full courses making it possible to earn an entire degree online. In the last decade this has expanded enormously and in 2005 there were 1,680 institutions that offered over 54,000 online courses [Simonson, M. et al. (2006), pp. 10]. This expansion has also lead to a development of learning management software, as discussed in Section 6.5.

6.4 Distance Learning Through ICT

Distance education comes in many forms, from correspondence courses that were offered in the 1700s to live video conferencing via geostationary satellites [Jeffries, M. (2007)]. When considering ICT in distance education, an appropriate definition for this report is institution-based formal education where the learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors.9 There are many examples of ICT use in distance education and the benefits it has brought. Created in 1981, the Anadolu University of Turkey has over 500,000 distance education students, making it the largest university on earth [Simonson, M. et al. (2006), pp. 13]. Its existence has made a post-secondary education available to many who would not normally have access. Although originally focusing on correspondence and satellite schools for learning, Anadolu University has embraced the internet and now offers many of its courses solely online. Anadolu is a perfect example of how ICT can be used to expand the reach of education to diverse groups. The Open University (OU) in the U.K. is one of the longest standing and best known distance education institutions in the world. Created in the late 1960s, it was based on the belief that communications technology could convey a very high quality education to people who would not normally have the opportunity to attend universities. The
9

Simonson, M. et Al. (2006) Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education 3rd Edition. Columbus, Ohio: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall. pp. 7

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Report OU currently offers both a Bachelors and Masters in general engineering, as well as a range of other engineering subjects. Its courses, however, are not widely available outside of the UK. This is a problem that is widespread. Virtually all of the online courses in engineering related fields that were researched for this report were only offered to students located in the same country as the institution. Most of these were in the United States. Many of these courses were also largely focused on computer science or were primarily management based. As discussed in Section 9, there are very few courses that offer a full engineering degree in subjects such as mechanical or aeronautical engineering.

6.5 Learning Management Systems

An important development over the last 10-15 years has been the rise of learning management systems (LMS) to cope with the increasing expansion and use of ICT in education. These have grown from simply handling tasks such as grades and collecting papers to the provision of a home page for all learning activities involved within a course. Students are able not only to access notes and documents, but may also view recorded video, chat to peers, and even interact live with lecturers via whiteboards. A recent study judged the 17 most common learning management systems against a number of criteria, including the course design features, communication and collaboration functions, and course management and administration functions [Zhang, W.Y. et al. (2005)]. While each system had its drawbacks and benefits, all are in current use in over 3,000 institutions worldwide. Two of the most advanced and widespread systems, Click2Learn and The Learning Manager, provide important functions such as Audio/Video conferencing and a digital whiteboard directly through the software, limiting the need for external programmes. However, these functions are appearing in more and more learning management systems with every release as evidenced by www.edutools.com, a community-driven website that evaluates and compares over 100 LMS [Edu Tools.com (2007)].

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6.6 What the Future Holds for ICT in Higher Education

Eighty-five percent of public universities in the US consider online education critical to their long-term academic strategies [Simonson, M. (2004), pp. vi]. Its benefits have long been publicised and discussed in the academic community, but it is only recently that e-learning has entered the mainstream [Phipps, R. (2000), pp. vii]. While information technologies are still progressing at a fast rate, the core tools for distance learning, such as video conferencing, are available now. It is unknown if future technologies will render current teaching techniques obsolete, but, as with the adaptation of current ICT based learning, it will be some time before they are fully integrated and used in the education community. Due to its relatively new status as a medium for education, there is still considerable resistance to the adoption of e-learning [Carliner, S. (2000), pp. 1]. Much of this stems from the misconception that, because there is normally little face-to-face interaction, the learner does not receive the same quality teaching that a traditional, campus based course offers. However, according to 248 studies compiled by North Carolina State University in the USA, there is no significant difference in perceived quality between distance learning and traditional classroom learning [Russel, T. (2000)]. A review of this study concluded that Distance learning (can be) considered as effective as faceto-face learning, and our results support this conclusion10 In addition to this, the Open University in the United Kingdom was ranked among the top five institutions in the United Kingdom for quality of teaching [Open University Online (2007)]. As more institutions embrace the available technologies and develop their own ICT facilitated courses, it is entirely possible that both the enrolment rates and even the quality of these courses will eventually supersede that which is offered by conventional education.

Dean, P., Stah, M., Swlwester, D., & Pear, J. (2001) Effectiveness of Combined Delivery Modalities for Distance Learning and Resident Learning. Quarterly Review of Distance Education. North Miami Beach, FL: Nova Southeastern University. pp. 247-254

10

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7 ICT-based Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

7.1 Current Obstacles
Ultimately, ICT in African HEIs (higher education institutions) will enhance the quality of staff and students and promote integration of students throughout Africa and the World.11 As discussed in Section 6, ICT has already made major inroads into tertiary education in most developed and middle income countries. Due to a range of obstacles, however, it has not yet become standard in Sub-Saharan African tertiary education. It has been noted that, in most developed countries, the main obstacle to widespread use of ICT-based distance learning is the general feeling that it is a threat to traditional education and that quality cannot be maintained through such courses [Adei, S. (2003), pp. 90]. Although there is some mistrust attached to using and expanding ICTbased education in Sub-Saharan Africa, the major obstacles in this region relate more to the dearth of economic and technical assets than to any educational bias [Gordon, M. (2003), pp. 113].

7.1.1 Low Technical Resource Environment

Sub-Saharan Africa is a low technical resource environment, not just in comparison to developed countries but also when compared with the other less economically developed regions of the World. The Association of African Universities has acknowledged in a recent report that the quality of tertiary education is declining as a result of dwindling resources [Associate of African Universities (1999)]. This declining quality of education is a factor that both supports the implementation of ICT education and poses a barrier to its development. While ICT-based courses potentially provide high quality education at a lower per capita cost, their development would require a substantial upfront investment of resources which most, if not all, SubSaharan African institutions would not possess.

11

Adebayo, D.A. (1999) Information and Communication Technologies Applications in African Tertiary Institutions. Lagos, Nigeria: University Of Lagos. pp. 21

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7.1.2 Computer Access

Limited access to computers and the internet are possibly the biggest problems facing any ICT-based course. There is a crucial shortage of computers in Sub-Saharan Africa, although the number of users per computer falls significantly when considering just the tertiary education environment. While there is an average of one computer per 250-400 people in Sub-Saharan Africa, this number drops to one for every 55 tertiary students [Mutume, G. (2003), pp. 27]. Both these ratios are well below the international share of one computer per 15 people, or the North American and European ratio of one computer for every two people. While an average of one computer per 55 students would be acceptable for light browsing and printing, it would not be sufficient to support the implementation of a full ICT-based degree level course. Since computers are readily available worldwide, the solution to this problem can be considered to be one of increasing available financial resources to purchase and maintain additional computers.

7.1.3 Computer Requirements for an ICT-based Engineering Course

Simply the provision of a greater number of computers would not solve the access problem with respect to engineering education, as the computer requirements for engineering are generally higher than those for other courses. This is due to the extra power which is often needed to run important analysis programmes such as CAD packages. The Engineering Department of the U.K.s Open University provided the following specifications (Table 1) which it decided were the minimum requirements for a student to be able to take their engineering course compared with a normal OU course [Open University Online (2007)].
T a b le 1 : C o m p u te r C o m p o n e n ts

Component Processor Memory(RAM) Operating System Hard Drive Colour Monitor Keyboard/Mouse Modem

Typical Requirement Pentium 700MHz 64MB Windows XP/2000 10 GB Other

Engineering Requirement Pentium 1GHz 128MB Windows XP/2000 20 GB Sound/Video Card Microphone/Webcam Office Software

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Report These requirements, while still not very high, are substantially more than the average specifications of the free or cheap computers that are currently being shipped to Africa by charities such as ComputerAid12 or Computers4Africa13. This means that institutions wishing to participate in an ICT engineering course would need to ensure they have a sufficient number of computers with acceptable specifications to be able to run these courses.

7.1.4 Available Bandwidth

The availability of internet bandwidth is a large problem for virtually all Sub-Saharan Africans. A recent study, commissioned by the World Bank Institute, researched the internet capabilities of over 80 higher education institutions in 40 African countries and found that most institutions primarily use terrestrial connections, followed closely by Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT)14 [Steiner, R. et al. (2004)]. Only 7% relied upon dial-up connections, which would not provide the bandwidth necessary for a full ICT educational course. The study found the average available bandwidth to be 537 Kbps download and 769 kbps upload, but this varied widely from 7 Mbps to just 28 Kbps. It was estimated that the average available bandwidth per computer was around 3.36 kbps. The study also found that 68% of the total bandwidth available to universities was being fully utilized [Steiner R. et al. (2004), pp. 39-40]. While the upper range of these bandwidths would be sufficient to run an ICT facilitated course, many institutions would not be able to run a course without upgrading their current connection and dramatically increasing their available bandwidth. To widely use ICT as part of their course offerings, universities in Sub-Saharan Africa would require ten times the bandwidth that is currently available to them [Steiner, R. et al. (2004), pp. 53]. An idea of the overall bandwidth situation in Africa can be characterized by comparing it with developed countries. For example, the average North American user has 570 times more international bandwidth than their African counterparts [Steiner, R. et al. (2004), pp. 41].

12

Computer Aid (2007) ComputerAid Technical Specifications. Available At: http://www.computeraid.org/TechnicalSpecs.htm [Accessed: January 14, 2007]. 13 Computers 4 Africa (2007) Main Webpage. Available At: http://www.computers4africa.org/index.htm [Accessed: January 14, 2007]. 14 VSAT : A 2-way satellite ground station that is used to transmit data in real time. The dish antenna is generally smaller than 3 meters.

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Report Another relevant finding from this study is that less than 50% of these universities had access to international fibre connections. Since these results included North African countries, which have an undersea connection to Europe through EUMEDconnect15, the percentage in Sub-Saharan Africa having such access is almost certainly much smaller. This means that many of the internet connections provided through terrestrial links (such as telephone lines) would come from providers using VSAT connections who have bought the bandwidth in bulk. This would obviously increase the costs to the institutions. This limited availability of internet bandwidth would place the greatest constraints on the more capacity-intensive aspects of ICT facilitated courses - the use of live video and audio [Mills, S. (2006), pp. 55]. A connection of 128 kbps to 256 kbps is required to run smooth video and audio over the internet [AT&T Knowledge Network Explorer (2007); Network World Online (2007)]. Given the average of one computer per 55 students, and an average bandwidth of 3.36 kbps per computer, a video conference at these speeds would take the equivalent bandwidth that is normally allocated for 2000 to 4000 people. This is obviously unrealistic, with the more tangible solution being to increase the bandwidth first and then the number of computers. Quality of service also is often a problem when using video over the internet, as data traffic can be unpredictable. However, this could be partially alleviated by using dedicated programs, such as those offered through many currently available learning management systems. In summary, no matter how willing Sub-Saharan African universities might be to adopt or increase their utilization of ICT-based educational programs, in many if not most cases, they will be prohibited from doing so unless they possess the required infrastructure. While on a basic level, all that is required is a computer and an internet connection, in reality it is the speeds of both of these, as well as the available support tools, that will determine whether or not these programs are viable.

15

EUMEDconnect Link between 11 Mediterranean countrys national research and education networks. For more see http://www.eumedconnect.net/.

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7.2 Socio-Economic Issues

It is important to note that there are a number of other factors that affect the utilization and potential expansion of ICT-based education programs in Sub-Saharan Africa.

7.2.1 Government Regulations

Not all Sub-Saharan countries have fully embraced the information revolution that has been brought on by the internet and computers. Many still heavily regulate their telecommunications, allowing only state-run monopolies to offer internet and telecommunication services. This in turn results in higher costs for access, and generally a poorer service. One method of control commonly used is to regulate the market by requiring licences to operate an internet service provider (ISP) or to obtain internet from a non-government source. While this is better than a complete ban on competition in a closed market, it still limits the usage to larger institutions. For example, a VSAT license in Zimbabwe costs an average of US$72,000, which is prohibitive for virtually all institutions operating in the country [Steiner, R. et al. (2004), pp. 35]. There is often a resistance attached to the adoption of newer technologies in poorer regions. Aid agencies and NGOs have traditionally invested in more guaranteed methods, although there have been exceptions. Encouraging local institutions, NGOs or the private sector to invest their own money and resources into a new educational tool, such as ICT, could be difficult, especially due the high set-up costs. Overcoming this obstacle is principally an issue of proving that this technology works and can deliver quality education adapted to the local needs. One of the World Banks key objectives in Africa is to create a sound investment climate for the providers of education and training services16, particularly those in the private sector which is growing rapidly in the developing world. Therefore, if ICT-based engineering education can be shown to be relevant and cost-effective and to meet the needs of companies it will almost certainly be accepted as a means for delivering education.

16

World Bank (2005) The World Development Report: A Better Investment Climate for Everyone. New York: The World Bank and Oxford University Press. PAGE 136-137

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7.2.2 Cost of Course Development and Operation

The high fixed costs of the software, hardware and internet service needed to establish and deliver an ICT-based education program is a significant barrier. For ICT distance education courses, it has been estimated that around 25% of the total costs of a course come entirely from the cost of hardware [United States Technology Advisory Committee to the President (2000)]. The cost of the course development generally requires the largest investment. For example, it can cost from US$10,000 upwards to develop each course hour. Given that the average course comprises around 30 lectures, each approximately one hour in length, course development costs would be at least US$300,000, depending on the country of development [Boettcher, J. (2007)]. This is a substantial amount given the low level of public expenditure on tertiary education per student in Sub-Saharan Africa. Considering these costs and the low gross domestic income per capita of most countries in the Sub-Saharan region, it is almost certain that outside aid would be needed handle the development costs for these courses. Once the development phase of such a course has been completed and the hardware has been secured, however, there would still be other significant costs. These include outlays such as teacher salaries, facilities maintenance, and running costs. The average cost per year of a computer per student in tertiary education ranges from US$18 to US$104, depending upon its usage [Perraton, H. (2000), pp. 40; Potashnik, M. (1996), pp. 14]. However, these estimated costs are based on usage that would be far less than that for a student taking an entire course using ICT. Taking this into account, a more realistic rate that has been suggested would be an average of US$1.70 per lecture hour [Orivel, F. (2000)]. Assuming that an educational program consists of six modules, each 30 hours in length, this would result in about US$300 per student per year in computer and electricity costs. For an individual, these costs combined with that of an internet connection of approximately US$60 a month present a considerable expenditure [Murphy, P. et al. (2002), pp. x]. For many students in SubSaharan Africa, if paid on an individual basis such costs would be prohibitive. Traditionally, distance learning universities operate at 13-73% of the per-student costs of their conventional equivalents [Murphy, P. et al. (2002), pp. xi]. This is normally due to fewer recurrent costs, such as reduced face-to-face time and a larger student - 18 -

Report population. However, only a few cost studies and even fewer investigations of cost effectiveness have been carried out on ICT programs in Africa. As such it is not possible to know if the above costs would be valid for Sub-Saharan Africa, although it can be assumed that the percentages would be similar.

7.3 Overcoming These Problems 7.3.1 Use of ICT-based Education is Increasing

Despite these constraints, ICT is increasingly being utilised throughout the African continent to provide education at all levels. Its uses range from a strong presence in primary education in providing materials and training to teachers to the provision of university campus networks, which are used by 97% of universities [Lelliot, A. et al. (2000), pp. 44; Steiner, R. et al. (2004), pp. Vii]. The Association of African Universities estimates that there were 679 institutes of higher education in Africa in 2002, of which 83 were located in South Africa, and 450 were located in the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa [Adei, S. (2003), pp. 90]. These are primarily large public universities, and the inclusion of private and small institutions would likely raise the number to over 1000. Many of these offer distance education programs through a variety of media, including ICT, although the majority of these programs are in social science subjects and business, or in low level appropriate education areas such as agricultural management as offered by the University of Ghana [University of Ghana (2007)]. In another study of 21 Sub-Saharan countries, not including South Africa, it was found that all were actively participating in ICT distance education courses. In 10 of these countries the courses were supplied by a local university, while in 19 they were supported by donor projects. In 11 countries, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) were directly involved in the provision of technology-based education through ICT [Saint, W. (1999), pp. 30].

7.3.2 Role of Sub-Saharan Universities in Internet Development

This use of ICT by universities in Sub-Saharan Africa is not surprising given that the development of the internet in Africa was in many ways led by academic institutions, and to some extent by projects funded by NGOs. For example, in the mid-1990s, the

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Report University of Zambia, University Eduardo Mondlane of Mozambique, and the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, had all established their own internet service providers (ISPs) that sold internet access to local businesses and the general public [Jensen, M. (2003), pp. 44]. This helped these universities to provide for their own internet needs while ensuring continuing monetary support for these services.

7.3.3 Increased International Donor Support for ICT in Africa

The international donor community has also been very supportive of the use of ICT for educational purposes. The World Bank, for example, has implemented over 27 new education projects in the past four years, of which 22 have had technology supported components [Murphy, P. et al. (2002), pp. x]. It also created, on a pilot basis, the African Virtual University (AVU) to serve as a technology based distance education network [Juma, M. (2003), pp. 206]. Founded in 1997, the AVU has grown to enrol over 23,000 students all over Sub-Saharan Africa. Working with 32 universities, it provides education and facilities as well as a Digital Library for journals and resources. Currently offering diplomas in Computer Science and Business, the AVU also provides help to universities with related courses, including electrical engineering. The AVU is a good example of some of the initiatives that are taking place in the tertiary education system in Africa. It should be noted, however, that all attempts to connect to the AVU website by the author were unsuccessful. Recently there has been a broadening in the approach amongst the donor community from focusing its support of the internet primarily to increase access and strengthen education to that of improving public infrastructure and developing the local internet market of countries in this region. The principal interest of donors now appears to be bridging the digital divide that separates much of Africa from the rest of the world [Digital Opportunity Task Force (2002)]. There are numerous donor initiatives currently underway to achieve this goal: The World Banks WorldLinks for Development, USAIDs AfriLink and Leland Initiatives, and the UNDPs Africa Internet Initiative. While not specifically geared to enhancing the role of the internet and ICT in tertiary education, it can still be assumed that the benefits of these efforts will be widespread and will lead to improved internet infrastructure and increased bandwidth for tertiary education as well.

