Well-established engineering higher education is considered to be one of the most important requirements for modern technological development. Developing an appropriate mechanism for the preparation of technically qualified cadres from the output of engineering education to satisfy the demands of development is, therefore, a critical challenge that faces higher education systems.
There exists a gap that continues to enlarge between the scientific knowledge
and technical skills required to develop engineering human resources and those
requirements characterizing the practicing of the engineering profession to
fulfill the demands of modern development processes. Subsequently, the
engineering education study becomes of high significance in terms of its
objectives that aim at bridging this gap between the currently available
engineering qualifications and the required levels. These objectives should be
achieved by developing a mechanism that will enable the promotion of training
engineering cadres to the levels stipulated by job market, to guarantee the
compliance of engineering education outputs with the rules of practicing the
profession and the satisfaction of current and future development demands.
This study –in general- aims at developing a mechanism for qualifying
engineering cadres that quantitatively and qualitatively satisfy the
requirements of the job market and the development process. All of that should
be presented in light of current and future changing requirements of development
as a result of technological advances. In addition, this study should achieve a
number of additional objectives, represented in the following:
1. Defining the current requirements of job market; and exploring the future
demands of development process from the engineering disciplines.
2. Evaluating the compliance of engineering higher education with job market
demands.
3. Evaluating the internal and external efficacious of the engineering higher
education system.
4. Developing a model to link job market and engineering higher education.
5. Evaluating the methodologies applied for scientific research in engineering
science disciplines.
6. Assessing professional development schemes in engineering higher education
establishments.
7. Defining the important parameters that suit the Kingdom from the experience
of other countries in the field of health higher education.
8. Evaluating success levels achieved by the application of business incubators,
science parks, and professional guidance in the areas of promoting engineering
education and satisfying requirements of development processes.
The scope of this study and its aspects comprise the following:
1. Defining the mission, vision, and short-term and strategic objectives of
engineering higher education, to guarantee qualifying engineering cadres
equipped with necessary knowledge and skills that satisfy the requirements for
practicing the engineering profession.
2. Studying and evaluating the job market to specify demand and supply levels
for engineering education, and the compliance of various engineering education
programs to fulfill the quantitative and qualitative requirements of the job
market and the professional practicing of engineering.
3. Developing standards and criteria to evaluate the needs of the job market to
determine its requirements of professions, skills, and training levels, in
reference to the local and international trends both currently and in the
future. This should address issues like exploring new job characteristics for
the future and the possibility of marketing such to the job market to meet
development plans stipulations.
4. Studying and evaluating engineering education academic programs and
determining their adequacy, feasibility, and satisfaction of profession
practicing standards in connection to the quantitative and qualitative skills
required by the job market.
5. Conducting studies for developing standards and criteria to evaluate the
compliance of engineering higher education institutes to the required levels of
professionalism from the following aspects: quality, versatility, adaptability
to the advances in the engineering field and meeting market expectations,
professional level of graduates, and compliance to the ever-developing trends of
practicing the profession both now and in the future.
6. Conducting studies for selecting appropriate guidelines and standardized
criteria for utilization in evaluating the internal efficiency of existing and
planned engineering higher education institutes and units, including: admission
capacity, admission policies considering student levels and job market demands,
financing, curriculum and academic programs, majors planning and developing,
academic advising, effectiveness of educational processes, educational
technologies, quality of tutoring methods, training programs, engineering
education graduate studies, engineering scientific research, management systems,
organizational hierarchy, auditing, scientific and technical environment,
infrastructure and support services, compensation and salary scales, currently
applied incentive rates and the required levels of compensation, morale of human
resources, and productivity of employees.
7. Evaluating the systems adopted by faculties and management teams for training
and professional development, and the means to broaden resources for institutes
and units under the engineering higher education.
8. Conducting a study to isolate challenges and negativity of the engineering
higher education and defining their causes, in addition to determining the gap
between internal efficiency and the compliance with job market needs, and the
means to eliminate it.
