SGER--Engineers and Engineering Education In The Middle East: Symposium June 2003

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

The goal of this project is to produce much needed scholarship on engineering education and practice in the Middle East, from a selection of both Arab and Islamic states. U.S. engineers often assume engineering education is similar across Middle Eastern countries due to commonalities in language, religion, geographical location, or emphasis in oil production. Yet each country has had a unique history, including distinctive colonial struggles and varying sets of political and economic relations with other countries around the world, which have, in turn, shaped its engineering education and practice in particular ways. Hence, the main intellectual merit of this project involves providing U.S. engineering educators and practitioners with new knowledge about engineering education and practice in the Middle East, with a focus on outlining the diversity of engineering cultures in this part of the world. The gathering of content on the past, present, and future of engineering education and practice in several Middle Eastern countries will take place in three panel discussions and individual interviews with expert panelists at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Engineering Education, to be held on June 22-25, 2003, in Nashville, TN. With the participation of selected STS scholars knowledgeable about the Middle East, panel discussions and individual interviews with experts in engineering education in the Middle East will both document histories and highlight similarities and differences among national patterns. Presenters will also identify important issues currently confronting engineering educators, engineering institutions, and engineering employers. The results of this project include (1) a video archive available via the Internet to individuals and organizations interested in learning about engineering in the Middle East; (2) frameworks for multimedia modules on engineering cultures in 3-5 Middle Eastern countries, and (3) the organizing framework for a future International Conference on Engineering Education in the Middle East. This project can have a significant impact on how engineering students and practitioners approach and understand their colleagues from the Middle East, whether in education or in industry. An additional benefit is to expand networks and increase collaborations among American and Middle Eastern engineers.