Civil Engineering Education In Afghanistan
- Conference
- Location
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Honolulu, Hawaii
- Publication Date
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June 24, 2007
- Start Date
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June 24, 2007
- End Date
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June 27, 2007
- ISSN
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2153-5965
- Conference Session
- Tagged Division
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International
- Page Count
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11
- Page Numbers
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12.359.1 - 12.359.11
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--2763
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/2763
- Download Count
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2795
Paper Authors
Mohammad Saleh Keshawarz
M. Saleh Keshawarz is Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Hartford in Connecticut, USA. He has been involved in engineering curriculum issues both in the US and Afghanistan for many years. He has assisted Kabul and Herat universities in Afghanistan in revising their engineeing curricula.
MohammadOmar Andar Kabul University
Mohammad Omar Andar is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Kabul University. He is currently working on his masters degree in mechanical engineering in Japan. He has been very active in curriculum revision at Kabul University
Maria Beebe Washington State University
Maria Beebe, Ph.D., is the Director of Global Networks and the Chief of Party, Afghan eQuality Alliance at Washington State University. She works as program advisor to USAID’s Leland Initiative. She has been instrumental in forming the engineering alliance for Afghanistan which is aimed at bringing together Afghan and foreign Universities with the aim of improving engineering education in Afghanistan.
Abstract
NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract
Civil Engineering Education in Afghanistan
Abstract
Engineering education in Afghanistan was being delivered by two centers before the war, the Faculty of Engineering in Kabul University and Kabul Polytechnic Institute.
The Faculty of Engineering was established as part of the Faculty of Science in 1956. At the end of 1959, the first group of graduates received their Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree from the Faculty of Engineering. Through a contract with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the then Royal Government of Afghanistan, the University of Wyoming assumed the responsibility for guiding the new faculty. The University of Wyoming supplied the staff members and equipment and established a four-year “general” engineering program.
In recent years, a number of universities have been established that deliver engineering education, mainly in the field of civil engineering. Five of these universities have the semblance of an engineering program, and the rest are engineering in name only.
Two systems of engineering education are followed in Afghanistan: the Russian model and the American model. Kabul University, Herat University, and Kandahar University follow the American model while Kabul Polytechnic, Balkh University, and Nangarhar University follow the Russian model.
In the Russian model, students are trained to specialize in different fields of civil engineering. In the American model, students get a broad background in different fields of civil engineering an specialize by going through a master’s program or through on- the-job training.
At this time, there is no equivalency or coordination between the two systems. If a student wants to transfer from one university to another, he/she may be facing an impossible task. This paper is focused on explaining the similarities and differences of the two systems and attempts to explore ways of harmonizing the two so that the two systems are better coordinated.
Introduction
Formal engineering education in Afghanistan began with the establishment of the Faculty of Engineering in Kabul, as part of the Faculty of Science, in 1956 with the first graduates in 1959. Through a contract with the United States Agency for International Development and the Royal Government of Afghanistan, the University of Wyoming guided the new faculty. The University of Wyoming supplied the staff members and equipment and established a four-year “general” engineering program.
In 1958, a joint faculty of Engineering and Agriculture became separate from the Faculty of Science. In 1963, the Faculty of Engineering was separated from the Faculty of Agriculture, and
Keshawarz, M. S., & Andar, M., & Beebe, M. (2007, June), Civil Engineering Education In Afghanistan Paper presented at 2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Honolulu, Hawaii. 10.18260/1-2--2763
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