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Session 3460

DISTANCE EDUCATION FOR ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Salahuddin Qazi, Naseem Ishaq School of Information Systems and Engineering Technology State University of New York Institute of Technology, Utica, New York.

Abstract

In the current information age, a nation’s economy is determined by the number of suitably trained people in information technology. This requires an infrastructure of modern educational institutions to educate the younger generation for the next millenium. In the absence of such an infrastructure, developing countries can employ new modes of distance education based on multimedia technology and Internet which make it more accessible and at the same time more effective and economical. The purpose of this paper is to list the tools and technologies available for distance education and analyze the ways in which a developing country like Pakistan may use these to meet the growing need of educated workforce. The current state of education in the areas of engineering and technology in Pakistan is reviewed and its efforts in distance education is also discussed. It is suggested that other developing countries can use similar modes of distance education to educate their manpower to improve their nation’s economy for a better standard of living.

1. Introduction

Undoubtedly a nation’s development depends on a skilled and educated workforce who can develop the resources of their country efficiently and help maintain a sound economy for its citizens to enjoy a decent standard of living. As the new millenium is the age of telecommunications, high speed computers and multimedia, an infrastructure of modern engineering and technology institutions is needed to educate the younger generation to respond to the growing need of suitably trained manpower. The information age as it is called is based on computers and networks that interconnect them. An essential requirement for any nation with ambitions to establish a strong position is to have an ubiquitous intelligent, switched, broadband network over which new services can be delivered to end-customers in a responsive and cost effective manner. In economic term this will be 21st century equivalent of today’s thruways and their access roads. According to one estimate, by the turn of new millenium 40% of world will be connected to world wide network called the Internet. The information age has also made our world a global village where a portion of the design work for a commercial product is being done in Europe, Japan or US, manufacture in Mexico or Far East and have the software written 1 in India or Pakistan. India earns over $700 million yearly from an estimated $400 + billion sales pool of global information technology while Pakistani software houses exported only $23 2 million. It is suggested that a developing country like Pakistan can end its budget deficit and

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Ishaq, N., & Qazi, S. (1999, June), Distance Education For Engineering And Technology In Developing Countries Paper presented at 1999 Annual Conference, Charlotte, North Carolina. 10.18260/1-2--7593