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7.3.4 Progress in the Regulatory Environment

The African Tertiary Institutions Connectivity (ATIC) survey found that, in general, the regulatory environment for ICT in the Sub-Saharan Africa region is certainly improving [Steiner, R. et al. (2004)]. Obstacles are being lifted and governments are adopting official ICT policies to spur its development and growth within their countries. These ICT policies are designed to guide each countrys technical development and the employment of digital technologies. Many are along the lines of those of developed countries, such as the UKs National Grid for Learning (NGfL). A sign of this positive development was shown by the fact that 58% of universities contacted in the ATIC survey which had VSAT had also obtained a fee waiver, allowing them to bypass licensing laws [Steiner, R. et al. (2004), pp. 34].

7.3.5 Increased Bandwidth

In the area of increased bandwidth large improvements are being made. Four recent major infrastructure projects which are currently being implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa, spending over US$400 million on connections, will have the combined potential to provide an extra 400 Gbps of bandwidth in the region [Jensen, M. (2003), pp. 59]. Much of this bandwidth is expected to be available in the next few years. While this overall increase in bandwidth is welcome it does not solve the bandwidth problems of individual universities. For this reason many development papers and studies into ICT in Sub-Saharan Africa have recommended the formation of a unique body, the Bandwidth Consortia.

7.3.6 Role of Bandwidth Consortia

When the webs of the spider join, they can trap a lion. (Ethiopian Proverb) Bandwidth Consortia are groups of institutions that link together to collectively purchase internet bandwidth. Recommended by several studies of African tertiary institutes, including two independent World Bank studies and a local study conducted by the University of Dar es Salaam, consortia allow these groups to buy bandwidth in bulk, costing far less per kilobyte than local providers [Mutagahywa, B. (2002)]. The need for additional bandwidth is very important, and collectively VSATs have been shown to offer the best option for Sub-Saharan institutes. The ATIC survey study

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Report stated that a capacity of 5-10 transponders could provide the necessary internet bandwidth, if a VSAT solution was to be put in place. 17 With average VSAT equipment and installation costs of US$2000 to US$3000, the investment is not small. However, for a larger institution such as a university, the US$200 to US$400 dollars per month running costs would be significantly less than the cost of moving the same amount of data through local providers, sometimes by a factor of up to 10 [Steiner, R. et al. (2004), pp. 38]. Providing speeds of 100 kbps upload and 400 kbps download, these systems are sufficient for most internet needs. Moreover, a recent study predicts that the price of VSAT systems will fall to around US$1,500 installed as competition increases, and that these costs would be even less if systems were purchased in bulk by a group such as a bandwidth consortia [Jensen, M. (2003), pp. 57]. Monthly fees would also be cut in half, making this approach a very viable option for virtually all universities and even small businesses. A visual representation of how a course could run through VSAT can be found in Appendix 6. Another benefit of such consortia is that the group buying power could extend beyond bandwidth to the collective purchase of online learning management and distance education tools, further reducing costs while sharing development skills. Such arrangements would obviously make ICT-based programs offered by these universities far more accessible and cost effective.

7.3.7 Increased Attention Given To ICT Capacity Development

There has been a definite increase in the focus of both donor organisations and African governments on improving ICT capability. This has been highlighted in the last few years in numerous events and conferences, including Harnessing ICTs for Development in Africa [UNECA (2002)]; The Africa-Asia Workshop: Promoting Co-operation in ICT Development [UNDP (2004)]; the Seminar for High-Level Experts on Policy Formulation and Practical Usage of ICTs for Higher Distance Education For countries in Africa [UNESCO (2002)]. The UN has also formed a special ICT Task Force to deal with this issue.

Steiner, R. et al. (2004) African Tertiary Institution Connectivity Survey. Washington D.C.: The World Bank Institute. pp. viii

17

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Report While these changes are heartening and bode well for future ICT development in SubSaharan Africa, it is still apparent that to be able to provide an ICT-based engineering education program and especially one that would lead to degree-level qualifications, an expansion of the current capabilities of institutions in both their internet bandwidth and computer capacity would be required. Such innovative approaches as bandwidth consortia could help tremendously in achieving this.

7.4 Unique Situation of South Africa

South Africa is by far the most developed nation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its per capita income is 50 times that of the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa and much of its infrastructure is that of a developed country. It currently has one computer per 8.6 people [CIA World Factbook (2007)]. The University of South Africa (UNISA) enrols around 130,000 distance education students, 10 times the number they have on campus, and 15,000 of these students live outside South Africa [Adei, S. (2001), pp. 15], mostly in other Sub-Saharan African countries. While the university does offer engineering courses through its distance education program, these are of a supplementary nature rather than full courses, and do not lead to a degree. The fact that this system of a semi ICT-based distance learning program is operating successfully and providing education courses to students in other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa means that it could present a model which might be built upon in developing a more full fledged ICT-based engineering education program for the region.

8 Engineering Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

The future of Sub-Saharan Africa will depend to a large extent on the abilities of the Sub-Saharan societies to introduce technological change as a permanent ongoing process. Engineering capacity will be a major factor in fostering this ability. (Manuel Zymelman, World Bank Institute)18

18

Zymelman, M. (1993) Assessing Engineering Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington D.C.: The World Bank Institute. pp. V

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Report

8.1 Dearth of Institutions Providing Engineering Education

There is very little information accessible on the availability of engineering education offered in Sub-Saharan Africa. No comprehensive database could be found, and most available articles and journals on the subject addressed only specific aspects of engineering education. One paper by the World Bank, however, did state that, of 27 of the largest universities in 13 Sub-Saharan African countries, only three offered engineering related degrees [Murphy, P. et al. (2002), pp. 6]. Although this is only a small sample of universities, this situation is probably a fair representation of the universe of African institutions. For example, Ghana, with a population of 14 million, has only one engineering school and a total stock of about 7000 engineers. They represent about 0.5% of Ghanas workforce. Engineers in the US constitute about 2% [Ntim, B.A. (1993)]. Technical colleges help in some ways to fill this gap. They are able to provide some engineering-related training, although generally only in specific technical skill areas such as air conditioning or basic electronics. The vast majority of these colleges are private, however, and are rarely monitored by the government or outside quality assurance agencies [Atchoarena, D. (2002), pp. 22]. There is also little to no accreditation for the courses they offer. Private institutions also have higher fees than their public counterparts, and can demand them because there are no equivalent public degrees available. There is little data available on the number of technical colleges operating in Sub-Saharan Africa, although according to one study they are growing rapidly to fill major gaps in all areas of public technical education. In Mali, for example, the number of these colleges rose from 11 in 1993 to 71 in 2000 [Atchoarena, D. (2002), pp. 26]. This further underlines the markets thirst for technical and engineering education, and the deficiency of such courses in public sector institutions.

8.2 Status of Engineering Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

It was also possible to gain an idea about the current status of engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa from an extrapolation of information that was available on related subjects. For example, of 528,000 scientific articles produced worldwide in 1999, only 3,600 were from Sub-Saharan Africa, of which almost all were from South

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Report Africa [Georghiou, L. and Harper, J.C. (2005), pp. 2]. Of these papers, less than 5% were related to engineering and technology. In the first half of the 1990s about 56,000 of the 192,000 university students from Sub-Saharan Africa, not including South Africa, were studying abroad because educational opportunities were unavailable in their own countries [Juma, M. (2003), pp. 221]. The indications are that a large number were undertaking courses in the engineering or related fields. For example, 22% of all Sub-Saharan African students studying in the US are enrolled in engineering [Juma, M. (2003), pp. 222], while overall only 4.7% of tertiary students in the US are enrolled in engineering or computer science programmes [National Center For Education Statistics (2007)]. Even where engineering education is offered in Sub-Saharan Africa there is concern about the quality and relevance of the education. A study of universities that did provide engineering education in the SubSaharan African region found that over 40% of staff posts were empty [African Network of Scientific and Technological Institutions (2005), pp. 11]. It also found that, due to the vast need for engineering skills, businesses often offered relatively large salaries in comparison to academic wages, drawing many teachers into the private sector. While this may meet some immediate needs of the companies, the result is fewer qualified teachers capable of producing the next generation of engineers. There are also indications that even where it is provided, engineering education is more under-funded than other subjects. A recent survey conducted by the African Network of Scientific and Technological Institutions (ANSTI) found that the average financial allocation for engineering sciences at a number of Sub-Saharan universities was about one eighth of what was allocated to the basic sciences [African Network of Scientific and Technological Institutions (2005), pp. 74].

8.3 Relevance of Engineering Education to Local Context

It is important to note that much of the engineering education that is available in SubSaharan Africa may not even be completely relevant to the local business economy. This seems to have been the case for a long time, as a study in 1970 concluded that African engineering education does not concentrate on aspects which are readily applicable within African communities19, while a report from 2005 found the situation much unchanged, stating there were large problems with the relevance of
19

Shojobi, O. (1970) New Approach to Training of Engineers in: McNown, S. Technical Education in Africa. Nairobi, Kenya: East African Publishing House.

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Report the curricula which needs to be re-examined for relevance, rationalization and efficient utilization of the resources.20 This latter report also found that, on average, the Sub-Saharan institutions only updated their curriculum every 10.4 years. This means that many engineers enter the market with either outdated or the wrong set of tools. This question of relevance is extremely important, as it directly relates to the value of the education which engineers receive. In surveys of firms in developing countries, a common finding was the importance they placed on the relevance of the education and training their employees received. Furthermore, it has already been mentioned that in the engineering field in Sub-Saharan Africa many, if not most, of the Africans entering this field study outside the region and often remain abroad. While this may be for economic reasons such as better jobs and salaries, it is also likely that they are not being trained to operate effectively in the local African environment. It appears logical that the education and skills provided to the students in their own countries should be adapted to their local conditions so that they would have a greater positive impact. It is also rational that, if this were the case, there would be a greater tendency for these persons to remain and work in their home countries. General Obasanjo, the president of Nigeria, alluded to this need to adapt such education to local needs when he stated, In education and in industrialization, we have used borrowed ideas, utilized borrowed experiences and funds and engaged borrowed hands. In our development programs and strategies, not much, if anything is ours.21 This overdependence on outside support and training, at least in the way it has been provided to date, may have even contributed to the lack of adaptability of education to Africas local needs.

8.4 Lack of Engineers

The number of engineers actually working in Sub-Saharan Africa is also an indication of the situation regarding engineering education. In 1993, there were 166 time more engineers per capita in developed countries than in the Sub-Saharan region [Zymelman, M. (1993), pp. xi]. Although this was over 14 years ago, the situation has
20

African Network of Scientific and Technological Institutions (2005) State of Science Training in Africa. Nairobi, Kenya. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. pp. 14 21 Lancaster, C. (1999) Aid to Africa London: The University of Chicago Press Ltd. pp. 3

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Report changed little, as indicated by the low percentage of engineers in Ghanas workforce. This massive disparity displays the true need for increased engineering education, and the failing of current methods of delivering it. A recent study concluded that The amount of engineering education and training required by engineers in Africa is so huge that it cannot be provided using resources within the region alone. This can be done only through international cooperation involving academic institutions and other organisations in the developed world and those in Africa. 22

ICT-based Engineering Education

The amount of engineering and engineering-related education available through ICT varies greatly based on the specific definition of education. The number of universities and institutions offering basic engineering training are too many to count. Much, if not most, of this training is meant simply to refresh the skill set of a professional in the relevant field, or to provide basic training for someone wishing to enter a new area of engineering. It appears that the reason for the large number of these technical courses is that they are relatively easy to set up as they focus on very specific topics, rather than on providing a complete engineering education. From reviewing the literature and conducting searches on the World Wide Web there seems to be very few universities anywhere that offer a full engineering degree through ICT. In the few cases where they do, most of these degrees are primarily computer science related, and, interestingly, they are not focused on the first degree but on postgraduate qualifications at the Masters or PhD levels. Again, a possible reason for this is that a shorter, more specialized course would be far easier to implement than one that spans three to four years. There also appear to be very few core engineering subjects offered through ICT, such as mechanical and civil engineering.

22

Antonio, J. (2004) How Can We Improve The State Of Continuing Engineering Education In Africa. Ghana: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. pp. 568

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Report The author examined 10 institutions in the U.S. offering engineering degrees online23. Of these institutions, only one offered a Bachelors degree in engineering, although they all offered various Masters degrees, with the most common subjects being electrical and software engineering, followed by chemical engineering. In all, there were 26 ICT-based engineering degrees offered, the majority at the Masters level. However, compared to other academic subject areas, especially those that are business or computer related, there are very few engineering courses available online. By far the most advanced offering of engineering degrees online was available from the Open University of the United Kingdom. Established in 1970, the OU has been offering ICT based distance education for longer than most other institutions. It offers a range of degrees with varying amounts of engineering detail, from Bachelor of Science (BSc), BSc (Honours) in Technology, Bachelor of Engineering, Masters of Engineering, and Postgraduate Diploma in Engineering. The Bachelor of Engineering degree is offered in a number of specialized engineering fields. The cost of an OU engineering degree ranges from US$8,000 to US$10,000 [Open University Online (2007)].

9.1 ICT-based Engineering Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

With the exception of the ICT-based engineering courses being provided from the University of South Africa, no information could be found on any other ICT-based engineering education taking place in Sub-Saharan Africa today. Information on the African Virtual University, discussed in Section 7.3.3, indicated that it was considering offering courses in engineering. Whether this has been done could not be determined, as it was not possible to access the AVU web site.

North Carolina State University, http://engineeringonline.ncsu.edu/ ; Walden University, http://www.waldenu.edu/; Westwood College Online, http://www.westwood.edu/; University Of Delaware, http://www.continuingstudies.udel.edu/udonline/; Penn Foster College, http://www.pennfostercollege.edu/; Drexel University, http://www.drexel.com/; University of Southern California, http://www.edusvcs.com/; Capitol College, http://www.capitol-college.edu/; California National University, http://www.cnuas.edu/Programs/; Capella University, http://www.capella.edu/;

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10 Engineering Firms Survey

10.1 Relevant Studies
Firm level surveys have shown that more than 20% of firms in developing countries rated inadequate skills and education of workers as a major or severe obstacle to upgrading their production processes [World Bank (2005), pp. 136-137]. A skilled workforce was seen as essential for firms to be able to adopt new and better product technologies, and the resultant improved investment climate was found to raise the returns to investing in education. To achieve this synergy in developing countries it was determined that education must be relevant to the skill needs of firms and there had to be a sound investment climate for the providers of education and training services, particularly those in the private sector which is growing rapidly in the developing world. [World Bank (2005), pp. 140]. These surveys have also found that life long learning (i.e. continuing education) improves the adaptability and employability of workers as economies in which they work undergo economic and technological change [World Bank (2005), pp. 143]. Although a number of World Bank reports and other studies have stressed the need for greater attention to be given to engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa, no information was found on the specific engineering skills needed by firms currently operating in the region. Moreover, while there was also evidence that the firms in developing countries most interested in upgrading their production processes were also those most inclined to invest in training their workforce, it was not possible to determine if this was also the case in Sub-Saharan Africa.

10.2 Methodology of Survey

The feasibility of delivering an engineering education course through ICT in SubSaharan Africa is not only dependant on technical capabilities, but also on the level of interest of the people who would benefit from it. In this case the end users of engineering education would be engineering firms in the region. It was therefore vital to understand both their needs and their willingness to participate in such an ICTbased course. It was from this standpoint that the survey was developed.

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10.2.1 Objectives of Survey

The key objectives of the survey were to determine: (1) What is the engineering situation in the region with relation to the skills graduates had and what skills need to be developed or strengthened? (2) How important did the firms feel certain skills and practical experiences were and what is the possibility of using ICT to develop these? (3) The level of interest of engineer employers in helping to develop and support appropriate engineering education of a tertiary nature (internships, links to university, etc.).

As mentioned above, the requirements for engineers in the region apparently differ from those in the developed world. This makes it vital that courses be adapted to the local environments, ensuring such training would be fully appropriate. It was important to determine what these skills are, and whether it would be feasible or even desirable to deliver training for these skills through ICT-based courses developed in conjunction with engineering companies in countries in the region. It has already been mentioned in Section 8.4 that the amount of engineering education needed in Sub-Saharan Africa can only be provided through international cooperation between academic institutions in Africa and those in the developed world. It was therefore considered important to determine what the employers feel about the development of such linkages and if they would be interested in helping their development. After consideration and evaluation of different data gathering techniques, it was decided that a web questionnaire was the most appropriate for the type of survey being conducted. This approach would make it possible to contact a large number of companies through email, explaining the project and directing them to the website. It would also allow them to complete the questionnaire whenever they had time, and the questionnaire itself would not take up their email storage space.

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10.2.2 Limitations
It is important to state the limitations of this survey to ensure that the interpretation of the data is as valid as possible. Due to distances, costs and times involved it was not possible to contact companies that did not have an active email address. Although in some respects it would have been useful to obtain the input of these companies, it is also unlikely that they would be interested in an ICT related course if they do not even use electronic mail. It was difficult to obtain a comprehensive list of the companies operating in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, with the main tool being relevant search engines. While there are a few engineering company databases, such as Brabys and The World Bank African Business Directory, these contained many companies with no stated email or web address [Brabys.com (2007); World Bank (2007)]. Therefore, the survey cannot be considered to have captured a completely random subset of all companies. Email addresses were obtained for a total of 385 companies. However, when they were sent emails regarding the survey, 135 or 35% of these email addresses were found to no longer exist. This left a survey universe of 250 companies, of which 51 sent back responses. There was no way to ascertain if those companies with invalid email addresses had simply changed or stopped using their addresses or had ceased to exist. Another possible limitation stems from the fact that 56% of the companies that actually responded are based in South Africa. This is because, as mentioned in Section 7.4, South Africa is relatively developed when compared to the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa. It has a much greater technical base, and the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of US$13000 is 50 times higher than most other Sub-Saharan countries [CIA World Factbook (2007)]. However, even given these advantages, a full engineering program delivered through ICT would have just as positive an impact in South Africa since the questionnaire found no discernable divergence between the views expressed by South African companies and those of other countries in the region.

