ENRICHING ENGINEERING

EDUCATION PROGRAMME

(EEEP)





Questionnaire

Introduction


The University of Botswana has been awarded a grant by the Royal Engineering Academy to carry out an Enriching Engineering Education Programme (EEEP). The primary purpose of the project is to foster the partnership between industry and university through a win-win situation of placing academics in industry and to produce robust engineers. The project shall take a holistic view on higher education while focusing on engineering. Through an improved and more practice-orientated academic education in engineering in the four countries of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland, the skills demands of the local labour markets shall be met and a notable contribution to the economic development of these countries will be derived. Finally, a higher education network, including industry partners, in the Southern African countries will be established.

The following universities are partners in the EEEP project:

The following questionnaire is to solicit your support in providing adequate information and data on educational requirements in engineering programmes. Such knowledge will help our partner universities to design qualitative and international competitive curricula that will produce robust graduates to meet the high expectation of industry and also enhance the mobility of graduates. It will also give confidence to sponsors and other stakeholders. Express your opinions to help engineering academic capacity locally and in Southern African countries.

We appreciate your time for completing the questionnaire.


Professor Benjamin Bolaane
Dean of the FET and Chairperson of the Programme team
University of Botswana, P/Bag 61, Gaborone
Tel: 355 4222
email:DeanFET@mopipi.ub.bw


  A]   Respondent's demography:

My age group:

< 24 (Youth)
25 - 40 (Young Adult)
40 - 60 (Adult)
Over 60 (Senior Citizen)

My gender:

Male
Female

My current highest educational qualification:

Diploma
Bachelor's Degree
Postgraduate



My current employment position in orginisation:

Senior Engineer
Training Manager or equivalent
Human Resources Management
Health and Safety Officer
Engineering Manager
Consultant
Chief Executive Officer



The number of people employed in my organisation:

< 25
25 - 50
50 - 150
150 - 500
500 - 1000
Over 1000

The number of engineering graduates in my orginisation:

< 10
10 - 25
25 - 50
Over 50



  B]   Engineering Education Requirements

(tick all that apply)

1. Identify the engineering disciplines that your organisation practices.

Maintenance
Control & Instrumentation
Solid Mechanics
Materials Science
Strength of Materials
Design
Structures
Transportation
Water
Industrial & Manufacturing
Energy
Electronics
Electrical
Telecommunication
Mining



2. Why do people want to be educated in engineering?

Good job opportunities

Prestige of the profession

Family member is an engineer

To start an engineering company

Can easily become a consultant


3. The following attributes are very important when my company is employing entry level engineers

Ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering

Ability to design and conduct experiments

Ability to analyze and interpret data

Ability to find, access and use information

Ability to design a system, component or process

Ability to function in a team

Ability to identify, formulate and solve engineering problems

Understanding of and commitment to professional and ethical responsibility

Ability to communicate effectively

Understanding social, economic and environmental impact of engineering

Ability to use professional engineering software

Possessing general computer skills


4. Who should be responsible for funding engineering education in the country?

Government

Industry

Self-sponsored
(eg. family, self)

Scholarship (trust, donation, alumni)

International Scholarship

University Scholarship


5. What type of engineering education should be promoted?

Postgraduate

Bachelor's Degree

Diploma

Vocational

Apprenticeships with industry

Short courses


6. What mode of teaching and learning should be used to deliver engineering programmes?

Traditional face to face

E-learning

Blended learning

Dual study programmes

Apprenticeship

Problem, project based learning


7. Who should decide the contents of engineering programmes?

Institution

Industry-led

Beneficiaries (students)

National accreditation bodies

International collaborators


8. Where should Engineering education be delivered?

Local universities

Local vocational institutions

Institutions outside the country but within the region border

Institutions outside the region

In industries


9. Education needs in Engineering can be met by:

Training as a technician or technologist

Training as an engineer

Training to become a manufacturer of products

Training to become a provider of engineering services

Training to become an educator or researcher in engineering


10. What are the barriers to delivering engineering education programmes in the country?

Insufficiently qualified students (eg. in science and maths)

Poor exposure to engineering at lower educational levels

Lack of funding and equipment

Limited job opportunities after graduation

Academic engineers are not well remunerated

Lack of support by industry in education


11. Engineering education programmes should be promoted in this country

12. What mostly describes your knowledge in the field of Engineering?

End user of products or services
Learner
Knowledgeable
No idea, but interested to learn


13. What do you consider to be the strengths of Engineering graduates?



14. What do you consider to be the weaknesses of Engineering graduates?



15. Propose one or two attributes (qualities) you would want to see in Engineering graduates