Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment
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Item Chaos theory as relevance for engineering education in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Africa(Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Engineering and Sciences Publication - BEIESP, 2020) Fomunyam, Kehdinga GeorgeIn the fourth industrial revolution (4IR)period, an inclusion of Chaos Theory (CT) in Engineering education (EE) and its significant relevance have involved debates from engineering academia and industrial professional over the years. Thus, much has been done to recall relevance for EE, yet EE has not attained Sustainable Development Goal for educational target, in areas of research relevance, curriculum restructuring, and learning materials/instructional platforms redesigning are still lacking in engineering academia and profession in Africa. With much sensitization on inclusion of CT to instil EE relevance in Africa, is still far from addressing EE gaps; hence the crux of this paper. This paper was guided by Chaos theory providing definite perception which involves equilibrium constructs that are crucial in EE. This paper focused on the concept of CT as its relevance in EE in the4IR in Africa. In particular, it explores how CT can enhance relevance in EE; and how the principles of CT can improve the EE relevance, as well as its implications in Africa. Thus, to address these gaps, recommendations such as developing nonchaotic curriculum for EE, adopting Chaos theoretical principles in facilitating staff training and students’ skill development were advocated.Item Globalisation and localisation of engineering education in Africa(The World Academy of Research in Science and Engineering, 2021-11) Fomunyam, Kehdinga GeorgeThe problem of globalisation and localisation of engineering education in Africa is discussed in this paper. This is because, as compared to other continents, engineering education in Africa is still far behind in terms of quality and importance and is considered outdated and has no place in global engineering. To this impact, authors have argued that the globalization of African engineering education could be a possible solution to this anomaly facing the continent's engineering education. It is on this note that this research argues that it is important to globalize engineering education in Africa. This study further argues that while it is important to globalize engineering education, it is also relevant that it is localised alongside. To this end, this study believes that engineering education on the continent needs to undergo a 'localized globalization' for engineering education in Africa to take its correct place and role in global engineering. It is through this notion that this research is organized. Based on the analogy of this report, it is concluded that engineering education on the continent must be 'globalized locally' in order for engineering education in Africa to take its rightful place in world engineering. Therefore, this study recommends that local engineering values should be mixed together to achieve successful localized globalization while globalizing engineering education in Africa.Item Gender and gender mainstreaming In engineering education in Africa(Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Engineering and Sciences Publication - BEIESP, 2020) Fomunyam, Kehdinga George; Matola, Noluthando; Moyo, SibusisoIn Africa, a lot of debates on the issues of gender gap and gender inequality has raised concerns in engineering education (EE) and engineering workforce. Thus, gender inequality and equity are significant in realizing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in recent years much has been done to address gender gaps, yet women are still excluded, underrepresented, segregated and relegated inengineering profession and academia. With much sensitization on gender equality, Africa is still far from addressing gender gaps in EE; hence the crux of this paper. This paper was guided by Liberal Feminism theory, focusing on women’s freedom as an autonomy to be free from coercive interference, due to‘gender system’ or patriarchal nature of inherited traditions and institutions. This paper takes a broad look at the concepts of gender and gender mainstreaming in EE in Africa. Specifically, it explores gender and inequality in EE and how gender mainstreaming canbe enacted to address gender gaps in EE, as well as its implications in Africa. Thus, to address these gaps, recommendations such as developing gendersensitive curriculum for EE, adopting policies in facilitating women’s access to training and employment opportunities as well as creating gender-sensitive career counselling were advocatedItem Redefining the theory of engineering for relevance in the 21st Century in Africa(Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Engineering and Sciences Publication - BEIESP, 2020) Fomunyam, Kehdinga GeorgeAcademia and professionals’ attention has been drawn towards redefining theory of engineering for relevance in the 21st century. This has become an imperative as it has brought changes in engineering courses, and yet engineering curriculum have not been modified to accommodate these changes. With increased intellectual demand for ground-breaking engineering performance in Africa, African engineering institutions are still lagging behind as they are yet to meet up with the 21st century needs; hence the crux of this paper. This paper was guided by Jean Piaget’s constructivism learning theory, focusing on individual’s understanding and knowledge, rooted on one’s experience erstwhile to learning setting. This paper takes a broad look at the overall investigation of redefining the theory of engineering for relevance in 21st century in Africa. The specific objectives explore the principles of theory of engineering as well as its applicability and to examine how theory of engineering can be improved for contextual relevance, as well as its implications for 21st century engineering curriculum. Thus, to address this gaps, recommendations on redefinition and relevance of theory of engineering pertaining to curriculum revision and providing adequate staff development for engineering educators with intellectual capacity and skill improvement were recommended.Item Convergence and divergence in engineering education in Africa(Transstellar Journal Publications and Research Consultancy Private Limited (TJPRC), 2021-12-01) Fomunyam, Kehdinga GeorgeEngineering education is the process of teaching and learning engineering which has the capacity to make systems, processes and structures better. But in solving problems, there has been the case for having a finite appropriate solution or a plethora of solutions known as the convergence-divergence nexus. The convergence-divergence complex has been at the front burner of issues since the beginning of the 1950s and various scholars have argued for both in addressing challenges. This study unraveled the engineering education dynamic while also trying to understand convergence and divergence in engineering education in Africa. findings from the study revealed that Findings from the study revealed that convergence-divergence has been at the front burner of issues for long and various authors have made the case for each of the concepts as a result of their defining peculiarity and applicability. It was found out that it is important to understand both processes so as to ensure the selection of the best approach to issues and it was thus important to analyze both. This study, therefore, recommends that there must be synergy between convergence and divergence to ensure appropriate solutions to challenges in engineering education.