Jan 19 2025 63 mins
Welcome back to the podcast!
The isolation felt by engineering educators who are passionate about teaching and learning, but who reside in technically focused engineering departments, is widely reported. The case is no different in Africa, where few institutions recognise educational research as a valid research focus in engineering, this resulting in lack of capacity for engineering education research (EER) and meaning that African educational innovations are not well represented in the literature. Although educators within Africa may make use of research findings from elsewhere, or receive support from those in different geographical locations, the contextual nature of education research means there is a need for supportive national and regional communities.
In this episode we speak to Lelanie Smith, a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and IT at the University of Pretoria and Dr. Esther Matemba, an independent Engineering education researcher, consultant, and a sessional academic at Curtin University, Australia. Together, the two co-lead the Engineering Education Research Network for Africa (EERN-Africa).
Join Dr. Natalie Wint (University College London) and Dr. Neil Cooke (University of Birmingham) to learn about the rewards and challenges involved in setting up an Engineering Education network.
Timestamps
0.00 Welcome and introduction to episode
0.40 Podcast Intro
1.02 Experiences with networks and communities from Natalie and Neil
2.23 Introduction to Lelanie
6.37 Introduction to Esther
9.50 Introduction to engineering education in the African context and contextual characteristics
17.36 Objectives and operation of the network
27.58 The network as a community of practice (CoP)
36.27 PhD and Masters programme
41.41 The role of funding in development of the network
48.08 Future opportunties for engineering education in Afria
50.55 Becoming involved in the network
51.55 Final advice
59.37 Key takeaways from Natalie and Neil
Further Reading
A paper about EERN-Africa as a Community of Practice
DOI: 10.1080/22054952.2023.2233340
An introduction to EERN-Africa posted on the REEN website
https://reen.co/introducing-the-engineering-education-research-network-africa-eern-africa/
A podcast episode on which Esther features
A link to the network LinkedIn page
To find out more about the Master’s and PhD programme visit
https://intra-africa-cb4ee.co.za/index
Join us! Become a member of the European Society for Engineering
Education, SEFI, Europe's largest network of engineering
educators: www.sefi.be
music (c) Lizzie Cooke all rights reserved.
Written and produced by Neil Cooke and Natalie Wint.
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