THE CULTURAL DIMENSION OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN AFRICA

Engineering is vital for the socio-cultural and economic development of any country including Africa. However, there is shortage in engineering skills and the number of engineering graduates do not meet up with societal demands on the continent. It is no news that the culture in any particular location affects the conduct of business there. So, the field of engineering education as a discipline is also influenced by the culture prevalent in an area. This might be manifested in the design of the housing pattern in an area, the construction of infrastructure, the human machine interaction, among several others. The aim of this paper is to consider the cultural dimension of engineering education in Africa. It articulates that, the advent of the fourth industrial revolution and social media has affected the culture prevalent in Africa both positively and negatively. The paper concludes and recommends that cultural differences must be intensified such that innovations within the frame of engineering education will be culturally responsive, giving credence to what obtains there so that internalization of the practice of engineering will be reviewed in order to create curriculum from local contexts applicable to Africa