Challenges Facing Engineering Education in Africa: The Role of the African Engineering Education Association
Funso A.Falade
President, African Engineering Education Association (AEEA)
Engineering education is the process of training engineers for the purposes of initiating, facilitating and implementing the technological development of a nation. The training of engineers is universal but its application is localized to solve societal problems in a sustainable way. In Africa, the training of engineers has witnessed formidable challenges ranging from poor funding to inadequate facilities both quantitatively and qualitatively, non-availability of adequate human capacity, brain drain and poor staff training and retention profiles. Others include weak university/industry partnership, defective curricula, non-availability of local codes and monitoring standards for the training of prospective engineers and an inadequate ICT environment. The Africa Engineering Education Association (AEEA) was established in 2006 in Pretoria, South Africa. It is to serve as the driving force behind the Africa Regional Conference on Engineering Education, a biennial forum for all the stakeholders in Africa to identify and proffer solutions to the problems within the compass of engineering education in the region. AEEA aims at addressing all the issues of inadequacies in Engineering Education in Africa and foster good relationship with both regional and international engineering organizations.
Dr. Funso AlphonsusFalade is a Nigerian and a Professorof civil engineering at University of Lagos, Nigeria.He earned Diploma in Quantity Surveying at Yaba College of Technology in 1978. He completed his M.Sc (Civil Engineering) at the Moscow Institute of Civil Engineering in the USSR in 1984. He returned to Nigeria to study for his PhD in Civil Engineering, gaining this qualification at the University of Lagos in 1998. Prof Falade joined the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Ife (now ObafemiAwolowoUniversity) in 1986 as an Assistant Lecturer. He progressed from that position to Lecturer II and Lecturer I in 1989 and 1991 respectively. He commenced teaching as Lecturer I at the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Lagos in 1992. He was appointed Senior Lecturer in 1995, Associate Professor in 1998 and Professor 2001. Hehas authored40 articles on innovative construction materials and engineering education published in locally and internationally reputable journals. Prof. Falade has presented over 45 papers at workshops and seminars on such areas as Project Management, Quality Control, Maintenance of Facilities, and Contract Procurement Processes etc. He was given a certificate for good research paper presentation at the 3rd International Conference on Quality, Reliability Maintenance, University of Oxford, England in 2000. He was given an award at the First Nigerian Universities Research and Development for the presentation of a research project of high standard and with relevance to national development. His biographical details are listed in numerous Who’s Who publications and dictionaries. Prof Falade is a member of Nigerian Society of Engineers, Nigerian Institution of Civil Engineers. He is registered byCouncil for Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria. He is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE Structural Engineering Institute and the UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education. He is a fellow of Institute of Corporate Administration of Nigeria and a member of Council of CDIO Institute for Africa, Pretoria,South Africa. He was appointed a consultant to work for Nigeria on UNESCO Draft Programme for 2000/2001(30C/5).Prof. Falade is a promoter of engineering education. He was the initiator of African Regional Conference on Engineering Education and the Chairman, Organising Committee and the Editor of the Proceedings of the 1st African Regional Conference on Engineering Education and Sub-Regional Workshop on New Engineering Curriculum (23rd – 25th September 2002). He was also the Chairman, Organising committee for the 2nd African Regional Conference on Engineering Education that was held at University of Lagos between 20th and 22nd September, 2004. He was appointed UNESCO consultant in 2005 to supply services to any of its offices in the world.In 2006, Professor Falade was appointedthe Pioneer President of African Engineering Education Association.