Challenges in engineering education in addressing industry needs in Kenya

Abstract

Engineering education in Kenya started in the 1950s. The curricula offered were Civil, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering. Later, other disciplines were introduced, including: Agricultural/Bio-systems, Chemical, Mechatronics, Marine, Mining, Petroleum, software, Aerospace, Aeronautical, Geomatic, Medical and Textile Engineering. From the 2000's onwards, Kenya experienced a steep rise in the number of universities offering engineering programmes. However, the requisite growth of the human resource and infrastructure did not match that growth. For purposes of maintaining quality and regulating engineering practice in Kenya, The Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK) was established. The Engineers Act 2012 gives EBK the mandate to register engineers and engineering consulting firms, regulate engineering professional services, accredit engineering degree programmes, set standards and develop the general practice of engineering. It was also mandated to evaluate for purposes of recognizing equivalent engineering degrees obtained from foreign jurisdictions, so that holders of such degrees may be licensed to practice in Kenya. On the other hand, the Commission for University Education (CUE) was established and mandated to accredit all degree programmes, including engineering. The expansion of university education created the following challenges: low staffing levels, inadequate infrastructure, limitations in curricula content, little financial support for research and innovation, limited university-industry opportunities and low subscription into postgraduate programmes. In order to graduate engineers who meet the industry needs stakeholders have taken a number of measures. The university are deliberately involving the industry in the development of the curriculum. However, due to the long review circle, this is not addressing the relevance fully. Other measures being undertaken to have engineers' training address industry needs are: providing internship placement for academic staff, nurturing meaningful university industry linkages, development of new programmes in emerging areas and encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship through establishing innovation centres at the universities. All the mitigation measures are still facing huge challenges.