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Some Challenges to Building STEM Capacity in Emerging Economies: The Case of Namibia

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Conference

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah

Publication Date

June 23, 2018

Start Date

June 23, 2018

End Date

July 27, 2018

Conference Session

International Collaborations

Tagged Division

International

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

10

DOI

10.18260/1-2--30978

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/30978

Download Count

517

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Paper Authors

biography

Gary Bruce Gehrig P.E. University of North Carolina, Charlotte

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Dr. Gehrig is Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering Technology and Construction Management at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. A 2016-17 Fulbright Scholar, he served as a visiting professor at the Namibia University of Science and Technology in Windhoek, Namibia, Africa.

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Abstract

Namibia is a semi-arid to arid country located in southern Africa with a population of approximately 2.5 million that has one of the largest income inequality gaps in the world as measured by the World Bank. As an emerging economy, one of the major challenges is capacity building in STEM related fields and professions as the country lacks sufficient numbers of technically trained individuals to address the highly complex societal challenges routinely found in such developing countries. As a recent Fulbright Scholar at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) located in Windhoek, Namibia, the author identifies some of the challenges associated with building STEM capacity in emerging economies. Identified challenges include expanding access to higher education, improving inadequate K-12 educational systems, recruiting students to STEM disciplines, strengthening student support and financial services, and developing and retaining qualified academic staff.

Gehrig, G. B. (2018, June), Some Challenges to Building STEM Capacity in Emerging Economies: The Case of Namibia Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--30978

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