Problematization of the Sudanese Engineering Education

Abstract

The purpose of engineering education is to prepare engineering graduates for employment as professional engineers in various industries. However, a small portion of the engineering graduates may seek other options, like research and/or graduate studies. Well-trained engineering graduates is essential for development of any country. Nevertheless, Sudan, like most of Sub Saharan African countries, has been facing profound engineering education issues; of them are: poor funding, outdated curricula, ineffective teaching and learning methods, inadequate human capacity, poor research/publishing condition, inappropriate facilities, inadequate educational technology and ICT environment, weak university/industry relationship, lack of academic freedom, imbalance between diploma and bachelor graduates from engineering college, and missing of quality control and accreditation measures. All of these issues led to low number of well-trained engineering graduates; hence, the country’s development has been exceedingly suppressed. Any efforts to improve engineering education in Sudan should start with addressing those inadequate elements of engineering education. This paper discussed the current engineering education issues and concluded with recommendations that might help resolve them.