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10.2.3 Questionnaire Development

Proper development of the questionnaire was crucial to obtain data appropriate to the topics under examination. It was understood from the beginning that the data collected would be of a basic nature and that a more in-depth study would have to be conducted at a later date should it be decided to pursue the development of an ICT-based engineering program for Sub-Saharan Africa. Due to the reliance upon web-based technologies and considering the fact that engineering business are busy environments and people often put off completing questionnaires if they feel they are too time consuming, it was very important to have as few questions as possible while also making them easy to complete. A significant amount of effort was therefore devoted to determining exactly what data were needed and how they could be obtained from a particular question or questions. Several reference books were used to help in the formation of appropriate questions that would not lead the contributor in any way, including two of the most widely respected; Questionnaire Design : A Practical Introduction and Questionnaire Design, Interviewing, and Aptitude Measuring [Wilson, N. (1994); Oppenhien, A. N. (2000)]. To formulate appropriate questions regarding skills, the programme outcomes of several universities (including the Open University in the UK) were researched to determine the key skills that engineers should acquire from their education. The bulk of the questions were then divided into two main areas; skill sets, and ICT course interest. These included a ranking of the main skills related to engineering in SubSaharan Africa as determined by research of the area. The questionnaire can be found in Appendix 3. After the questions were formulated, software was investigated that could present them and collect the answers easily. Several software packages were examined, and a professional program called Web Questionnaire by CompressWeb was chosen due to its ease of use and automated emailing of responses [CompressWeb (2006)]. The program also allowed ample configurations to ensure that questions were presented clearly and professionally.

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Report Once the questionnaire was completed and a list of companies compiled from all available sources, an email cover letter was prepared. This was kept short, stating the purpose of the questionnaire, how the company was found, and requesting the company to complete it. The questionnaire itself included a question regarding whether or not the firm would like to know the results of the survey. The emails informed the participants that their company would not be mentioned by name anywhere in the findings, as this could affect their answers or discourage their participation. A separate personalised email was sent to each firm to try and ensure the maximum number of responses. The cover letter can be found in Appendix 2. The questionnaire went sent out on the 24th of November, 2006, and the survey was closed on January 31st, 2007 to allow ample time to investigate the results.

10.2.4 Pearsons Correlation and Cross Tabulation

Prior to conducting analysis on the questionnaire data, several leading books on survey data analysis and a professional statistician were consulted to determine the most appropriate techniques to use for the kinds of data collected [Siegel, A. (1996)]. It was possible, from examining simple tabulations and listings of responses, to make some general statements regarding issues such as whether or not the employers feel that the engineers they have hired have received adequate and appropriate education for the jobs they are doing. However, it was also important to determine if there were significant relationships between particular sets of responses. To do this it was decided that the most appropriate tools to use would be partial-correlation and crosstabulation. While fairly simple, these were both appropriate for the type of data collected and were very useful in displaying the level of association between important responses. The questions that were thought to have significant links to each other were then paired and analysed by a professional statistics program, SPSS to find their Pearsons correlation value24 [SPSS Incorporated (2007)]. This correlation coefficient was specifically used in this case because of the ratio-based nature of the results, which would require Pearsons analysis. It was also the form recommended to

Wikepedia (2007) Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient. Available At: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson_product-moment_correlation_coefficient [Accessed: 20 January, 2007].

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Report the author by the professional statistician who was contacted regarding the analysis of the survey. Cross tabulation, a process in which two sets of data are compared against each other based on how the percentage of responses to one question is related to those of another, was used in the survey to help display and fully quantify the important correlations found using Pearsons. Discussed in Section 10.3.2, only pairs that had a significant correlation values were cross tabulated. The fully analysed correlations can be found in Appendix 5.

10.3 Survey Results and Analysis

In all, 51 of the 250 companies who were requested to participate in the survey did so. At just over 20%, this was a reasonable reply rate given the fact that the companies were contacted by email, a relatively impersonal medium. The respondents were located in a total of 13 Sub-Saharan African countries. The specific responses can be found in Appendix 4.

10.3.1 Direct Data Analysis

The responses to survey questions were analysed in a number of ways. First of all, some information could be drawn simply from an examination of the distributions of the answers. Figure 1 below shows the responses regarding the importance SubSaharan engineering companies placed on certain skills or qualifications. It can be seen that they thought the most vital professional skills or qualifications needed for their engineers were an understanding of engineering principals and their computer literacy. Three quarters also felt that a quality, accredited degree in engineering and work experience were essential. The skills or criteria seen as the least vital were foreign language skills, which over half felt were unimportant. While grades received (in obtaining a degree) and business skills were not seen as vital, a full three quarters still saw them as important to have. The criterion relating to understanding engineering principals, which 94% of the respondents rated as vital, is possibly somewhat obvious, as there are not many firms that would want to employ engineers who do not know the basics of their trade. However, this criterion was included in the

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Report questionnaire to gauge the importance of later questions relating to the quality of training the companies believe their engineers have received.
Figure 1 : Professional Skills
Grades Received Business Skills Foreign Language Writing Skills 10% Math Ability 6% Verbal Skills Work Experience in Appropriate Area 6% Degree - Creditability 6% Computer Literacy Understanding of Engineering Principles
16% 4%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

27% 25% 54% 33% 37% 37% 29% 24%

57% 55% 26% 57% 57% 61% 65% 71% 84% 94%
50% 60% 70% 80%

16% 20% 20%

90%

100%

Not Important + Somewhat Important

Important

Very Important + Vital

The importance placed on managerial and soft skills was also examined. As shown in Figure 2, 90% of the respondents felt that problem solving/creativity was by far the most important skill, followed by time management and teamwork. Only a quarter of the firms felt that business management skills were very important or essential although over three quarters felt these skills were at least important.
Figure 2 : M anagerial / Soft Skills
Business Management Skills Organisation Teamwork Time Management Problem Solving/Creativity
4% 10%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

22% 4% 30% 24% 40%

52% 56% 70% 72% 90%

50% 60% 70% 80%

26%

90%

100%

Not Important + Somewhat Important

Important

Very Important + Vital

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Report In addition to the specific skills listed in the questionnaire, companies were asked about any other skills they felt were important for an engineer to possess. Figure 3 illustrates the distribution of the total responses received. Of these, people skills and initiative were the most commonly mentioned, representing 34% of the responses. Business awareness and practical engineering ability were the two other most mentioned skills.
F ig u re 3 : O th e r Im p o rta n t S kills

4% 4% 7% 7% 9%

18%

People Skills Initiative Unique Answers Business Awareness Practical Engineering Ability

16%

Integrity Comfortable With Responsibility Personality

11% 11%

13%

Hard Working/Committed Willingness to learn

The questionnaire sought to obtain information on what qualities these companies felt were most lacking in engineers working for them. These responses are presented in Figure 4. Almost one third of the respondents felt that practical engineering experience and skills were the qualities most lacking in their engineers, followed by communication skills.
Figure 4 : Q ualities Lacking
2% 4%2% 4% 4% 8% 8% 8% 10% 20% Practical Experience/Engineering Skills Communication Skills Commitment/Focus On Money Application of Knowledge IT Skills Business Accumen People Skills Problem Solving Innovation Honesty None lacking

30%

When asked about the primary criteria utilised in selecting new engineers, the largest number (42%) stated that experience and qualifications were the most vital, while 70

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Report % felt an internationally certified degree in engineering was either important or vital. Only around half (51%) of the companies felt that the education and training their engineers had received was relevant for the job, while a further 31% felt it was only semi-relevant. Eighteen percent did not feel the training their engineers had received was appropriate at all. The largest number (39%) felt that the lack of relevance of the education received stemmed largely from a dearth of practical experience (39%) and a shortage of soft skills (38%). It is interesting to note that project management/practical skills (40%) and business experience (24%) topped the list of skills training which the firms felt would have been most beneficial for their graduate engineers. These responses relate closely to the principal kinds of jobs these companies said they would most likely hire engineers for, i.e., project engineers and business analysts. Two thirds of the companies surveyed also indicated the importance of their engineers being trained to work in the business side of engineering in order to be able to gain and keep clients, and 84% thought training in marketing and business was either important or essential for their engineers. In attempting to ascertain how interested Sub-Saharan African companies would be in ICT-based education, including some form of continuing education in engineering, the survey found that 58% indicated they would find a continuing education course in engineering very useful. Only 10% felt it would not be useful. Seventy-three percent were especially interested in participating in such a course offered over the internet by an accredited university. The principal skills they would seek to upgrade using such a program were engineering management (34%) followed by technical and IT skills (18% each). The survey sought to determine if companies in Sub-Saharan Africa would have an interest in working with universities to both improve engineering education and make it more relevant to their needs. The response was very positive, with 78% indicating they would be interested in having ties to local universities, not only to help the firms themselves find future employees (31%), but also to help them gain knowledge on the latest engineering developments (29%) and improve the training their engineers receive (26%). Almost two thirds said they would be interested in helping develop engineering education with local institutions, and that this link would make them more willing to hire engineers from these establishments. Three quarters of the

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Report respondents stated they were even willing to host placements (engineering interns) for periods ranging from two weeks to six months. Quite obviously, these companies see the importance to themselves of helping to improve and strengthen engineering education locally and in making it more relevant for their needs.

10.3.2 Correlation and Cross Tabulation Analysis

In order to extract additional information from the responses, a number of correlations between various sets of responses were examined to determine if any significant level of association existed. In all, 17 sets of variables were examined using the Pearsons correlation, and those with the strongest correlation were then cross tabulated. For this analysis, a Pearsons value of 0.2 was chosen as the minimum significant correlation. Although lower than often accepted value of 0.5, this level was considered reasonable as it discarded the majority of the un-correlated data while providing a wealth of interesting and significant relationships. This analysis produced a number of interesting correlations, in particular with respect to the importance these companies placed on formal qualifications (degrees) and their willingness to help develop or improve engineering education in local institutions or to participate in ICT-based education. Essentially, all of those who considered a reputable degree in engineering to be an important qualification were interested to some degree in ICT-based engineering education. Two thirds (65%) indicated they were even willing to pay for this kind of education. Most of the companies (85%) who felt an internationally recognized degree was important also saw value both for themselves and for improving local engineering education in having links with an educational institution. Over four fifths (82%) of this same group were willing to host placements of engineers as part of their education.

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11 Discussion
Is it feasible to deliver tertiary level ICT-based engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa? The study found that, given the current socio-economic situation of Sub-Saharan Africa, and the current state of the regions tertiary educations institutions, the only way it will be possible to increase access to and improve the quality of tertiary education in this region will be through some form of ICT-based delivery. This realization seems to be quite widespread, both among the countries in the region and donor organisations interested in Sub-Saharan Africas development. It also appears widely accepted that Africas future advancement and economic prosperity will depend to a large extent upon its ability to produce much greater numbers of engineers and other technical specialists who can help the region develop. There are simply too few engineers at present in Sub-Saharan Africa, too much of the engineering education takes place outside the region, too many Africans who enter the engineering field do not stay or return to work in their home countries, too much of the education current Sub-Saharan African engineers receive is not relevant to local needs, and the situation is not improving. This study also found that the current development of ICT and the continuing advancements being made in the capabilities of learning management systems to more effectively deliver education through these means are more than sufficient to support ICT-based engineering degree education. Even though there are few examples of where this is currently taking place, the experience to date especially with the UKs Open University fully supports this view. Even in these instances, however, there is not yet total reliance upon online education. In answering a question about whether engineers can be trained purely through ICT, the head of the Engineering Department at the OU, Dr. Mark Endean, stated that We have all of the know-how and technical support to deliver virtually everything we do online. We are reluctant, however, to make a wholesale shift to online presentation as long as there is still a strong dependence on reading matter. What we do at present, sending physical print but allowing students to download, is an excellent balance. But there is a move away from

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Report print towards learning resources that are in the public domain, and this will reduce our dependence on conventional postal services. 25 A similar situation was found in the only case where ICT-based tertiary level engineering education was being provided in the Sub-Saharan African region. As mentioned earlier, the University of South Africa external education program was found to offer some courses in engineering fields, mostly Bachelors of technology degrees in IT related areas or Masters level degrees in chemical engineering in conjunction with a specific South African industry. It did not, however, offer a full engineering degree program. Like the OU, the courses offered by this university are not entirely ICT-based, but use postal services to deliver content as well as require the purchase of course books. Similar to all other ICT-based distance learning courses studied, examinations and course assessments were required to be done at particular centres. It is important to note that most of the 15,000 students from outside South Africa who are enrolled in the various programs are resident in other Sub-Saharan African countries. While the author attempted to contact the university to find out more about how these programs actually were conducted, no reply was received. Still, the experience of these two institutions, the OU and the University of South Africa, would prove invaluable in any further development of ICT-based tertiary level engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Almost all universities in Sub-Saharan Africa are making use of ICT to deliver education to some extent. There is also interest on their own behalf and on that of donors and development agencies in supporting the increased use of ICT to expand access, raise quality and compensate for the inability of these institutions to keep pace with the growing need for tertiary education in these countries. Bandwidth is increasing and there is interest in pursuing initiatives such as bandwidth consortia to deal with the severe shortages suffered by most universities. Still, it is in this technical resource area that the major obstacles lie with respect to expanding and more effectively utilizing ICT-based education, and this is especially the case for engineering education. Even with the positive developments that are taking place, the current computing and internet bandwidth levels of most Sub-Saharan African
Endean, Mark. Engineering Programme Director, (M.H.Endean@open.ac.uk), 10 February 2007. Data obtained directly from email questionnaire from Dr. Endean.
25

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Report universities are not capable of running a full degree level ICT engineering course. The ratio of one computer for every 55 students is extremely low even for a completely traditional education based university, and this ratio would need to be reduced to a maximum of 3-2 students per computer for those taking such a course. This is definitely achievable, but probably only with significant resources provided from either governments or development organizations. The greater of the two problems is the amount of available bandwidth because this cannot be as easily purchased. Although it varies widely from institution to institution, the average speed of 3.36 Kbps would need to be increased by about 40 times to allow live video, the most bandwidth hogging aspect of most ICT courses. The formation of bandwidth consortia is seen by many studies as the only real solution to this problem, vastly increasing the buying power of each institution and providing them with reliable internet connections. As with the lack of computers, effectively dealing with this problem and facilitating the development of bandwidth consortia will require considerable investment in the short term which almost certainly will have to come from governments or the donor community. There is also the question of quality and relevance of the education being provided. The importance of this aspect of education, especially for engineers and those who must deal with and contribute to technological change, has been reiterated in numerous articles and papers. The World Bank investment surveys of firms in developing countries found that this was extremely important for those firms which wanted to adopt newer and better product technologies and upgrade their production processes. The survey conducted for this study also found this to be the case. The companies in the Sub-Saharan African region want and need more relevant engineering education and the findings of the firm survey showed that their interest is sufficiently strong to be able to elicit their support in helping to make the engineering education from local institutions more relevant. They also indicated that they were prepared to support better engineering education both financially and in kind, such as supporting internships and linking with universities to help improve the engineering education they provide. Even more important from the ICT standpoint is the fact that these companies see the usefulness of using this approach both for continuing education to keep up-to-date on the latest engineering advances, and to gain the

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Report credibility that a degree in engineering from a recognized institution can convey. The overall conclusions that can be reached from these data are that ICT-based engineering education courses leading to a degree-level qualification would be welcomed, used and supported if they were available and seen as relevant for the needs of those organisations and firms employing engineers. The relevance of the education could best be achieved by working with local institutions and local employers of engineers, the end users, to ensure that it resulted in the development of the skills they considered the most important. Where does this leave us? The answer to the question of feasibility of delivering tertiary level ICT-based engineering education to Sub-Saharan Africa is not a simple one. While it is definitely possible to do so it is not, at this time, feasible on a broad scale. What does appear feasible, however, is enhancing engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa through a two part approach to developing a viable ICT-based engineering education program for this region. First, it would be possible now to reach a fairly large student population with what could be considered foundation courses, e.g., engineering courses which would provide the basics needed to prepare individuals to pursue engineering education at higher levels. Sub-Saharan African universities do appear to have the capability at this time to be able to offer such courses using ICT. This approach would start to build the pool of students who could then go on to pursue higher level engineering education, which might be able to be provided from other centres, such as an enhanced external program from the OU, the University of South Africa or other similar institutions. The second part of this approach then would be the further development of full degree ICT-based engineering education courses and accompanying continuing education modules which are specifically relevant for the needs of Sub-Saharan Africa. Possible ways for this to take place might be for the Open University to work with the University of South Africa to develop such programs in conjunction with a consortium of Sub-Saharan African university engineering departments which would, in turn, work with local employers of engineers to help ensure that the training was relevant in their countries. These courses and programs would then have the credibility of being provided or backed by these more established universities.

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Report Being able to pursue this approach, however, would be contingent upon obtaining the necessary resources. These almost certainly would have to come from outside the region in most cases, either from donor agencies such as the World Bank, or possibly from organizations with an interest in ICT, such as the Gates Foundation. It appears entirely feasible that a project supported by one or even a number of these organizations could be designed to increase and enhance tertiary level engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study provides some groundwork for how this might be done.

