Challenges and Potential of Teaching Engineering Students in Developing Countries Using New Trends and Methodologies

The purpose of our paper is to review the challenges and potential of educating engineering students using traditional methods of learning in the developing countries. This will be compared to new methods of learning where the objective is not only knowledge acquisition but also knowledge creation such as project and problem based learning. The potential implies that an effective engineering education process in the developing countries can assure a global supply of well-prepared engineering graduates needed to enhance focus on innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation and fill the shortage of quality engineers. The traditional system of learning in developing countries such as Pakistan is based predominately on memorization with very little independent learning through self-study or problem solving by collaborative or team work. Students rarely challenge the integrity of instruction by the instructors leading to the lack of interactive relations vital to creativity and innovation. The curriculum is highly structured and there is little room to take liberal arts or interdisciplinary courses to broaden their education. Not enough emphasis is placed on professional competencies which are important for today’s engineers competing in a global market. Accreditation as a relatively new phenomenon in the developing countries face the challenge of ensuring quality based on standards while also facilitating innovations in education. There is a lack of resources for upgrading laboratories, shortage of trained teachers to teach effectively and make the course curriculum relevant to the need of the country. Students’ learning is further compounded with new developments in electronic media which are leading to enormous challenges for teachers with regards to the role digital devices can and should play in the learning process. Despite these challenges, the engineering institutions in Pakistan are attracting an increasing number of highly competent applicants for a limited number of seats. The authors discuss various challenges in educating engineering students accustomed to traditional methods of teaching and assessing in the structured engineering curriculum used in some developing countries and identify potential areas of change. The authors also give recommendations, based on new trends and methodologies to meet the challenges in Pakistani engineering institutions that are currently seeing tremendous increase in student enrollment.