9. Reviewing and analyzing international experiences in the field of engineering
higher studies to extract the conclusions and determine what is applicable for
the Kingdom’s case.
10. Evaluating success levels achieved by the application of business
incubators, science parks, and professional guidance in the areas of promoting
engineering education and satisfying requirements of development processes.
The study requires making available data and information pertaining to the
existing engineering higher education system showing weaknesses, strengths and
challenges that face this discipline of education and affect its quantitative
and qualitative development.
These requirements should include:
1. Specifying in order of importance all the variables and parameters related to
the engineering higher education.
2. Collecting the required information from the primary and secondary sources.
3. Processing and analyzing the collected data to appraise the behavior and
effect of the variables on engineering higher education; along with resulting
projections of interest of this study.
4. Developing the means required the internal efficiency of the engineering
higher education system.
5. Reviewing and evaluating admission policies, financing, curriculum and
academic programs, majors planning and developing, academic advising,
effectiveness of educational processes, educational technologies, quality of
tutoring methods, training programs, management systems, etc.
6. Modeling the links between job market demands and the quality of engineering
higher education; and defining the required parameters for planning and
designing the appropriate programs and curricula.
7. Reviewing the various effective parameters affecting the current situation of
engineering higher education to isolate causes for challenges, phenomena,
directions, and compliance with development needs both for now and in the
future.
8. Conducting evaluative analysis for the education process to realize the level
of interaction with the requirements of the job market in light of standardized
criteria and according to established guidelines in the field. That should also
address weaknesses, strengths, challenges, opportunities, issues, and the
Kingdom’s available strategic options and their applicability and feasibility.
9. Forecasting trends of engineering education indices for the future in
connection to job market and development needs, with a survey of successful
experiences in this field in other nations.
10. Evaluating means and disciplines for scientific research and in particular
the applied research in the engineering fields; and enhancing its role in
developing engineering education.
11. Forecasting trends of engineering education indices for the future in
connection to job market and development needs, with a survey of successful
experiences in this field in other nations.
12. Defining evaluation criteria with reference to total quality standards for
human and financial resources, management, policies, students, curricula,
majors, training, incentives system, academic advising, and professional
accreditation.
13. Proposing the organizational hierarchy and infrastructure necessary to
guarantee the effectiveness of engineering higher education system.
14. Adapting a mechanism for evaluation, professional accreditation, and
academic supervision.
15. Extracting scientific and subjective conclusions; presenting applicable
recommendations, and presenting the report.
This study should present a comprehensive report that includes the
following:
1. An executive summary of the study.
2. A documentation of all reference information included in the study.
3. The conclusions of the study comprehensively analyzed to satisfy the general
and specified objectives of the study.
4. The results of analytical studies conducted on similar models from different
countries, showing success and/or failure causes.
5. Description of the required organizational structure and infrastructure of
private higher education institutes in the Kingdom for both currently and in the
future. The description should pinpoint strengths and weaknesses, available
opportunities, diagnosed challenges, and the required success factors.
6. Means to upgrade the internal and external efficacy of the engineering higher
education system and its compliance to development needs.
7. Mechanisms for comprehensive development of engineering higher education
systems.
8. Proposing means for enhancing the level and quality for continuing
engineering higher education as well as for other objectives of this study.
9. Proposals of various scenarios required to develop engineering higher
education establishments in the Kingdom with specific reviews of important
issues for discussion according to levels of importance; and strategic
alternatives designed to achieve the objectives and purposes of the long-term
higher education plan, their feasibility, and their applicability in connection
to engineering higher education.
10. Models, criteria, forecasts, and trends of engineering education fields both
locally and internationally.
11. Scientific conclusions and recommendations required to build a long term
strategic plan for engineering higher education, as part of the strategic plan
for university education in the Kingdom.
12. Determining the needed methods of execution, budgets, temporal plan,
execution responsibilities, training requirements, changing demands, and other
technical parameters that affect the performance of the admission and capacity
operation.
13. Specifying a system for monitoring, control, benchmarking, and standardized
indices.