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Report

12 Conclusions
The aim of this report was to determine whether the provision of engineering education to Sub-Saharan Africa is feasible using current information and communication technologies. In relation to the research objectives of the report, a number of important findings were extrapolated. Using ICT at a tertiary level is now widespread around the world. There are well developed learning management systems that can deliver virtually everything needed to support a course. Government regulations in Sub-Saharan Africa are easing and the internet market is growing, allowing cheaper and increased bandwidth. Bandwidth Consortia are being promoted and possibly implemented to further improve this situation. International donors are making active moves to improve ICT at all levels, with a focus on tertiary education. The current state of engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa is dire and its future does not look bright without outside intervention. The number of engineers available is extremely small and the education for those who are being trained is often not appropriate to local needs. Sub-Saharan Africa requires a far greater number of engineers and ICT is the only viable option for producing them. Currently, distance ICT-based engineering education in the region is limited to only a few courses offered by the University of South Africa. These are not full degree courses, however, and are tailored specifically to South African needs. This established base and experience, however, would make UNISA a good development partner for engineering courses. There is strong local interest in an ICT facilitated engineering course throughout the Sub-Saharan region. Local firms are willing to help develop such a course and see the benefits it could offer them. Many would also encourage their employees to participate in an engineering course and are willing to pay for it. To conclude, delivering engineering education through ICT to Sub-Saharan Africa is currently possible. Although there are still substantial obstacles to overcome, this project could commence with sufficient financial backing.

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13 Further Work
(1) Are the political environments accepting to such a course? Although this topic was looked at briefly during the development of this report it was not as one of the key areas of focus. Whether individual countries in SubSaharan Africa are politically willing to support an engineering education course through ICT would be vital to its implementation. (2) What institutions/agencies would be willing to finance and develop an ICT engineering education course? This study found that the World Bank, DfID, USAID and the Gates Foundation are all interested in supporting the expansion of education through ICT in Africa. Specifically determining their interest in an ICT-based engineering course would be vital before more in-depth steps could be taken. (3) How do non-internet connected companies feel about the usefulness of such a course, and about their current engineers? One of the limitations of this report was that it was not able to contact a sufficient number of companies who did not have an email address or website. This was both due to time constraints as well as a lack of sufficient information on engineering businesses in individual countries. The views of such companies might be found to vary widely from those emailed as part of the survey carried out for this report. (4) How do Open University or University of South Africa ICT trained engineers compete in the job market relative to their traditional counterparts? Knowing how engineers who have been trained through an ICT environment perform in the job market is vital as it directly reflects not only the quality of the course but also possible prejudices there might be against distance learning programs.

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References

14 References
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[10] Beebe, M. (2003) Africa Dot Edu. New Delhi, India: Tata McGraw-Hill. [11] Bloom, D., Canning, C. and Chan, K. (2006) Higher Education and Economic Development in Africa. Boston: Harvard University Press. [12] Boettcher, J. (2007) Online Course Development: What Does It Cost?. Available At: http://campustechnology.com/article.asp?id=9676&p=1 [Accessed: 16 January, 2007] [13] Brabys.com (2007) South Africa Business Directory. Available At: http://www.brabys.com/ [Accessed: 10 November, 2006]. [14] Carliner, S. (2000) Designing E-Learning. Alexandria, VA: ASTD Press. [15] CIA World Factbook (2007) World Factbook South Africa. Available At: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sf.html [Accessed: 10 February, 2007]. [16] Coldeway, D. O. (2001) The Success of Advanced Learning Technologies for Instruction: Research and Evaluation of Human Factors Issues. Washington D.C.: IEEE Computer Society. [17] CompressWeb (2006) Web Questionnaire Program Version 4.0.2. Available At: http://www.compressweb.com/index.php?module=pagemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page &PAGE_id=30 [Accessed: 20 October, 2007] [18] Computer Aid (2007) ComputerAid Technical Specifications. Available At: http://www.computeraid.org/TechnicalSpecs.htm [Accessed: 14 January, 2007]. [19] Computers 4 Africa (2007) Main Webpage. Available At: http://www.computers4africa.org/index.htm [Accessed: 14 January, 2007].

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Appendix 1

Appendix 1 : Logbook Of Meetings With Supervisor

This logbook describes what was discussed each week, what was done, etc.

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Appendix 1

Final Year Project Supervision 2006/07: Nicholas Kirkland (Durham)

Meeting Overview: Note : Exact weekly meetings were not possible the first term, due to other commitments for Professor Vitanov.
Date - Time 22/06/2006 12.00 11/10/2006 14.30 17/10/2006 15:00 27/10/2006 10:00 02/11/2006 14:00 12/11/2006 17:00 20/11/2006 14:30 27/11/2006 10:00 Topic Preliminary discussion of project with Dr. Schaeffer First Meeting with Prof. Vitanov Discussion about what project will encompass Project Plan, Focus Down, Journal Submissions Employment Needs, Entry Requirements, Survey Questionnaire Improvement, Company Collection Final Questionnaire, Initial Outline Ideas Final Meeting of Term Industrial Project Week Unable to meet Christmas Break 20/01/2007 3:15 27/01/2007 2:00 31/01/2007 10:00 07/02/2007 10:00 14/02/2007 10:00 21/02/2007 10:00 05/03/2007 Work Over Christmas Break Discussion of Work done, Overview of Project Outline Quick Check Up / Questions Project Presentation Practice 1 Project Presentation Practice 2 Project Presentation Practice 3 Project Presentation Practice 4 First Draft Handed In Attendance yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

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Appendix 1 Meeting notes:

22/06/2006 Dr. Schaefer

Preliminary discussion of project

Gave project brief, with two papers on what to do over the summer (goals) and described the project in further detail Discussed what is expected of the project, the level of professionalism that is required Expressed interest to find a journal to have the report published in, making it more useful and accessible to a wider community Asked to contact Dr. Schaefer in late September or early October to arrange for a first regular project meeting in the first week of term Gave email address and quick breakdown of plans for summer Enjoyed discussion about the project, previously started thinking about what could be done over the summer Agreed to work through the materials Expressed idea that might want the project to change slightly, adapting to specific interests. This was agreed as a good idea. No limits were set on the project Summer 2006

Nick Kirkland

Nick / Dr. Schaefer

Started working on project, researching heavily into engineering drawing courses that are available (online and off) Discovering that this area may not be completely novel and new research, and could lead to possible problems later, decided to consider other adaptations of the idea Contacted Dr. Schaefer with several new ideas. It was agreed upon to look into the Use of IT to apply Engineering Education to the Developing World Research change. The area appears to be too large to study, topic changed to Sub-Sahara Africa due to needs in this region, and the greater use research in this area would hold Acquired books, papers, downloads on the topic. Contacted just under a dozen people from different organizations concerning the project and requesting specific information Found journals to publish results in. To be looked at further when project is closer of being finished Had article posted in popular Higher Education Academy ebullition, asking for related help and resources 11/10/2006 First Meeting with Prof. Vitanov

NK VV

Met Professor Val Vitanov, new supervisor at Durham after Dr. Schaefer has moved to Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia Prof. Vitanov will not be able to have weekly meetings, due to commitments at Cranfield University. Shall aim to meet once a week, depending on availability Discusses change of topic Agreed that following personal interest is a good idea, although care must be taken to focus down Arranged time to meet next week, to discuss project in further detail and make plans 17/10/2006 Discussion about what project will encompass

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Appendix 1
NK VV / In depth discussion of project to date Project plan needed, understanding of what was to be contained in it was gained Resources would need to be recorded Prof. Vitanov suggested that a large folder should be bought to contain all the relevant data and papers for the project Organization was deemed extremely important from the beginning All summer work, which was recorded, including correspondence and relevant articles were discussed over with Prof. Vitanov Both parties were happy with the progression of the report to date, and agree to create some key objectives to complete each week 27/10/2006 NK VV / Project Plan, Focus Down, Journal Submissions

Went over final draft of Project Plan Project Plan will be updated as work continues, to properly display the scope of the project NK will keep on track for the same project. Title has been changed to An investigation into the possibility of utilising current information and communication technologies to deliver appropriate engineering education to sub-Sahara Africa VV stressed importance of keeping on track, and not straying too far from topic, especially at a later date Stressed the need to focus down on specific parts of research to look at each week This weeks goals were to look at 1) How to deliver the knowledge? And 2) What are the requirements? NK will contact the Open University for details in these areas, due to the OUs vast knowledge and experience Journal submissions were discussed NK expressed wish to have project report published in at least one journal. Dr. Schaefer wishes a submission to a conference in California. Timing is about the same as for the report to the Engineering Department, so it could work out well It was decided that other submissions would be thought about later on in the project, allowing it to progress and determine findings first 02/11/2006 Employment Needs, Entry Requirements, Survey

NK VV

Discussed work done over previous week 1. Investigate Employment Needs a. Contacted IMechE representative in Tanzania (African Rep) (Bounced Email) b. Contacted overall International IMechE Rep, Maria Taylor c. Looked up papers in IMechE database, will sign up and read 2. Research Entry Requirements for DL courses a. Contacted Open University Sarah McGowan about entry requirements for their courses 3. Contacted various other companies in the area, awaiting replies Goals for next week would be to investigate the employment needs, the required skills for most engineers to get jobs, and the market demand Understand better the entry requirements for distance learning courses Discussed the use of a survey to gain insight into what companies want from engineers

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Appendix 1
NK would research books on how to prepare and carry out a survey, to ensure it is profession and scientifically done A list of questions would be prepared for the next week, to be discussed 12/11/2006 NK VV / Questionnaire Improvement, Company Collection

The main focus of the meeting was the questionnaire that would shortly be sent out to a number of companies that hire engineers in SS Africa A Web Questionnaire package had been selected and bought to carry out the survey. It was found that the Durham network was incompatible with an Email Questionnaire equivalent VV made suggestions to improve the questions and layout It was decided to send the questionnaire out before the start of the Industrial Placement for the DMM course. This would allow ample time for companies to reply The list of companies was discussed. As much information as possible should be collected on each, for future analysis purposes 20/11/2006 Final Questionnaire, Initial Outline Ideas

NK VV

The questionnaire was finalised, ready to be sent in the following few days Research would now focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, and the local resources available The importance of what needs to be known about the local situations was discussed It was decided that the report must clearly state what is and isnt covered. Issues such as the political situations of individual countries could not be covered by the project, due to complexity and short time available 27/11/2006 Final Meeting of Term

NK VV

VV recommends that analysis techniques for questionnaires be researched, to fully analyze the results NK will check out a book from the library on this area, to study over Christmas Christmas break will be focused on the questionnaire, finding new companies to contact, and collecting the responses The project plan will also get updated, to reflect the actual progression of the project and what needs to be finished Time will be used to Re-focus the project, and ensure that everything is on track Christmas Break Work Over Christmas Break

NK VV

Over the Christmas break another 200-300 companies were contacted regarding the questionnaire The Gantt Chart was updated An initial outline of the project was prepared. This was discussed with Dr. Schaefer, and subsequent changes were made 20/01/2007 Discussion of Work done, Overview of Project Outline

NK VV

Work done over the Christmas break was discussed NK will move on from the questionnaire, starting to actually write up the report. This will help determine where more information may be needed An abstract will also need to be prepared for submission by the end of the month for the California Conference

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Appendix 1
VV decided that meetings would now be group presentations, starting on Wednesdays 27/01/2007 NK VV / Quick Check Up / Questions

Questions are asked regarding outline format, as this changes as more is written (to ensure smooth flow) Example of outline with work done is displayed to VV, discussed 31/01/2007 Project Presentation Practice 1

NK VV

Abstract was submitted First project presentation practice Aim is to improve presentation skills, bur primarily to determine where information may be lacking, or argument does not hold Feedback includes: o Explain what the terms are more clearly o More focus on what was done during project o Good speech techniques 7/01/2007 Project Presentation Practice 2

NK VV

Second Project Presentation improving on first Feedback includes: o Good changes from last week. o Need for more focus on financial side o Was decided to include slide about how much work is done each week Graphs that have text that is too small to read should be explained more, or made into handout 14/01/2007 Project Presentation Practice 3

NK VV

Third Project Presentation Improvements with extra slide of work done. Feedback includes: o More graphs would help display information better, too wordy 21/01/2007 Project Presentation Practice 4

NK VV

Fourth And Final Project Presentation Practice Feedback includes: o Analysis of Questionnaire was good, make sure important points are highlighted o Presentation is good, to point Draft Paper will be handed in on Monday, 5 March. VV will be away the next week, email if it is important. 05/03/2007 Project Draft Handed In

NK VV

Draft was handed in to VV, as well as being sent to Dr. Schaefer Will await feedback

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Appendix 2

Appendix 2 : Company Cover Email For Questionnaire Survey

Survey Of Sub-Saharan Engineering Firms Dear Sir or Madam: My name is Nick Kirkland, and I am currently a 4th year student completing a Masters in Engineering course at Durham University, England. I am doing research for my final year project, which is an investigation into the use of Information Technology to provide Engineering Courses to the Sub-Sahara Africa, and in providing the courses to educational institutions like universities.

I found your firm, __________, on the EngNet Directory for Africa.

Below is a link to a questionnaire that I would like you to participate in. It is very easy to fill in, and will take less than 10 minutes of your time. The survey relates to qualities companies look for when hiring engineers, and your relationship with local educational institutions.

The questionnaire is completely anonymous, and _________ will not be mentioned anywhere in the findings.

If you wish, I can also send you the findings at the end. Please complete the questionnaire at:

http://www.dur.ac.uk/n.t.kirkland/questionnaire.html
Your help is greatly appreciated! Sincerely, Nick Kirkland 4th Year MEng Student Durham University

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Appendix 3

Appendix 3 : Web Questionnaire

The questionnaire which was used for the survey of engineering firms in this report.

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Appendix 3

Questionnaire Regarding Hiring Engineers

This questionnaire should take under 10 minutes to complete. It is completely anonymous. At the end there is a box to indicate whether you would like to receive the compiled results when the survey is finished.

1) What skills do you look for when hiring engineers, and how important are they to your business?

Professional Skills

Not Important Somewhat Important Important Very Important Vital Math Ability Writing Skills Verbal SKills Foreign Language (English or Other) Understanding of Engineering Principles Computer Literacy Work Experience In Appropriate Area Degree - Creditability Grades Recieved Business Skills

Managerial Skills

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Not Important Management Skills Teamwork Problem Solving / Creativity Time Management Organisation

Somewhat Important

Appendix 3 Important Very Important Vital

Other Skills You Look For

2) What critical skills do you find are most lacking in currently trained engineers? How may these be rectified?

3) What criteria do you use when selecting new engineers, and why are these important?

4) How important is a internationally certified and recognized degree to your company when considering hiring new engineers?

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Vital Important Not Imporatant

Appendix 3

5) Is training and experience in marketing and managing the business side of operations important skills for engineers to have, and if so why?

Vital Important Not Imporatant

6) In what capacity would an engineering graduate be employed in your company?

7) How relevant do you think the training your engineers have received is for the job you need done? If it is not relevant, why do you think this may be?

Very Relevant Semi Relevant Not Relevant

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Appendix 3
8) Is there a type of training that would have been more beneficial for their work in your company?

9) Would you be prepared to pay for and use a "continuing education" course for your engineers, constantly upgrading their skills? What skills would you focus on advancing?

Very Useful Semi Useful Not Useful

10) Would you participate in such a course offered over the internet by an accredited university?

Yes No
Next
Created by web questionnaire.

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Appendix 3

Questionnaire Regarding Hiring Engineers

Many universities and educational organizations around the world are focusing increasingly on stronger ties to industry. This is especially important in the engineering field, and it helps ensure formal education is directly relevant to local companies. To be successful, institutions that produce engineers need to be cognizant about what the current and future needs of industry are so they can make sure that their graduates are properly prepared for work. This means that industries themselves should have an input into the development of appropriate engineering curricula/ education. Many universities and engineering schools work with local companies to place interns for periods of time so students get on-the-job experience, and the companies themselves have a way to communicate their needs to the educational institution.

11) Would these links to educational institutions be valuable to your company? If so, in what ways do you think you would benefit?

Yes No

12) Would your company host placements? (2 Weeks to 6 Months)

Yes No

13) Would you be interested in helping to develop engineering courses that are more relevant and applicable to the local market?

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Yes No

Appendix 3

14) If so, would this make you more willing to hire engineers from this university?

Yes No

Would you like to recieve the results from this survey?

Yes No

Please enter your company name, simply so I know who has replied. This data will not be shared with anyone.

Company Name

Thank you very much for completing this survey! Your input is greatly appreciated! Please click SUBMIT to finish.

Back

Submit
Created by web questionnaire.

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Appendix 4

Appendix 4 : Responses To Survey Questionnaire

The responses to the questionnaire found in Appendix 3.

