Environmental engineering education (E3) in the Gulf Co-operation Countries

Abstract

The six members of the Gulf Co-operation Countries (GCC)—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—are facing enormous environmental challenges associated with rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, especially in the last three decades, due to its role as a global hydrocarbon energy centre. None of these countries have systematic and specialised academic programmes with the sole purpose of Environmental Engineering Education (E3). The current status of E3 in the universities across the region is surveyed and thus the individual and collective higher education policies towards environmental affairs are highlighted. The E3 policies of the regional universities are then compared to the benchmark status of the European and the US universities. The ABET criteria are used to evaluate non-E3 programs. The survey shows that the environmental engineering subjects were mostly taught under the umbrella of civil or chemical engineering departments in the GCC countries. An educational scheme for E3 in the GCC higher education institutes is proposed that is based on the evolution of E3 approach in the Western universities.

Keywords:

• Curriculum development
• Environmental engineering education
• Higher education

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Majeed Jassim

Majeed Jassim is an assistant professor at Bahrain University since 2002. He holds MEng and PhD degrees in Chemical and Process Engineering from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK). He has got Fulbright Post-Doctorial Research at the University of Texas (UT) in Austin (USA) in 2005. He is a senior member of AIChE and a member of IChemE. He has also industrial experience by working in the Technical Services Department at Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco) between 1992–1997. He published papers related to reducing carbon dioxide emissions using simulation and process intensification technologies.

Gulnur Coskuner

Gulnur Coskuner is a specialist in Environmental Biotechnology from Turkey. She holds BSc, MSc, and PhD degrees in Environmental Engineering from Middle East Technical University (Turkey), Cumhuriyet University (Turkey), and Newcastle upon Tyne University (UK). She has been in the Environmental Engineering Department of the University of Texas (UT) in Austin (USA) in 2005 as research visitor. She is a member of SGM, ASM and RASIT. She is also interested in the field of wastewater treatment technologies and has published many papers in international journals. She has worked as an assistant professor in Environmental Engineering Department of Cumhuriyet University since 2000.