The Royal Academy of Engineering, an engineering charity focused on harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy, is showcasing its impact on enhancing collaboration, education, and diversity in engineering in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The report is delivered through its Africa grants programmes ahead of the second UNESCO World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development on March 4, 2021.
The achievements of the Africa grants programmes include training over 2000 professionals by professional engineering institutions across sub-Saharan Africa and over 530 student industry placements since 2013. The number of students obtaining industry internships increased from 40 percent to 90 percent over the course of one project in Zambia.
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Others are diversity and inclusion initiatives have driven equal gender participation in programmes. A project from the Institute of Engineers Rwanda helped to increase the number of female internship applicants from 5 percent in 2018 to 25 percent in 2019; 50 individual course curricula reviewed and improved as a result of industry-academia partnerships; and almost 50 UK organisations and 400 in-country bodies involved as project partners so far.
In celebration of World Engineering Day, the Academy is also releasing a series of videos highlighting how engineers play a critical role in meeting the UN sustainable development goals.
The Academy is helping to develop innovative solutions to a range of impending and accelerating challenges. Working with local higher education and engineering organisations, it is helping to grow engineering capacity and support sustainable development across 23 countries in sub-Saharan Africa through two key programmes: Higher Education Partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa (HEP SSA) and GCRF Africa Catalyst.