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Appendix 4

1) What skills do you look for when hiring engineers, and how important are they to your business?
Professional Skills Math Ability
Very Important Very Important Important Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Important Important Important Important Important Important Somewhat Important Very Important Very Important Important Very Important Vital Important Very Important Important Important Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Somewhat Important Vital Important Vital Important Vital Important Very Important Important Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Important Very Important Somewhat Important Vital Important Important Very Important Vital

Reply# 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

Writing Skills
Important Very Important Very Important Vital Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Important Important Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Vital Important Important Important Important Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Vital Vital Important Important Important Important Very Important Vital Very Important Somewhat Important Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Vital Very Important Important Somewhat Important Vital Very Important Important Important Vital

Verbal Skills
Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Important Important Important Important Somewhat Important Important Vital Important Important Important Important Vital Very Important Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Vital Very Important Important Important Important Important Very Important Vital Very Important Important Very Important Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Vital Vital Very Important Important Important Vital

Foreign Language (English or Other)

Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Important Very Important Important Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Not Important Somewhat Important Not Important Not Important Not Important Somewhat Important Important Important Somewhat Important Important Important Vital Not Important Very Important Very Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Very Important Somewhat Important Important Not Important Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Not Important Vital Important Important Not Important Somewhat Important Very Important Important Somewhat Important Very Important Vital Not Important Vital Somewhat Important Not Important Somewhat Important

Understanding of Engineering Principles

Very Important Vital Vital Vital Vital Vital Vital Vital Vital Vital Very Important Vital Very Important Very Important Important Very Important Vital Very Important Vital Very Important Very Important Vital Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Vital Vital Vital Vital Vital Important Very Important Vital Very Important Vital Very Important Vital Vital Vital Vital Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Somewhat Important Vital Very Important Vital Very Important Vital

Computer Literacy
Very Important Vital Very Important Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Important Important Very Important Vital Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Vital Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Important Very Important Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Very Important Very Important Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Important Vital

Work Experience In Appropriate Area

Vital Very Important Important Vital Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Very Important Important Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Very Important Vital Very Important Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Somewhat Important Important Very Important Important Important Very Important Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Very Important Vital Very Important Important Important Important Very Important Important Vital Vital Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Very Important Vital

Degree Creditability
Important Vital Very Important Vital Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Important Very Important Vital Important Very Important Very Important Important Not Important Vital Vital Vital Somewhat Important Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Not Important Important Important Important Very Important Vital Important Vital Important Important Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Important Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important

Grades Recieved
Important Very Important Important Important Important Important Important Important Important Important Somewhat Important Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Very Important Somewhat Important Important Important Important Important Not Important Somewhat Important Important Somewhat Important Important Vital Important Important Very Important Important Somewhat Important Important Important Somewhat Important Very Important Important Somewhat Important Very Important Important Somewhat Important Important Important Important Very Important Not Important Vital Important Somewhat Important Important Important

Business Skills
Very Important Very Important Important Important Very Important Important Important Important Important Important Important Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Important Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Important Somewhat Important Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Important Important Not Important Somewhat Important Important Important Important Important Important Important Important Important Somewhat Important Vital Somewhat Important Very Important Important Important Important Very Important Very Important Important Important Vital Vital Somewhat Important Very Important Somewhat Important

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Appendix 4

1) What skills do you look for when hiring engineers, and how important are they to your business?
Managerial Skills Management Skills
Very Important Important Important

Other Skills You Look For

Reply#
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

Teamwork
Important Very Important Vital

Problem Solving / Creativity

Very Important Important Vital

Time Management
Important Very Important Vital

Organisation
Important Important Vital

Original Answer

Equivalent
A

Key
People Skills Initiative Business Awareness Integrity Practical Engineering Ability Comfortable With Responsibility Hard Working/Committed Willing to learn Personality Unique Answers

Attitude to work and work environment of engineering and knowledge of the

I E

B C D

Very Important Important Important Important Important Important Important Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Very Important Somewhat Important Not Important Somewhat Important Important Important Important Important Important Somewhat Important Important Somewhat Important Important Important Important Somewhat Important Important Important Important Very Important Somewhat Important Somewhat Important Very Important Somewhat Important Very Important Important Very Important Important Very Important Very Important Important Vital Vital Very Important Important Very Important Important

Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Very Important Important Vital Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Vital Vital Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Important Important Important Important Important Vital Important Important Important Important Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Vital Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Vital

Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Vital Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Vital Very Important Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Important Very Important Important Vital Vital Very Important Vital Very Important Very Important Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Vital Vital Vital Vital Very Important Vital

Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Important Very Important Somewhat Important Vital Important Very Important Very Important Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Very Important Vital Vital Important Vital Important Important Important Very Important Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Vital Very Important Very Important Vital Vital Very Important Somewhat Important Very Important Important

Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Important Important Important Very Important Important Important Important Very Important Somewhat Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Important Very Important Vital Important Very Important Important Important Important Very Important Important Very Important Important Important Vital Vital Very Important Very Important Very Important Very Important Important Vital Vital Very Important Somewhat Important Very Important Important Accounting from analogue, digital, computer and Radio communication Charisma J C A I Willingness and Ability to learn New Skills, Social skills mentor younger team members Track record Integrity, present well, inspire confidence People skills. D, G, H, A F J A, D A management, independence B, D environment one works in is of vital importance. C Local knowledge. situation where we look for engineers with IT learn and to share knowledge, C J B, C, H See below more than you are worth and prove that self-manage Must be able to troubleways of doing a job, and not always Specific technical skills and EPCM project experience. J G E, F B, J C, E Social and emotional intelligence A Ability to work independently feet". Be proactive in problem solving by B B, E Good Judgement, Human skills, honesty team : Teamwork Motivate Staff Personality Initiative A, B, D, E, F A A, B, I

E F G H I J

- 67 -

Appendix 4

2) What critical skills do you find are most lacking in currently trained engineers? How may these be rectified?

3) What criteria do you use when selecting new engineers, and why are these important?

Reply#
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

Original Answer
Theoretical skills are far from the workplace reality engineering principles. This may be rectified by training. Engineering degree should B B F

Equivalent
A B C D E F

Key
Communication Skills Practical Experience/Engineering Skills Commitment/Focus On Money Application of Knowledge IT Skills Business Accumen People Skills Problem Solving Innovation Honesty None lacking

Original Answer
handling project to the end in time allocated. A, B Technical Skills Management Skills D, F his technical knowledge and apply it the the D

Equivalent
A B C D

Key
Experience Qualifications Personality / Personal Traits "On-The-Job" Performance Communication Skills Ability Technical Knowledge People skills Hardworking Problem Solving Ability IT skills

A good knowledge of our business area, The

E F

Just experience and knowledge

G H

We have many criteria, degree is important usually

G H I J K

IT, computers

I J

Local understanding track record judgement to be corrected by either corrected Computer Skills - More computers needed with Commitment Time management obtaining a broader experience How to apply what they have learned required for project implementation phase the need to be more authoritify when working on They do not have a lot of skills they bue there degree communication.Should be a core module in any

J B B, E A, C C D D B B A

Real performance Computer skills There is a big difference bwteene Technical knowledge Ability to solve problems Experience Appearance basic ability and willing to learn the job Subject choices experience - a lot is gutfeel deal with pressure and stressful / trying mentioned above together with the ability above points as in 1) client requirement. Relevant experience Qualification Experience in relevant field developed social skills. Both of these and average intellegence. Good attitude to Science, Calculus, Physics. learn quickly , any time any hours be technically competent, a good study References from companies experience. Professional registration. Industry candidates more efficient at the start. Enthusiasm Grades Engineering skills approach to work; in South Africa their application (do not have to retrain, can work independently after a short period more important, enthusiasm and passion for practical apossed to an academic approach to accepted via a Word table application Only employ one engineer me Track record of projects completed (scale Stable track record Communication skills of contract management and contract laws determine suitability. Interviews to product knowledge previous experience CRITERIA WHICH I HAVE MENTIONED ABOVE IS are LEARNERS and contribute very little to qualities, then academic results person can not finish the entire work We can not afford time or costs to train

A, K D, F, J G, J A, B, C F A D D

A, B A, B H F, I B, I I E, G A, B, D A A A, B, C G C A, B, C F, H C B E

Writing skills paper their thoughts. Ability to think Have not experienced this as such. is useless without it. A lot of "engineers" are sector-related reading. The ability to write experience. To make working at companies management skills. Training and on-the-job Motivation and problem solving skills. from inexperience. We develop staff in trade but instead focuses very much on communication; political and social interaction.

A A, D K B A B B B, C B C A, G

exposure to practical business related should be more aligned to business report writing. Should be a subject in final improving now in Nigeria, Computer literacy Lack of logic - improve quality of training Business and financial unerstanding. writing skills Innovation excellence , quest for innovation Communication Skills. Can be rectified through adequate VERY IMPORTANT WHILE WORKING ON ANY Appreciation of time cost of money rectified with work experience. Lack of

A, F B A, B E H F A, I I A G C F B, E

A B, E

E, G A, B, H

B, C C, E A

theory leant More focus on this during

- 68 -

Appendix 4

4) How important is a internationally certified and recognized degree to your company when considering hiring new engineers?

Reply#
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

Vital

Important

Not Imporatant

Original Answer

Equivalent
A B C

Key Not Very important Very Important Only Local Qualifications Needed

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
We operate outside Uganda B Efficiency is more important than degrees A on a global scale, credebility of a degree B have generally obtained Masters degrees in B difficult to obtain such certification A recognised degree is vital international C internationally accredited institutions. A with which university one goes to. A interviewing an engineer who did not ahve a B Southern Africa and qualifications that are C African countries is donor funded (World Bank , C intelligence and logic ability that will A although we hire anyone capable B very usefull yes B Although we are small, we always look for this B

* * * * *

- 69 -

Appendix 4

5) Is training and experience in marketing and managing the business side of operations important skills for engineers to have, and if so why?

Reply#
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

Vital

Important

Not Imporatant

Original Answer

Equivalent
A B

Key
Gain Clients Repeat Business / Satisfy Clients Imporves The Company Company Reputation Part of The Job

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
THE NEAR FUTURE THE PERSON MY BECOME PART C We need to attract new businees all the time A company. Our engineers do not do marketing or engineering is applying technology to market(captial) and educate the members of the C technical aspects, but as or more owned and managed by Engineers. Each communication. You can be the best technician but necessary for producing products. Engineer driving away clients when he should A relationship building is critical, for all A at our company manage projects with other A the Project Management ranks. aspects of the business is important so B your engineer. It is a vital skill for products effectively you need some stint in A vital for seniors but not otherwise. is doing the managerial functions. For business picture help them to design better A these aspects, he should know how his B skills are vital as you are dealing with B 'natural' ability for marketing, nor for Directors are mainly responsible for work is not limited to engineering but Important, but not vital as it can be learnt is automatically marketing and showing understand how bussiness work becomes a D increases with the expereicne of the the ability to complete a job to the B See above yes, to get more jobs A The Business side is just another part of our companu E business traing is usefull to get solutions A vital in keeping your client satisfied. A

C D E

C C

- 70 -

Appendix 4

6) In what capacity would an engineering graduate be employed in your company?

Reply#
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

Original Answer

Equivalent
A B C D

Key
Project Engineer Graduate Trainee Design Engineer Business Analyst Engineering Manager Assistant Head of Department Research

engineering, tooling manufacture and C Project Manager in Training Junior Construction site engineer A, D, E Managing construction of projects E

Business analysing so we may get new clients, or other things

E F G

products or managing new projects, depends

A, H

he would work on things we need (projects for clients) A

Site manager/engineer E Engineering / Workshop Management E Graduate Engineer, Mechanical or electrical B Project Manager,designer A

Project & engineering in general A large regional offices which have A, C themselves up to project manager responsible A, D

for project designs, tender and contract documentation and site A, G Engineeer in training B member, but growing into project team A, C Engineer in training. A Junior Engineer Project management 15yrs experience in the water systems sector. Skills req'd years, where he will work with a qualified engineer in the fields of but it depends on the engineering Assistant to current engineers. All engineers are projects managers may Head an Engineering Department or as a professional engineer in training Engineer in training/Junior Engineer engineers and would appoint them as data comms, embedded programming, Project engineer. new graduates have normally undertaken a year with us as Draughting, selling, getting jobs, IF we were to employ one. oversee major civil engineering projects. Senior Engineerss in data collection, management. contract management Manufacturing, Designs and R&D recruitement programme. we are an IT Based REQUIRED TO QUALIFY WORKING FOR OUR simply as a LEARNER and accepted liability R & D Engineer D F A D A, B C F A, C G B B D H A A, B D A F A, D C, E A

B H

Junior civil or structural engineer F

- 71 -

Appendix 4

7) How relevant do you think the training your engineers have received is for the job you need done? If it is not relevant, why do you think this may be?

Reply#
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

Very Relevant Semi Relevant Not Relevant

Original Answer
such as past performance analytical thinking, can you

Equivalent
A B

Key
Relevant Not relevant enough Not the same as expereince never be totally relevant

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

management of construction an enginner

C D

Not trained for real world

Engineers come with LITTLE training in area B

We need to train them again often..

between theoretical knowledge and practical We sponsor them for the appropriate courses

C A

solid theoretical grounding on which to

development of "soft" skills could receive

to the type of work undertaken can only C recent graduates have a very poor grasp A research activities, and students need to requirements as determined by the client and D

electrical engineering company. Tertiary

of the business sector practical. B and work to be done is rarely a good A

house training while the graduate is however, there are problems with B engineers are not really relevant at this B considerable work experience under the B

at school is not used. Much of what B meet our own technical needs. A

In a comercial world theory is not sufficient B

- 72 -

Appendix 4

8) Is there a type of training that would have been more beneficial for their work in your company?

Reply#
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

Original Answer
not particularly F

Equivalent
A B C D

Key
Management/Pracitcal Experience Business Skills Soft/Management skills Other IT Skills None Stated Inititative / Problem Solving

financial management B enginner should spend at least 2 years in C

Certainly Business

E F G

Management Training would be very good. Busness training too B, C

On job practice would be needed.

and a more practical approach without We organize our staff to get extra training

A, E F

Business B, C practical experience at a basic level while studying A Understanding bussiness principles - common sense B management as well as contract A, B, C training than being on the 'job' and thus A more on the job training and less book skills A

especially in the later years of study, be more on "thinking

B, G

More practical training is always beneficial. No , they need practical exposure side of engineering, ie. more site trained to "read" engineering drawings like that are offered e.g. Mandev. There are Soft skills such as coaching junior All engineers should undergo project management training. Not that I know of On the job training is essential. More IT (application design & development) focus. Formal exposure to Business Process Management

A A A D A A, B A F A E B

of the construction of what the engineer has designed. understanding of British Codes of Practice

G D

project. i.e. to work in teams, handle delegation, timing and

diploma training (BTS, DUT )geared more Yes, as per the above answer. IT type training, again, this will be relevant to our business. HEALTH & SAFTEY money and accounting principles to handle all technical problems

E D B A

Practicle training

- 73 -

Appendix 4

9) Would you be prepared to pay for and use a "continuing education" course for your engineers, constantly upgrading their skills? What skills would you focus on advancing?

Reply#
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

Certainly

Probably

No

Original Answer
specific industries special training as B Management and ongoing technical skills A, B extremely small and i am the only engineer , it

Equivalent
A B C D

Key
Management Technical Skills / Subjects IT / Technology Marketing Business Skills Keep Qualificatins Updated Research

10) Would you participate in such a course offered over the internet by an accredited university?
Yes Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

E F G Management is the most important factor. mostly. Maybe Business training too. Improve their skills in what they do A C, E B

needs a lot of improvement

Yes Yes Yes No

updated with the latest techniques.

No Yes

problem appreciation and solving ability B are not presented in Universities, we have N/A In House Training professionally registered status. F the Skills Development Levy which is slowing

Yes No Yes Yes No

Written communication. E skills Management skills A, B, D management skills (business, finance, A, C

Yes Yes Yes No

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

training an ongoing process in our N/A In House Training everything , a little theory and a lot of system hydraulics; more hydraulic design C training we need our selves, but will consider

Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes

Project Management growing technologies updates are very

A C

No Yes Yes

field of practices Business process especially Project management marketing, updates in electronics and IT Managerial, supervision Communication skills. as item 8 freshen up on structural design (Strength of Project Management Personnel management Organisational Management Quality management Contract management ensuring that knowledge and

E A, D A, D A, C

Yes Yes No Yes Yes

A, B A A, G A

Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Businees and accounting E be much more effective as it brings the N/A In House Training

Yes No Yes

design software, basic refresher courses on

Yes

- 74 -

Appendix 4

11) Would these links to educational institutions be valuable to your company? If so, in what ways do you think you would benefit?

Reply#
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

Yes

No

Original Answer
Data base of possible students available entering the work place recruitment Undertaking projects together company structure and providing an improved service to the industry A

Equivalent
A B C D

Key
To Find Future Employees Knowledge Of Latest Education Better Graduate Training Beneficial to Industry

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A, B, C, D C, D

Continuous traing would be most beneficial

developments in the are would always be handy. B To improve training of employees Helps hiring Establishing a relationship with education C A D

subsequent access to future employees. Allow greater training for staff, and continuous training.

A C

getting to know the occassional good one with potential

Ensures that that you keep abreast with latest technologies. insatitution that we send our staff to.

University of Botswana and we have often gone on to employ AS described above Education and training possibly more focused on our specific needs. studies and be able to employ some one who is known to the Learn about current trends and new developemnts.

C A B

minimal in terms of work done. HOwever, the student learns about the C EO's on pre-graduate, on post-grad might have advantages to A standards of excellence - this would be one way to ensure that we meet or B Spread of knowledge. B realistic view of what the workplace offers. B, C the latest courses you offer so we can gauge our staff on what they can We are in South Africa. We do this with local institutions. HAS LINKS! entrants to the market. Can evaluate possible candidate without A introduction periods before engineers can work independently, get C alleviating work pressure efficiently, in an economical way D

'Good Practice' for an International business presence.

maintain knowledge on new developments. A strong link to an recruits. show case our firm to graduates who Engineers I would need only one or two graduates the company will like to employ.

B A

FOR ANY UP DATES IN THE PRACTICAL

as well as continued education during their careers.

- 75 -

Appendix 4

Reply#
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

12) Would your company host placements? (2 Weeks to 6 Months)

Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes

13) Would you be interested in helping to develop engineering courses that are more relevant and applicable to the local market?
No Yes No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No

14) If so, would this make you more willing to hire engineers from this university?
No Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes

Would you like to recieve the results from this survey?

