- Kenyans
How Universities Set Up Graduates for Failure (Kenya)
Professor Alfred Omenya, a professional architect, has shared intrigues into how tertiary facilities create controversial degrees that disadvantage graduates seeking job opportunities. Omenya is a former lecturer at the University of Nairobi (UoN) and Technical University of Kenya (TUK) in addition to being the Chief Executive Officer of Eco-Build, an architecture firm. The scholar detailed how new universities tended to create strange degree names which are unknown in the market. He cited that he once reportedly disagreed with TUK management over the issue. Omenya stated that, as the founding Dean of the School of Architecture and the Built Environment, he stuck with global norms. The professor stated that in architecture, there are only three types of degrees recognised globally. These are BSc Architecture which is a six-year course, Bachelor of Architectural Studies is attained after four years and Bachelor of Architecture or M.Arch -a professional degree attained after two more years of study. “There is an appalling proliferation of names for engineering degrees in Kenya, like Bachelor of Technology in Engineering; Bachelor of Engineering Science (is there Engineering Art?); Bachelor of Engineering in Structure and Construction. Buyer Beware! “I refused to start a programme on Bachelor of Infrastructure Planning. I also refused to start a Bachelor’s Degree in Tropical Architecture/ Environmental Design. I told the management that this is akin to becoming a Pediatric Cardiologist without being a Medical Doctor/ General Practitioner first,” Omenya tweeted. He argued that some of the ‘degrees’ are just topics in the main courses. For example; Environmental Planning, Infrastructure Planning, Rural Planning, are areas of study in Urban and Regional Planning which one can specialize in later years. “While innovation is important, new universities should start from the known to the unknown. If they start from the unknown, I am telling them for free, nobody will want to be associated with their products! “This puts their students at a huge disadvantage. That is the way the world runs,” he cautioned. On Wednesday, July 28, the High Court awarded Ksh15 million compensation to 75 graduates who sued Technical University of Kenya (TUK) over the quality of degrees. The applicants lamented that their degrees were not recognised by the Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK) rendering them unemployable. In April 2019, Education CS George Magoha cautioned students against enrolling for 98 courses that risked being scrapped. A year later in June 2020, he ordered an audit into 10-degree courses he wanted to be dropped. This was after fewer candidates applied for the courses while others attracted zero placements. These courses included Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship, Theology, Bachelor of Science (Energy Technology), Bachelor of Science in Automotive Technology, Bachelor of Technology in Building Construction, Bachelor of Technology in Renewable Energy and Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering.
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2. Gulf News
How UAE universities are preparing students for the careers of tomorrow (Global)
The fourth industrial revolution and the Covid-19 pandemic have radically altered the ways companies operate and recruit their workforce to thrive in the future world of work. Recent research by the McKinsey Global Institute highlights that the need for manual and physical skills, as well as basic cognitive ones, will decline, but demand for technological, social and emotional, and higher cognitive skills will grow. A study by the US-based Institute for the Future estimates that around 85 per cent of the jobs that today’s learners will be doing in 2030 haven’t been invented yet. This will require tomorrow’s graduates to have the appropriate skills to continually adapt to new ways of working and new occupations as well as the ability to retrain themselves throughout their careers. Universities in the UAE have taken a proactive approach to navigating the future labour market, offering degrees and courses that help learners to develop skills and attitude to succeed in this new age of work. Supporting the UAE’s National Strategy for Higher Education 2030, which emphasises the need to provide the future generations with the necessary technical and practical skills to drive the economy in both public and private sectors, universities have also implemented a teaching strategy that encourages challenge-driven learning. “It is clear that career opportunities are awaiting those who adapt to technological changes and are successful in managing these changes,” says Dr K. Kumar, Associate Dean, Academic — Undergraduate Studies, BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus. “The field of engineering and technology has seen an upsurge due to the increased dependency and redefined scope in the post-Covid era. Employers are looking for engineers with specific knowledge and skill set in the areas of AI, machine learning, data science, data analytics, software development, supply chain and logistics with comprehensive managerial abilities.” BITS Pilani, Dubai has introduced engineering minors that allow a student to gain interdisciplinary experience and exposure to concepts and perspectives, widening their understanding of the profession and the issues that impact engineers. “Students at BITS Pilani Dubai can choose from a broad array of minor options ranging from finance, materials science and engineering, data science, entrepreneurship, aeronautics, robotics and automation.” The new normal in a post-Covid world will be far more tech-driven, says Hameed Al Obaidi, Senior Admissions Counsellor, RIT Dubai. “Our relationships with technology will deepen as larger segments of the population come to rely more on digital connections for work, education, healthcare, daily commercial transactions and essential social interactions.”
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