No Yes Yes No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Country of Base
South Africa Botswana South Africa South Africa South Africa Angola Tanzania Botswana Ghana Botswana Uganda Uganda Tanzania Zambia South Africa Kenya South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa Botswana Namibia South Africa Zambia South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa Zambia South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa South Africa Nigeria Zambia South Africa Uganda Mauritius

No

Yes Yes No

Yes Yes

Yes

Yes No

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes No No No No Yes Yes

Yes No No No Yes No Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes No

Yes No Yes

Yes Yes Yes No

Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No Yes No Yes Yes No No No Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

South Africa South Africa Malawi South Africa South Africa Botswana Botswana

- 76 -

Appendix 5

Appendix 5 : Correlation / Cross-Tabulation Analysis of Results

- 77 -

Appendix 5

Correlations / Cross-Tabulations
# 4 vs # 9 How important is an internationally recognized degree against would your company be interested and pay for a distance education course to improve skills? Correlation Value : 0.442263649
Would you pay? Certainly Probably 13 2 13 3 10 3 No 0 2 2

Vital Importance of degree Important Not Important

Vital Importance of degree Important Not Important

Would you pay? Certainly Probably 26.5% 4.1% 26.5% 6.1% 20.4% 6.1%

No 0.0% 4.1% 4.1%

# 13 vs # 14 Would you be willing to help develop an engineering course with a local institution against would you then be more willing to hire engineers from this institution? Correlation Value : 0.538094512
More willing to hire engineers Yes Interested in helping develop Yes No 25 4

No 5 9

More willing to hire engineers Yes Interested in helping develop Yes No 58.1% 9.3%

No 11.6% 20.9%

- 78 -

Appendix 5

# 4 vs # 11 How important is an internationally recognized degree against would educational links to universities bring benefits? Correlation Value : 0.310445677
Do Links bring benefits? Yes 14 20 5

Vital Importance of degree Important Not Important

No 1 5 4

Vital Importance of degree Important Not Important

Do Links bring benefits? Yes 28.6% 40.8% 10.2%

No 2.0% 10.2% 8.2%

# 4 vs # 12 How important is an internationally recognized degree against would your company host placements? Correlation Value : 0.380215621
Would you host placements Yes 14 18 4

Vital Importance of degree Important Not Important 48

No 1 6 5

Total Replies to both

Vital Importance of degree Important Not Important

Would you host placements Yes 29.2% 37.5% 8.3%

No 2.1% 12.5% 10.4%

- 79 -

Appendix 5

# 9 vs # 11 Would you be prepared to take and pay for an engineering course over IT against would links to educational institutions be useful to your company? Correlation Value : 0.217792436

Prepared to pay

Certainly Probably No 49

Do Links bring benefits? Yes 24 13 2

No 5 2 3

Total Replies to both

Prepared to pay

Certainly Probably No

Do Links bring benefits? Yes 49.0% 26.5% 4.1%

No 10.2% 4.1% 6.1%

- 80 -

Appendix 6

Appendix 6 : Course Delivery Through VSAT Diagram

- 81 -

Appendix 7

Appendix 7 : Higher Education Academy Bi-Weekly Email

Bi-weekly email by the Higher Education Academy. This includes the passage that was sent by the author.

- 82 -

Appendix 7

The Higher Education Academy - Engineering Subject Centre e-bulletin - 27 September 2006 Welcome to the Engineering Subject Centre e-bulletin ------------------CONTENTS ------------------1 Engineering Subject Centre Events - Developments in Engineering Education - Working with Schools to Promote Engineering 2 Engineering Subject Centre News - The future of teaching Engineering Ethics 3 Events - Ninth Annual Colloquium on International Engineering Education - 2007 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference - SEFI and IGIP Joint Annual Conference 2007 4 News - New HEFCE report on embedding learning and teaching strategies - Survey - JISC service - Technical Advisory Service for Images (TASI) - Green Gown Awards announcement - Safe design for engineering students : an educational resource for undergraduate engineering students - Using IT to Facilitate the Provision of Engineering Education to Sub-Sahara Africa -----------------------------------------------------------------*** Engineering Subject Centre Events*** -----------------------------------------------------------------Developments in Engineering Education Date: 27 October 2006 Location: Rainham, Essex The Engineering Subject Centre is pleased to offer lecturers, practitioners and managers working in the FE sector the chance to find out more about current developments in engineering education at the Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence ( CEME ) at Thames Gateway College. The programme includes presentations by Professor Sa'ad Medhat of the New Engineering Foundation on their fellowship scheme for further education colleges and Dr Barry Cleasby, Senior Executive of the Engineering and Technology Board on employer engagement with Foundation Degrees. Find out more and book online at http://www.engsc.ac.uk/nef/events/devEE1006.asp Working with Schools to Promote Engineering Date: 9 November 2006 Location: London Are you responsible for admissions, recruitment or widening participation within your engineering faculty or school? Do you work with local schools and colleges? Would you like to know more the national context or find out more about the resources available? There are a now a number of initiatives aimed at promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in schools funded through various sources including HEFCE, the DTI and the DfES and this event organised by the Engineering Subject Centre, EPC and the Royal Academy of Engineering, aims to highlight some of these initiatives, resources and networking opportunities. For more information or to book on line visit http://www.engsc.ac.uk/nef/events/schools1106.asp -----------------------------------------------------------------*** Engineering Subject Centre News*** -----------------------------------------------------------------The future of teaching Engineering Ethics Engineering academics, ethicists, and representatives from industry and professional bodies came together on 7th September 2006 at the University of Leeds to debate the issues and share good practice relating to the future of teaching of the ethics to engineering students.

- 83 -

Appendix 7

The event started with Dr John Groom, Head of Safety, Health and Environment at Anglo American plc presenting an industrial perspective of the issues faced by professional engineers. He expressed the view that there was a need to strike a balance in the teaching of engineering, "we are looking for graduates with engineering excellence but they also need to understand the importance of ethical issues to their careers." Richard Shearman, Deputy Director of the Engineering Council UK outlined how higher education can lay the foundations for ethical professional conduct. It is now a requirement for HE programmes accredited under the standards for professional engineers (UK-SPEC) that graduates should achieve an understanding of the need for a high level of professional and ethical conduct in engineering. He indicated that "there is now scope for individual departments to develop their own approaches to teaching engineering ethics, provided they can demonstrate good assessed outcomes". The event, attended by over 50 delegates, was organised by the Inter-Disciplinary Ethics Applied Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and the Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre. Dr Chris Megone, Director of the CETL, explained how the Centre was set up one year ago to apply its experience in devising and delivering inter-disciplinary applied ethics teaching. http://www.engsc.ac.uk/er/ethics/index.asp -------------------------***Events*** -------------------------Ninth Annual Colloquium on International Engineering Education Date: 2 to 5 November 2006 Location: Newport, Rhode Island Held by: University of Rhode Island International Engineering Program The colloquium is designed for engineering and language educators, international program administrators, deans, provosts, presidents, corporate leaders, as well as public sector representatives. It provides an interdisciplinary forum for discussing and sharing ideas and practices pertaining to the education of engineers for today's global workplace. Find out more at http://www.uri.edu/iep/colloquia/2006/ 2007 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference Date: 24 to 27 June 2007 Location: Honolulu, Hawaii Held by: ASEE The call for abstracts is now open for the annual conference of the American Society for Engineering Education. Find out more at http://www.asee.org SEFI and IGIP Joint Annual Conference 2007 Date: 1 July to 4 July 2007 Location: Hungary Organised by: European Society for Engineering Education and the International Society for Engineering Education The main theme of the conference is joining forces in engineering education towards excellence. Find out more at http://www.sefi-igip2007.com/ -------------------------***News*** -------------------------New HEFCE report on embedding learning and teaching strategies Entitled 'Embedding learning and teaching strategies: an approach to self-assessment by higher education institutions', this is a guide intended to help HEIs to assess the HEFCE-funded activities that support their learning and teaching strategies, and ensure that these are fully embedded within institutions before TQEF funding is incorporated into mainstream grants from 2009-10. Visit the website at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2006/06_35/ to read the report. Survey - JISC service - Technical Advisory Service for Images (TASI) TASI is carrying out a survey to ensure they provide current and potential users with the information and services they need. Your answers will help them establish which areas of the service need improving, and will enable them to identify potential future developments.

- 84 -

Appendix 7

The survey is split into several pages, but shouldn't take more than ten minutes to complete. http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=123892500212 Green Gown Awards announcement The Green Gown Awards recognise positive actions to achieve sustainable higher and further education, with particular emphasis on environmental improvement. They are organised by the Higher Education Environmental Performance Improvement (HEEPI) project, which is funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Closing date is 12 noon on 27 October 2006. To find out more and download and application form visit the website at http://www.heepi.org.uk/ Safe design for engineering students : an educational resource for undergraduate engineering students This web page provides information about The Australian Safety and Compensation Council (ASCC)'s 2006 resource pack 'Safe Design for Engineering Students'. The package assists engineering educators in training students about the significance of designing safe products, processes and systems. It aims to develop skills relevant to professional engineering, and is also suitable as a professional development resource for newly qualified engineers in the workplace. Full copies can be ordered for free from the website at http://www.ascc.gov.au/ascc/HealthSafety/SafeDesign/ SafeDesignforEngineeringStudentsSDES.htm Using IT to Facilitate the Provision of Engineering Education to Sub-Sahara Africa A fourth year Masters student at the University of Durham is looking for useful information relating to the IT capabilities of universities in Sub-Sahara Africa. The project is a feasibility study on the capability of African universities to effectively utilise IT to deliver a high quality Engineering education from UK universities. Any information on the provision of Engineering to developing countries through IT would be greatly appreciated. Please contact n.t.kirkland@durham.ac.uk if you can help. For more news items, visit the two news pages on our website. For engineering education: http://www.engsc.ac.uk/nef/news/centre/index.asp For UK and world news: http://www.engsc.ac.uk/nef/news/ukandint/index.asp Kate Hargreaves Centre Administrator Higher Education Academy Engineering Subject Centre Loughborough University Leicestershire LE11 3TU Tel: 01509 227170 Fax: 01509 227172 Email: kate@engsc.ac.uk www.engsc.ac.uk

- 85 -

Appendix 8

Appendix 8 : MUDD Design Workshop VI Call For Papers

The conference at which this report is being discussed and published.

- 86 -

Appendix 8

CALL FOR PAPERSMUDD DESIGN WORKSHOP VI: DESIGN AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN A FLAT WORLD HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE, 2325 MAY 2007
THE VISION To bring together 5075 engineering designers, educators, and researchers to articulate the relevant issues of globalization and engineering design education. THE MISSION To identify and articulate educational and institutional issues that engineering design educators and their colleagues should address, including. opportunities and challenges of a flat world pedagogical approaches to: a flat world; a socially-just world; an unstable world; cultural diversity; transnational corporations; and distributed work design education in a flat world developing diverse designers for a diverse world real-time collaboration by globally dispersed design teams pro and cons of globally distributed work

THE EXPERIENCE Each session will be initiated by brief research and position talks by panelists, which will be followed by open discussion. The most important outputs into recommendationsto be disseminatedfor improving engineering design education will be collected at a wrap-up session on the last day. A proceedings CD will be published, as will a Special Issue of the International Journal of Engineering Education containing papers accepted after review by the Advisory Committee and the participants in MDW VI. CALENDAR Two-page abstracts to be submitted by Authors notified of acceptance by Final, completed papers to be submitted by 31 January 2007 28 February 2007 15 April 2007

ABSTRACTS should be submitted electronically to: clive_dym@hmc.edu. ADVISORY COMMITTEE Alice M. Agogino, University of California, Berkeley; Cindy J. Atman, University of Washington; J. Edward Colgate, Northwestern University; Phillip E. Doepker, University of Dayton; Clive L. Dym (chair), Harvey Mudd College; John S. Lamancusa, Pennsylvania State University; Larry J. Leifer, Stanford University; Chris L. Magee, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; John H. McMasters, The Boeing Company; Gregory B. Olson, Northwestern University; John W. Prados, University of TennesseeKnoxville; Sheri D. Sheppard, Stanford University; and John W. Wesner, Carnegie Mellon University.

CENTER FOR DESIGN EDUCATION HARVEY MUDD COLLEGE CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA, USA
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Appendix 9 : MUDD Workshop Abstract Submission

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Appendix 9
Abstract for MUDD DESIGN WORKSHOP VI: DESIGN AND ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN A FLAT WORLD Harvey Mudd College, 23-25 May 2007, Claremont, CA submitted: January 23, 2007

An Investigation into Utilizing Current Information Technologies to Deliver Engineering Education to Sub-Sahara Africa
Nicholas T. Kirkland1, Valentin L. Vitanov1, and Dirk Schaefer2,*
2

School of Engineering, Durham University, UK Systems Realization Laboratory, The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Savannah, GA, USA * Corresponding author: E-mail: dirk.schaefer@me.gatech.edu

Background / Motivation Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the worlds least developed and poorest regions, with annual per capita income of many countries well below 100. Both contributing to and resulting from this improvishment is a continuing severe shortage of available human capital. Like other poor regions, most of Sub-Saharan Africa currently lacks the indigenous capacity to substantially increase its own human resources. It is not possible for most countries in the region to provide tertiary education to more than a very small fraction of their populations. Even in these cases, the resource constraints make it difficult for tertiary institutions to remain up-to-date in our rapidly changing world. This is particularly the case for the field of engineering. Engineering education is Sub-Saharan Africa is extremely limited. It is virtually non-existent in several of the countries, and is offered primarily by private institutions in others. It is unknown whether the graduates of these institutions even remain and work in their own countries. This is somewhat surprising, given the fact that engineering skills are those which would be basic for practically every aspect of a countrys development. This dearth of trained engineers in Sub-Saharan Africa results in the importation of engineers from outside the region, often at considerable expense, in order to fill the gap. This costly reliance upon external sources for engineers, however, is neither desirable nor sustainable for any country, in either the long or the short term. If we assume that the resource base for most SubSaharan African countries is unlikely to significantly increase in the foreseeable future, then their development will require an appropriate and affordable means by which to dramatically increase their human capital base, including the number of trained engineers. Information technologies (IT) have already shown the potential to meet this challenge. The use of these technologies for distance learning outside the traditional education setting has dramatically expanded worldwide over the last two decades, and even begun to penetrate more recently into Sub-Saharan Africa with the rapid spread of the internet. The evidence to date, most of which is from developed countries, has shown that where IT-based courses have been implemented, both at regional1 and local levels2,
1

Bloom, D., Canning, C., Chan, K., Higher Education and Economic Development in Africa. Boston: Harvard University Press. 2006.

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governments and residents alike have witnessed vast improvements in their access to education. Evidence also indicates that the quality of learning is comparable to that provided through traditional means. While there are development and maintenance costs associated with these programs, their broader reach substantially reduces the unit costs associated with the provision of these courses. At present there is no evidence that engineering education, at any level, is currently being provided using IT in Sub-Saharan Africa, although IT is being used to provide other types of education and training. While Sub-Saharan African countries are faced with considerable constraints and, in many cases, have very different needs than developed countries, the potential of IT to both expand and strengthen engineering education while making it more appropriate for the individual context of each country is undeniable. Problem Statement While IT has demonstrated the potential to deliver quality education both broadly and more cheaply than traditional institutions, it is not yet clear whether it is a feasible means for providing engineering education in Sub-Saharan African countries. This paper will examine whether this is the case and attempt to determine what would be required in order to develop and deliver IT-based engineering courses in this context. Approach The paper is based on three main types of research. First, an extensive review of the available literature on the use of IT for delivering education was conducted. This review examined this use of IT both in developed and developing countries, with a particular focus on its use in the Sub-Saharan context. The review also sought to identify the requirements for the effective use of IT, what resources currently exist in Sub-Saharan Africa to support such a system, and the obstacles to its effective use. Second, the opinions of a number of experts on feasibility issues related to IT-based education in Sub-Saharan Africa were obtained through interviews and correspondence. Third, because so little information was available on the engineering profession in Sub-Saharan Africa, a survey of 400 companies that employ engineers was conducted to determine what skills were considered to be most pertinent and which were most lacking in engineers (and hence, in engineering education). Results The findings of the study indicate that while providing engineering education through IT definitely is possible in Sub-Saharan African countries, to make it truly feasible will require a significant investment in both time and money. In many cases, it would entail the establishment or major updating of computer facilities in educational institutions as well as upgrading the bandwidth of internet providers. Current technology and course management software is available which is sufficiently advanced to facilitate the development of IT-based engineering courses, but considerable time and effort would have to be devoted to ensuring that courses were both appropriate and adaptable to diverse populations with different needs. The benefits of developing such courses, however, could extend far beyond Africa. Once the main engineering basics course had been designed, localized modules could be designed for any country in the world. A diverse world requires diverse engineers.

Thor, Dr. L. M., Mainstreaming Distance Learning Into the Community College in Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks. Orlando: Sloan Consortium Publishing, 2004.

-2-

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Appendix 10

Appendix 10 : MUDD Journal Official Submission

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Appendix 10

An Investigation into Using Current Information Technologies to Provide Engineering Education to Sub-Saharan Africa
Nicholas T. Kirkland, Valentin L. Vitanov School Of Engineering Durham University, UK Dirk Schaefer The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Savannah, USA

Abstract
Engineering education is one of the key factors for the development of any nation. Nowhere is this more true than in Sub-Saharan Africa, where a dearth of engineers has contributed to the lowest regional standard of living of anywhere in the world. The need in this region is so vast and immediate that it could only be met by the use of ICT-based education. This paper presents the findings of an investigation into the feasibility of providing tertiary level engineering education through current information and communication technologies in Sub-Saharan Africa. Data collected includes an extensive review of the available literature, contact with current providers of ICT-based engineering education, and a survey of 250 engineering firms in Sub-Saharan Africa, the end-users of engineering education in that region. The findings indicate that it is indeed feasible to deliver tertiary level engineering education to Sub-Saharan Africa, assuming that resources could be found for course development and to enhance the technological capacity of local institutions. This paper complements the picture of a flat world draw by Thomas L. Friedman [43] who in his recent book focused on well developed countries only.

Introduction and Background

Engineering is widely recognized as a vital prerequisite for economic development, especially for Least Developed countries (LDCs). Studies have shown a strong correlation between a societys capacity to provide engineering education and improved economic performance, and the number of engineers per capita is very positively associated with its economic growth [1]. This is evidenced by the fact that in 1993 there were 166 times more engineers in developed countries than in Sub-Saharan Africa [2]. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the worlds least developed and poorest regions where many countries have annual per capita incomes of less than US $200. Both contributing to and resulting from this impoverishment is a sustained severe shortage of available human capital, as well as the indigenous capacity to substantially increase the human resource base. Countries in the region can only provide tertiary education to a small fraction of their populations, and resource constraints make it difficult for institutions to remain up-to-date. This is particularly the case for the field of engineering.

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Engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa is extremely limited. In some countries it is non-existent while in others it is offered almost entirely by private institutions. Even where the discipline is offered, there are concerns about declining quality of science and engineering education and about the loss of leading science and technology expertise to other regions of the world [3]. Most Africans studying engineering already do so abroad and many do not return home, depriving their indigenous countries of much needed skills. The dearth of trained engineers in Sub-Saharan Africa results in their importation from outside the region, often at considerable expense, in order to fill the gap. This costly reliance upon external sources for engineers is neither desirable nor sustainable. Since all indicators point to the improbability of a significant increase in the resource base for most Sub-Saharan African countries is unlikely to significantly increase in the foreseeable future, the regions economic development will require both an appropriate and an affordable means by which to dramatically increase the human capital base, particularly the number of trained engineers. In the last three decades the advent and rapid expansion of the internet, the World Wide Web (WWW) and associated Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) have had a dramatic effect on globalization and a leveling result on the commercial playing field, especially for developing countries. They have also offered the first very real possibility of providing education at a reasonable cost to populations residing in the most remote areas of the world. ICTs have been adapted and increasingly widely used for distance learning outside the traditional education setting. While most of this has taken place in developed countries, evidence has shown that where ICT-based courses have been implemented, both at regional and local levels, governments and residents alike have witnessed vast improvements in access to education [4,5]. Evidence also indicates that the quality of learning is comparable to that provided through traditional means [6]. At present there is no evidence that engineering education, at any level, is currently being provided in Sub-Saharan Africa using only ICT, although related technologies are being widely used to provide other types of education and training. While Sub-Saharan African countries are faced with considerable constraints and, in many cases, have very different needs than developed countries, the potential of ICT to both expand and strengthen engineering education while making it more appropriate for the local context appears undeniable. The key question is whether or not it would be feasible to pursue development of ICT-based engineering education given the current development of the technologies and the socio-economic situation of Sub-Saharan Africa. The purpose of this paper is to present an answer to the key question posed above. This, however, requires a thorough understanding not only of the technical requirements for viable ICT-based educational programs, but also of the Sub-Saharan African context in which these programs would have to operate. Since the focus is on engineering education at the tertiary level, it was also necessary to determine basic academic and skill requirements of the region and if the current state of engineers are adequately equipped for their market. Due to the very limited information available on the use of ICT-based education programs in Sub-Saharan Africa, it was necessary to draw heavily upon the extensive literature regarding ICT distance learning in developed countries. The ready availability

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Appendix 10
of the UKs Open University (OU) afforded the opportunity to obtain data first hand on its experience of providing ICT-based education, especially so in the case of engineering, in which the OU provides a full degree course. The dearth of available information on engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa, and especially the total lack of information on ICT-based engineering education in this region, necessitated the use of a survey to collect primary data from the local end-users of engineers the firms and organizations that employ them. This survey was conducted primarily to ascertain if ICT-based engineering education would be acceptable to local employers and thus appropriate for the local context, whether they would be willing to support such a program, including contributing to its development, and to determine if they felt such a program would be appropriate from the standpoint of skills development.

II

Use of ICT to Deliver Tertiary Level Education

Information and communication technologies encapsulate all hardware and software that are used to share any data, whether it is vocal or written, digital or analogue. Fax machines, copiers, and the telephone are all included in this, although the focus of this paper is on the computing and internet aspects. These technologies have had a massive effect on the world over the past 30 years. The amount of instant communication many people take for granted today was beyond the scope of even the most futuristic thinkers less than half a century ago. People are no longer limited to local resources, and the advent of the World Wide Web has made it even easier to instantly access a virtually limitless tome of information on practically any subject. This has lead to an exponential increase in the use of ICT in the education sector. It is an integral part of all universities in developed countries, used for both communication, such as emails and chat rooms, and the day-to-day running of many vital functions including finance and coursework grading. Higher education has always led the way in the development and usage of such technologies, as the internet itself was designed in part as a quick way to communicate and share scientific data between educational institutions [7]. More recently, these technologies have been used to expand the reach of higher education, entering the realm of distance education. The original offerings of single, one-off modules and lessons have evolved into full courses making it possible to earn an entire degree online. In the last decade this has expanded enormously and in 2005 there were 1,680 institutions that offered over 54,000 online courses [8]. The number of universities that have embraced learning through ICT is growing dramatically, from the Anadolu University in Turkey with over 500,000 students to the distance learning only Open University in the United Kingdom. However, it is important to note that the bulk of these courses do not exceed national boundaries. The vast majority offered are based solely in the United States of America and only available to US citizens.

III

Future of ICT in Higher Education

Eighty-five percent of public universities in the US consider online education critical to their long-term academic strategies [9]. Its benefits have long been publicized and discussed in the academic community, but only recently has this recognition become widespread [10]. While information technologies are still progressing at a fast rate, the

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Appendix 10
core tools for distance learning, such as video conferencing, are readily available now. At the same time, considerable resistance still exists to the adoption of e-learning, stemming largely from the misconception that the lack of face-to-face interaction results in poorer quality teaching than that provided in a traditional setting [11, 12]. There is little evidence to support this view. According to 248 studies compiled by North Carolina State University, no significant difference could be found between distance learning and traditional classroom learning, and a review of this study concluded that Distance learning (can be) considered as effective as face-to-face learning [13, 6]. In addition to this, The Open University in the United Kingdom, the countrys premier distance learning institution, was recently ranked among the top five institutions in the United Kingdom for quality of teaching [14].

IV ICT-based Tertiary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

While ICT has already made major inroads into tertiary education in most developed and middle income countries, due to a range of obstacles it has not become a standard feature in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although there is certainly some mistrust attached to using and expanding ICT-based education in this region, the major obstacles relate more closely to the scarcity of economic and technical resources than to any educational bias [15]. In a recent report, the Association of African Universities has acknowledged that the quality of African tertiary education is declining as a result of dwindling resources [16]. This is especially problematic for a region which already has so few technical resources. For example, there is an average of one computer per 250-400 people in Sub-Saharan Africa, well below the international quotient of one computer per 15 people, or the North American and European ratio of one computer for every two people [17]. While in Sub-Saharan Africa this number drops to one for every 55 tertiary students, this ratio would only support light browsing and printing. It would be far from sufficient to support the implementation of a full ICT-based degree level course. Since computing technology is readily available worldwide, the viable solution to this problem would be one of increasing available financial resources to purchase and maintain additional computers. Simply the provision of a greater number of computers however would not solve the access problem with respect to engineering education, as the computer requirements for engineering are generally higher than those for other courses. This is due to the extra power which is often needed to run important analysis programs like CAD packages. The Engineering Department of the UKs Open University considered the following (see Table 1) to be the minimum requirements for a student to be able to undertake their engineering course compared with a normal OU course [18].

Component Processor Memory(RAM)

Typical Requirement Pentium 700MHz 64MB

Engineering Requirement Pentium 1GHz 128MB

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Appendix 10
Operating System Hard Drive Windows XP/2000 10 GB Other Color Monitor Keyboard/Mouse Modem Sound/Video Card Microphone/Webcam Office Software Windows XP/2000 20 GB

Table 1: Minimum PC spec for engineering students at Open University (UK)

A recent study, commissioned by the World Bank Institute, which researched the internet capabilities of over 80 higher education institutions in 40 African countries, found the average available bandwidth to be 537 Kbps download and 769 kbps upload, but this varied widely from 7 Mbps to just 28 Kbps. The study also found that 68% of the total bandwidth available to universities was already being utilized full time. While the upper range of these bandwidths would be sufficient to run an ICT facilitated course, many institutions would not be able to run a course without upgrading their current connection and dramatically increasing their available bandwidth. From the standpoint of more effectively and widely utilizing ICT, universities in Sub-Saharan Africa would require ten times the bandwidth that is currently available to them. An idea of the overall bandwidth situation in Africa can be characterized by comparing it with developed countries where, for example, the average North American user has 570 times more international bandwidth than the average African citizen [19]. This limited availability of internet bandwidth would place the greatest constraints on the more capacity-intensive aspects common to many ICT facilitated courses - the use of live video and audio [20]. A connection of 128 kbps to 256 kbps is normally required to run smooth video and audio over the internet [21, 22]. Given the average of one computer per 55 students, and an average bandwidth of 3.36 kbps per computer, a video conference at these speeds would take the equivalent bandwidth that is normally allocated for 2000 to 4000 people. This is obviously unrealistic, with the easier solution being to increase the bandwidth first and then the number of computers.

Socio-Economic Obstacles

Many Sub-Saharan African countries still heavily regulate their telecommunications sectors, allowing only a state-run monopoly to offer internet. This, in turn, results in higher costs for access and generally a poorer service. One method of control commonly used is to regulate the market by requiring licenses to operate an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or to obtain internet from another source. While this is better than no competition in a closed market, it still limits the usage to larger institutions. For example, a VSAT license in Zimbabwe costs an average of US $72,000, which is prohibitive for virtually all institutions operating in the country [19]. For ICT distance education courses, it has been estimated that around 25% of the total

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Appendix 10
costs of a course come entirely from the cost of hardware [23]. The cost of the course development generally requires the largest investment. For example, it can cost from US $10,000 upwards to develop each course hour. Given that the average course comprises around 30 lectures, each approximately one hour in length, course development costs would be at least US $300,000, depending on the country of development [24]. This is a substantial amount given the low level of public expenditure on tertiary education per student in Sub-Saharan Africa. Considering these costs and the low gross domestic income per capita of most countries in the Sub-Saharan region, it is almost certain that outside aid would be needed handle the development costs for these courses. Once the development phase of a course has been completed and the hardware secured, there are still other costs that must be met. These include outlays such as teacher salaries, facilities maintenance, and running costs. The average cost per year of a computer per student in tertiary education ranges from US $18 to US $104, depending upon its usage [25, 26]. However, these estimated costs are based on usage levels that would be far less than that for a student taking an entire course using ICT. Taking this into account, a more realistic rate that has been suggested would be an average of US $1.70 per lecture hour [27]. Assuming that an educational program consists of six modules, each 30 hours in length, this would result in about US $300 per student, per year in computer and electricity costs. For an individual, these costs, combined with that of an internet connection of approximately US $60 a month, present a considerable expenditure [28]. For most students in Sub-Saharan Africa, if paid on an individual basis such costs would be prohibitive. Traditionally, open universities operate at 13-73% of the per-student costs of conventional programs [28]. This is generally due to fewer recurrent costs, such as reduced face-to-face time. However, only a few cost studies and even fewer studies of cost effectiveness have been done on ICT programs in Africa, so although it can be assumed that the percentages would probably be similar it is not currently certain if the above costs would be valid for this region.

VI Overcoming Problems
Even with the above constraints, ICT is increasingly being utilized throughout the African continent to provide education at all levels. Its uses range from providing materials and training to teachers in primary education to providing the basis for university campus networks, which are used by 97% of universities [29, 19]. A study of 21 Sub-Saharan countries, not including South Africa, found that all were actively participating in ICT distance education courses. In 10 of these countries the courses were supplied by a local university, while in 19 they were supported by donor projects. In 11 countries Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) were directly involved in the provision of technology-based education through ICT [30]. The international donor community has been very supportive of the use of ICT for educational purposes. The World Bank, for example, has initiated over 27 new education projects in the past 4 years, of which 22 have had technology supported components [28]. It also created, on a pilot basis, the African Virtual University (AVU) to serve as a technology based distance education network [31]. Created in 1997, the AVU has grown

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to enroll over 23,000 students all over Sub-Saharan Africa. Working with 32 universities, it provides education and facilities as well as a Digital Library for journals and resources. The African Tertiary Institutions Connectivity (ATIC) survey found that, in general, the situation for ICT in the Sub-Saharan Africa region is certainly improving. Obstacles and licenses are being lifted and governments are adopting official ICT policies to spur its development and growth within their countries. These ICT policies are designed to guide each countrys technical development and the employment of digital technologies. Many are along the lines of those of developed countries, such as the UKs National Grid for Learning (NGfL). A sign of this positive development was shown by the fact that 58% of universities contacted in the ATIC survey which had VSAT had also obtained a fee waiver, allowing them to bypass licensing laws [19]. There are also four major infrastructure projects currently being implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa. These are spending over $400 million on connections which will have the combined potential of providing an extra 400 GBps of bandwidth in the region [32].

VII Dearth of Institutions Providing Engineering Education

There is very little information accessible on the availability of engineering education offered in Sub-Saharan Africa. No comprehensive database could be found, and most available articles and journals on the subject only addressed specific aspects of engineering education. One paper by the World Bank, however, did state that of 27 of the largest universities in 13 Sub-Saharan African countries only three offered engineering related degrees [28]. Although this is only a small sample of universities, this situation is probably a fair representation of the universe of African institutions. For example, Ghana, with a population of 14 million, has only one engineering school and a total stock of about 7000 engineers. They represent about 0.5% of Ghanas workforce. Engineers in the US constitute about 2% [33]. Technical colleges help in some ways to fill this gap. They are able to provide some engineering-related training, although generally in specific technical skill areas, such as air conditioning or basic electronics. The majority of these colleges are private, however, and rarely monitored by the government or outside quality assurance agencies [34]. There is also little to no accreditation for the courses they offer. It was possible to gain an idea about the current status of engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa from an extrapolation of information that was available on related subjects. For example, of 528,000 scientific articles produced worldwide in 1999, only 3,600 were from Sub-Saharan Africa, of which almost all were South African [3]. Of these papers, less than 5% were related to engineering and technology. Also, in the first half of the 1990s about 56,000 of 192,000 Sub-Saharan Africa students known to be undertaking tertiary-level studies, not including those in South Africa, were studying abroad because educational opportunities were unavailable in their own countries [31]. The indications demonstrate that a good portion was undertaking courses in engineering or related fields. For example, 22% of all Sub-Saharan African students studying in the US are enrolled in engineering, while overall only 4.7% of all tertiary students in the US are enrolled in engineering or computer science [31, 35]. Even where engineering education is offered in Sub-Saharan Africa there is concern

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Appendix 10
about the quality and relevance of the education. For example, a study of universities that provide engineering education in the region found that over 40% of staff posts were empty [36]. It also found that due to the vast need for engineering skills, businesses often offered relatively large salaries in comparison to academic wages, drawing many teachers into the private sector. It is important to note that much of the engineering education that is available in Sub-Saharan Africa may not even be completely relevant to the local business economy. This seems to have been the case for a long time, as a study in 1970 concluded that African engineering education does not concentrate on aspects which are readily applicable within African communities., while a report from 2005 found the situation much unchanged, stating there were large problems with the relevance of the curricula which needs to be re-examined for relevance, rationalization and efficient utilization of the resources [37, 36]. This latter report also found that, on average, the Sub-Saharan institutions only updated their curriculum every 10.4 years. This means that many engineers enter the market with the wrong set of tools, requiring retraining. This question of relevance is extremely important, as it directly relates to the value of the education which engineers receive. It appears logical that the education and skills provided to the students in their own countries should be adapted to their local conditions so that they would have a greater positive impact. It is also rational that if this were the case there would be a greater tendency for these persons to remain and work in their home countries. General Obasanjo, the president of Nigeria, alluded to this need to adapt such education to local needs when he stated, In education and in industrialization, we have used borrowed ideas, utilized borrowed experiences and funds and engaged borrowed hands. In our development programs and strategies, not much, if anything is ours. [38]. This overdependence on outside support, at least in the way it has been provided to date, may have even contributed to the lack of adaptability of education to Africas local needs. At the same time, there are few universities or research institutes in Sub-Saharan Africa that have proven capable to date of undertaking the long term research and producing the results needed to develop or adapt locally usable, productivity-enhancing technologies This indicates a strong need for the development of linkages between these universities and institutes and universities in the developed countries. A recent study reinforced this view when it concluded that The amount of engineering education and training required by engineers in Africa is so huge that it cannot be provided using resources within the region alone. This can be done only through international cooperation involving academic institutions and other organizations in the developed world and those in Africa. [39].

VIII ICT-based Engineering Education

The amount of engineering and engineering-related education available through ICT varies greatly based on the specific definition of education. The number of universities and institutions offering basic engineering training are too many to count. Much, if not most, of this training is meant simply to refresh the skill set of a professional in the relevant field, or to provide basic training for someone wishing to enter a new area of engineering. There are very few universities that offer a full engineering degree through ICT. From an internet survey of 10 institutions in the U.S. offering engineering degrees online it was found that only one offered a Bachelors degree in engineering, although all

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10 offered various Masters degree courses, with the most common subjects being electrical and software engineering. In all, there were 26 ICT-based engineering degrees offered. A possible reason for this emphasis on short courses or graduate-level programs is that more specialized courses would be far easier to implement than a basic degree course that spans three to four years. Very few core engineering subjects such as mechanical and civil engineering were found to be offered through ICT. By far the most advanced offering of engineering degrees online was available from the Open University of the United Kingdom. Established in 1970, the OU has been offering ICT-based distance education for much longer than virtually any other institution. It offers a range of degrees with varying amounts of engineering detail, from Bachelor of Science (BSc), BSc (Honours) in Technology, Bachelor of Engineering, Masters of Engineering, and Postgraduate Diploma in Engineering. The Bachelor of Engineering degree is offered in a number of specialized engineering fields. The cost of an OU engineering degree ranges from the equivalent of US$8,000 to US$10,000 [14]. With the exception of the semi ICT-based engineering courses being provided from the University of South Africa, no information could be found on any other ICT-based engineering education taking place in Sub-Saharan Africa today. Information on the African Virtual University indicated that it was considering offering courses in engineering. Whether this has been done could not be determined, as it was not possible to access the AVU web site.

IX

Engineering Firms Survey

As noted above, previous studies have shown that it is extremely important that engineering education be appropriate for the local context, especially in developing countries. For this to occur it would have to be acceptable to the end-users of the engineers, i.e., to those firms that employ engineers. Therefore, in order to make a determination of the feasibility of ICT-based engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa, it was first necessary to ascertain: (a) if these end-users of engineering education felt that the skills required by their engineers were already being provided and, if not, could be provided through an ICT-based course; (b) if there was a willingness on behalf of these firms to utilize and pay for engineering education provided through the non-traditional means of ICT; and, (c) if they would be willing to help develop courses appropriate to the local context. Since this study was focused on tertiary-level education it was also necessary to know how important employers viewed university level accreditation, and if continuing education to keep skills up-to-date was needed. IX.A Survey Research Methodology To collect this information, a web-based survey of engineering firms in Sub-Saharan Africa was developed and conducted between November, 2006 and January, 2007. Due to distances, costs and times involved it was not possible to include firms that did not have an active email address. While it might have been useful to obtain the input of these firms, it was assumed that those that do not use electronic mail would also be those with the least interest in an ICT-based engineering course. In all, email addresses were obtained for a total of 385 companies. However, when emails were sent to these companies, 135 or 35% of the email addresses were found to no longer exist. This left a survey universe of

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Appendix 10
250 firms, out of which 51 responded. It was not possible to ascertain if those firms with invalid email addresses had simply changed or stopped using their addresses, or had ceased to exist. It should be noted that while the respondents represented 13 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, 56% were based in South Africa. This is almost certainly due to the fact that, in comparison with other Sub-Saharan African countries, it is far more developed, has a much greater technical base, and has a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) which is 50 times higher than most other Sub-Saharan countries [40]. However, since the questionnaire found no discernable divergence between the views expressed by South African companies and those of the other countries, it was not considered necessary to treat data from these respondents separately. In formulating the survey questionnaire, the program outcomes of several universities were contacted to determine the key skills that engineers are expected to obtain from their education. The bulk of the questions were then divided into two main areas; skill sets, and ICT course interest. IX.B Analytical Approach The approach to data analysis was two pronged. First, simple distributions of responses were examined as were listings of open responses, which were then grouped into categories based on similarities. These were used to make general statements regarding issues such as whether or not the employers believe that the engineers they have employed have received adequate and appropriate education for the jobs they are currently doing. Second, partial-correlation and cross-tabulations were used to determine if relationships exist between particular responses, especially those related to accreditation, willingness to help develop ICT-based engineering courses and to pay for ICT-based education. Considering the limitations of the survey and the fact that the sample of respondents could not be considered completely random, these relatively unsophisticated techniques were considered appropriate for the kinds of data collected and very useful in displaying the level of association between important factors. The levels of association between particular variables in the data were determined by using a professional statistics program, SPSS, to find their Pearsons correlation value [41, 42]. This correlation was specifically employed in this case because of the ratio-based nature of the results. It should be noted that, as there were no comparable data available from other surveys, there was no predefined level of correlation used to serve as a threshold of importance or relevance. Consequently, for this analysis a Pearsons value of 0.2 was chosen as the minimum significant correlation. Although lower than the more accepted value of 0.5, this value was considered reasonable as it discarded the majority of the un-correlated data while providing a wealth of interesting and significant relationships. Cross tabulation, a process in which two sets of data are compared against each other based on how the percentage of responses to one question is related to those of another, was then used to help display and fully quantify the important correlations found using Pearsons.

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IX.C Survey Results The survey found that Sub-Saharan engineering firms felt that the most vital professional skills or qualifications needed for their engineers were their understanding of engineering principals and computer literacy (Figure 1). Three quarters also felt that a degree in engineering and work experience were essential. The criterion relating to understanding engineering principals, which 94% of the respondents rated as vital, could be considered obvious, as no engineering company would want to employ engineers who do not know at least the basics of their trade. However, this criterion was included in the questionnaire in order to gauge the importance of later questions relating to the quality of training these companies believe their engineers have received.

Grades Received Business Skills Foreign Language Writing Skills 10% Math Ability 6% Verbal Skills Work Experience in Appropriate Area 6% Degree - Creditability 6% Computer Literacy Understanding of Engineering Principles

27% 25% 54% 33% 37% 37% 29% 24%

57% 55% 26% 57% 57% 61% 65% 71% 84% 94%

16% 20% 20%

16% 4%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Not Important + Somewhat Important

Important

Very Important + Vital

Figure 1: Professional Skills / Achievements

The importance placed on managerial and soft skills was also examined. As shown in Figure 2, 90% of the respondents felt that problem solving/creativity was by far the most important skill, followed by time management and teamwork. Only a quarter of the firms felt that business management skills were very important or essential although over three quarters felt these skills were at least important.

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Business Management Skills Organisation 4% Teamwork Time Management Problem Solving/Creativity 4%

22% 40% 30% 24%

52% 56% 70% 72% 90%

20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

26%

10%
0% 10%

90%

100%

Not Important + Somewhat Important

Important

Very Important + Vital

Figure 2: Managerial / Soft Skills

In addition to the specific skills listed in the questionnaire, companies were asked to comment on any other skills they felt were important for an engineer to possess. Of these, people skills and initiative were the most commonly mentioned, representing 34% of the responses. Business awareness and practical engineering ability were the two other most mentioned skills. It is interesting to note that business awareness was considered important while business management skills were not. One can only conjecture that the respondents were those who actually managed the firms, and while they felt that their engineers needed to be aware of the business side, they did not think they needed to have the skills required to manage the business. The survey also obtained information on the qualities these companies felt were most lacking in their engineers. As shown in Figure 3, almost one third of the respondents felt that practical engineering experience and skills were the qualities most lacking, followed by communications skills.

2% 4%2% 4% 4% 8%

30%

8% 8% 10% 20%

Practical Experience/Engineering Skills Communication Skills Commitment/Focus On Money Application of Knowledge IT Skills Business Accumen People Skills Problem Solving Innovation Honesty None lacking

Figure 3: Skills Most Lacking in Engineers

When asked about the primary criteria used in selecting new engineers, the largest

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number (42%) stated that experience and qualifications were the most vital, while 70 % felt an internationally certified degree in engineering was either important or vital. Only around half (51%) of the respondents felt that the education and training their engineers had received was really relevant for the job, while a further 31% felt it was only semi-relevant. Eighteen percent did not feel the training their engineers had received was appropriate at all. The largest number (39%) felt that the lack of relevance of the education received stemmed largely from a lack of practical experience (39%) and a lack of soft skills (38%). It is interesting to note that project management/practical skills (40%) and business experience (24%) topped the list of skills training which they feel would have been most beneficial for their graduate engineers. These responses relate closely to the principal kinds of jobs these companies said they would most likely hire engineers for, i.e., project engineers and business analysts. Two thirds of the respondents indicated it was important for their engineers to be trained to work in the business side of engineering in order to be able to gain and keep clients, while 84% thought training in marketing and business was either important or essential for their engineers. In attempting to ascertain how interested Sub-Saharan African companies would be in ICT-based education, including some form of continuing education in engineering, the survey found that 58% indicated they would find a continuing education course in engineering very useful and 73% were especially interested in participating in such a course if offered over the internet by an accredited university. Only 10% felt it would not be useful. The principal skills they would seek to upgrade using such a program were engineering management (34%) followed by technical and IT skills (18% each). The survey sought to determine if companies in Sub-Saharan Africa would have an interest in working with local universities to both improve engineering education and make it more relevant to their needs. The response was very positive, with 78% indicating they would be interested in having ties to local universities, not only to help the companies themselves find future employees (31%), but also to help them gain knowledge on the latest engineering developments (29%) and improve the training their engineers receive (26%). Almost two thirds said they would be interested in helping develop engineering education with local institutions, and that this link would make them more willing to hire engineers from these institutions. Three fourths of the respondents stated they were even willing to host placements (engineering interns) for periods of two weeks to six months. Quite obviously, these companies see the importance to themselves of helping to improve and strengthen engineering education locally and in making it more relevant for their needs. This analysis produced a number of interesting correlations, particularly with respect to the importance respondents placed on formal qualifications (degrees) and their willingness to help develop or improve engineering education in local institutions or to participate in ICT-based education. Basically, all of those who considered a reputable degree in engineering to be an important qualification were interested to some degree in ICT-based engineering education. Two thirds (65%) indicated they were even willing to pay for this kind of education. Most of the companies (85%) who felt an internationally recognized degree was important also saw value both for themselves and for improving local engineering education in having links with an educational institution. Over four fifths (82%) of this same group were willing to host placements of engineers as part of their education.

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Conclusions

There is obviously a critical need both for more engineers in Sub-Saharan Africa and a greater capacity to produce engineers on a broader scale. Given the very limited resource base of all countries in the region, with the exception of South Africa, it will be impossible to increase the pool of available engineers using traditional education methods. The only possible means for doing this is an ICT-based engineering education program. The current technological development of ICT is fully capable of supporting such a program. The situation in Sub-Saharan Africa with regard to its technological capacity to support an ICT-based engineering education program is not favorable, although it is improving on all fronts. Sub-Saharan African governments, universities and donor partners have all embraced ICT as a viable means for increasing access to education at all levels, and barriers to expanding its reach are coming down. However, major constraints relating primarily to bandwidth and computer resources remain, but there are also attempts underway to address them. There are also good models which can be drawn upon to develop a viable tertiary-level engineering education program for this region. In particular, the Open University in the UK and the distance learning program of the University of South Africa both have extensive experience which would prove invaluable in developing such a program. The need for engineering education to be appropriate for the local context has been highlighted. The Engineering Firms Survey showed this concern could be addressed by involving local universities and local end-users of engineering education in the development of ICT-based programs. The interest is there and, once developed, indications are that these local organizations would be willing to pay for this education, thus making the continuation of these programs sustainable. This approach would also build local ownership for the program. Developing an ICT-based engineering education program for Sub-Saharan Africa which leads to a degree would almost certainly require the involvement of a university or institute in a developed country. The most appropriate scenario would be linking it with a local university or with a number of universities. Initially, the most viable approach might be for a developed country university to link with the University of South Africa, as it has the most mature distance learning program in the region. Course development would obviously entail substantial upfront costs, although once developed and rolled out the per-student cost would be expected to decrease dramatically. Besides being the only way to significantly increase the capacity to produce engineers in the region, in the long term it should prove extremely cost effective. The overall conclusion that can be reached from this study is that it is definitely feasible to deliver ICT-based engineering education in Sub-Saharan Africa, given the resources needed to develop the course in conjunction with local counterparts and to sufficiently upgrade their technological capacity with increased bandwidth and computers. Donor assistance would almost certainly be required for these development and start-up costs. The most acceptable approach initially might be to implement such a program on a pilot basis in order to demonstrate locally that it is a viable, cost effective means of producing appropriately trained engineers. Once this is proven, it could be expected that the resources required to expand this program would be forthcoming from many sources,

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not least of which would be from within the countries themselves.

XI Acknowledgements
Theauthorswouldliketothankthefollowingpeopleforallthesupportandadvicethey providedwhiletheresearchprojectdescribedinthispaperwascarriedout: Dr.WilliamSaint,LeadEducationSpecialistfortheAfricaRegion,WorldBank;Dr.Mark Endean,EngineeringProgramDirector,TheOpenUniversity;Ms.SarahMcGowan,The OpenUniversity;Ms.MariaTaylor,InternationalProjects,IMechE;Mr.JamesElsworth, Representative for Tanzania, IMechE; Ms. Katherine Dike,Library Information Officer, IMechE; Dr. Sherri Johnstone, School of Engineering, Durham University; Mr. John Garside,SchoolofEngineering,DurhamUniversity.

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1. 2. 3. 4. 5. World Bank, The World Development Report: A Better Investment Climate for Everyone, The World Bank / Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 2005. pp 173 M. Zymelman, Assessing Engineering Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, The World Bank, Washington D.C., 1993. pp xi L. Georghiou, et al., Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Synthesis Report, Manchester University, Manchester, UK, 2005. p 5, 2 D. Bloom, et al., Higher Education and Economic Development in Africa, Havard University Press, Boston, MA, 2006. pp. iv L. M. Thor, Mainstreaming Distance Learning Into the Community College, Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, Sloan Consortium Publishing, Orlando, FL, 2004. pp 24 P. Dean, et al., Effectiveness of Combined Delivery Modalities for Distance Learning and Resident Learning, Quarterly Review of Distance Education. Nova Southeastern University, North Miami Beach, FL, 2001. pp 247-254 Visit The Internet Society web site: http://www.isoc.org/internet/history/brief.shtml M. Simonson, et al., Teaching and Learning at a Distance: Foundations of Distance Education,3rd Edition, Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, Columbus, OH, 2006. pp 10 M. Simonson, Sizing the Opportunity: The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, Person Merrill Prentice Hall, Columbus, OH, 2004. pp vi

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14. Visit Open University Online web site: http://www.open.ac.uk/about/ou/p3.shtml#p3 15. M. Gordon, Government Intervention: ICT Policies Around the World. In: M. Beebe, Africa Dot Edu, Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi, India, 2003. pp 113 16. Association of African Universities, Revitalizing Universities in Africa: Strategies for the 21st Century: Final Report, AAU, Arusha, Tanzania, 1999. 17. G, Mutume, Africa Takes On the Digital Divide. In: Africa Renewal Journal. United Nations Press, New York, NY, 2003. pp 25-27 18. Visit Personal Computing For OU Study web site: http://www3.open.ac.uk/personal-computing/courses/T1732008.shtm 19. R. Steiner, et al., African Tertiary Institution Connectivity Survey, The World Bank Institute, Washington D.C., 2004. pp 38-53, 35, vii, 34 20. S. Mills, Using the Internet for Active Teaching and Learning, Pearson Education, New Jersey, NJ, 2006. pp 55 21. Visit AT&T Video Conferencing web site: http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/vidconf/intro.html P16 22. Visit Network World Online web site: http://www.networkworld.com/research/2001/1029feat2.html 23. United States Technology Advisory Committee to the President, The Role Of Technology To Strengthen Education In The United States, US TAC, Washington D.C., 2000. 24. Visit Online Course Development: What Does It Cost? web site: http://campustechnology.com/article.asp?id=9676&p=1 25. H. Perraton, Applying New Technologies and Cost-Effective Delivery Systems in Basic Education, International Research Foundation for Open Learning, Washington D.C., 2000. pp 40 26. M. Potashnik, Cost Analysis of Information Technology Projects in Education: Experiences from Developing Countries. The World Bank Education Group, Washington D.C., 1996. pp 14 27. F. Orivel, Finance, Costs and Economics. In: C. Yates, et al., Basic Education at a Distance, Routledge, London, UK, 2000. 28. P. Murphy, et al., Enhancing Learning Opportunities in Africa: Distance Education and Communication and Information Technologies for Learning, Africa Region Human Development Working Paper Series, The World Bank Institute, Washington, D.C., 2002. pp x, xi, x, 6 29. A. Lelliott, et al. Promises of Access and Inclusion: Online Education in Africa. In: The Journal of Philosophy of Education 34(1), Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK, 2000. pp 44 30. W. Saint, Tertiary Distance Education and Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa, The World Bank Institute, Washington D.C., 1999. pp 30 31. M. Juma, The African Virtual University (AVU): Challenges and Prospects. In: M. Beebe, Africa Dot Edu, Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi, India, 2003. pp 206, 221, 220 32. M. Jensen, The Evolution of the Internet in Africa. In: M. Beebe, Africa Dot Edu, Tata

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McGraw-Hill, New Delhi, India, 2003. pp 59 33. B.A. Ntim, Methodology for Designing Engineering Curricula in a Developing Country. In: M. Zymelman, Assessing Engineering Education in Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Bank Institute, Washington D.C., 1993. 34. D. Atchoarena, Private Technical and Vocational Education In Sub-Saharan Africa : Provision Patterns and Policy Issues. International Institute For Educational Planning / UNESCO, Paris, France, 2003. pp 22 35. Visit National Center For Education Statistics web site: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d05/tables/dt05_210.asp 36. African Network of Scientific and Technological Institutions, State of Science Training in Africa. UNESCO, Nairobi, Kenya, 2005. pp 11, 14 37. O. Shojobi, New Approach To Training Of Engineers. In: S. McNown, Technical Education in Africa, East African Publishing House, Nairobi, Kenya, 1970. 38. C. Lancaster, Aid to Africa, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 1999. pp 3 39. J, Antonio, How Can We Improve The State Of Continuing Engineering Education In Africa, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Accra, Ghana, 2004. pp 568 40. Visit World Factbook South Africa web site: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sf.html 41. Visit SPSS Incorporated web site: http://www.spss.com/ 42. Visit Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearson_productmoment_correlation_coefficient 43. T. L. Friedman, The World is Flat: A Brief History of The Twenty-first Century. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006, ISBN 0374292795 2006

Author Biographies
Mr. Nicholas Kirkland is a recent graduate of Durham University, UK, with a Masters Degree in Design, Manufacture, and Management Engineering. He has spent over half his life in Sub-Saharan Africa where he acquired an interest in Africa's development. Prior to going to Durham he did a study of the potential for using wave power energy for poor coastal villages in Tanzania. Dr. Dirk Schaefer is currently an Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology Savannah. Prior to joining Georgia Tech, Dr. Schaefer was a Lecturer in the School of Engineering at Durham University, UK. He joined Durham from a Senior Research Associate position at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, where he earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science. Dr. Schaefer also held part-time positions as an Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of Applied Sciences in Aalen, and as a Lecturer in Computer Science at two private IT Academies in Esslingen and Dresden. In addition, he was the Managing Director of an IT consulting firm which he founded in 1999. Dr. Schaefer started his career as an apprentice Toolmaker with one of Germanys leading metal forming companies, where he specialized in CNC machining and the manufacture of compound tool sets for knuckle joint presses. On completion of his

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apprenticeship he went on to obtain an Advanced Technical College Certificate in Mechanical Engineering and followed this with a Masters degree in Mathematics from the University of Duisburg, Germany. Prior to working in academia Dr. Schaefer gained experience as a Software Engineer in the area of Civil Engineering CAD system development. Dr. Schaefer has published around fifty papers in journals, books and conference proceedings in Computer-Aided Engineering and Design. He is a member of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), The Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE), The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), The American Mathematical Society (AMS), The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), The Institution of Engineering Designers (IED), The British Computer Society (BCS), The European Mathematical Society (EMS), The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), The German Association of Computer Scientists (GI), The German Association of Engineers (VDI) and The Association of German Mathematicians (DMV). Dr. Schaefer is also a Chartered Engineer (CEng), a Chartered IT-Professional (CITP) and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) in the UK. Address: Systems Realization Laboratory, The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology Savannah, 210 Technology Circle, Savannah, GA 31407; telephone: 912-966-7946; fax: 912-966-7928; e-mail: dirk.schaefer@me.gatech.edu

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