The issue of educational development is of growing international interest. It has also become of increasing concern to different sectors of the society and is not only limited to the small number of specialists and professionals involved.
New ideas have recently emerged causing current educational systems to being no longer adequate to prepare the new generations for their new world. Meeting this kind of educational challenge and suggesting solutions for the present educ ational problems should take priority over other problems—whether economic, social or political. Hence, improving and developing educational systems should be given the full attention of the administration.
AASTMT has realized the importance of educational innovation and development, since the early days of its establishment in 1972. Before the inauguration of the College of Engineering and Technology in 1991, the opportunity of engineering education was offered to students of engineering who were accepted for enrolment and registration at the Department of Trade and Commerce, College of Maritime Transport and Technology, in September 1972.
This called for the development of programs and courses in the Department of Trade and Commerce, College of Maritime Transport and Technology to catch up with counterpart British Colleges.
In a further attempt to develop its educational system, AASTMT took the initiative of granting Bachelor's degrees in Engineering to its students upon successfully taking a four-and-half-year academic program, instead of the six-year program that was originally offered in accordance with a ministerial decree 215 of 1974, after which they are granted a Certificate of Second Marine Engineer.In 1975, AASTMT adopted the Credit-Hour System. The efforts of specialized committees resulted in designing new curricula for the students who were admitted in October 1977.
The Bachelor of Science programs were soon put into effect after the implementation of the Credit Hour System. These programs were prepared in collaboration with the Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, and the members of Engineering Sector Committee, at the Supreme Council of Universities.
The Supreme Council of Universities issued two decrees (numbered 4 of 1984 and 11 of 1985) stating that the Bachelor's degrees granted by AASTMT are equivalent to those granted by other Egyptian State Universities in similar specialties. AASTMT started granting the following Bachelor's degrees in Engineering:
Attempting to keep up with the accelerating pace of technological progress, AASTMT held a series of seminars under the title of ‘ACAD 2000’ during the period from 1986 to 1988. These seminars emphasized that AASTMT must start to seriously consider the revision of its academic goals. It also presented a number of suggested recommendations for the improvement of teaching curricula and teaching methods.
In order to meet the challenges of its growing institutional needs, AASTMT started to implement the suggested recommendations by establishing the College of Engineering and Technology in 1991, where all the different engineering programs and related preparatory interdisciplinary courses were taught, under the auspices of one institution with standardized courses and a decentralized and developed infrastructure, comprising four different departments specialized in four engineering areas:
Teaching of the different engineering programs was launched to offer the following university degrees and certificates:
Since its inauguration in 1991, the college started to develop its teaching programs according to two basic principles. First, that the student body, staff members and administrators are the main driving force of the educational process and its source of creativity and innovation. Second, that the educational activities should challenge students intellectual abilities and stimulate discussion and new ideas, whether these educational activities are carried out in university lecture rooms, laboratories or workshops.
In 1991, the programs and courses in the Electronics and Computer Engineering Department were updated to meet the rapid progress in this field of engineering science. The department, therefore, started teaching curricula for three undergraduate divisions:
In 1993, Bachelor's degrees in the following branches of Mechanical engineering were offered:
Similarly, the inauguration of another program of Marine Engineering necessitated the opening of a branch that offers a Bachelor's degree in Offshore Structures by the Marine Engineering Department in order to meet the growing developments in the field. It is worth noting that this new Bachelor's degree in Offshore Structures accepted students who wished to earn a Bachelor's degree in Marine Engineering.
In 1994, several new departments were established to offer Bachelor's degrees in the following fields of engineering:
In October 1997, the Architectural Engineering and Environmental Design program was initiated followed by the Computer Science program in October 1999.
Engineering education is a major driving force that affects the progress of humanity at large. It does not only influence academic and technological progress, but also the economic and social development of any given country. Hence, AASTMT has found it essential, as one of its first priorities, to standardize the teaching programs and courses it offers to the different sectors of its student body.
This is meticulously carried out following a framework in accordance with international criteria recognized by the American Accreditation Board for Engineering Technology (ABET) and the Committee of the Engineering Sector at the Supreme Council of Universities (SCU), which issued the decree No. 135 of 1996 stating that AASTMT Bachelor's degrees in the different branches of Engineering are equivalent to those offered by the State Egyptian universities in the same specialties.
In April 1997, the College acquired accreditation from the International Institute of Marine Engineering in London, stating that its Bachelor's degrees in the following areas meet the European standards as recognized by the British Engineering Council:
This gave the college graduates opportunities to work and study in the countries of the European Union without having to go through any further examinations or accreditations. On January 1, 2001, the Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering has similarly been accredited by the British Engineering Authority and the Institute of British Engineers in London.
In September 1999, the College of Engineering obtained the ISO-9000 certification in education attesting the high quality control of its teaching programs, courses, academic staff, administration and educational resources, which were all up to internationally set criteria.
In April 2001, the Supreme Council of Universities issued the decree No. 26 of 2001 stating that AASTMT Bachelor's Degree in Architecture Engineering and Environmental Design is equivalent to that offered by the State Egyptian universities.
The Committee of Computer and Information Sector, at the Supreme Council of Universities, paid the College a preliminary visit on 25 February 2001, in order to prepare for the Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science equivalence process with that of the counterpart degrees offered by State Egyptian Universities.
In August 2001, the Committee of the Engineering Sector at the Supreme Council of Universities paid AASTMT another visit to accredit its Bachelor's degrees and to support the decision taken by the Computer and Information Committee. The Engineering Committee also stated that all AASTMT Bachelor's degrees are equivalent to those offered by the State Egyptian Universities.
Graduate studies leading to Master's degrees in different engineering disciplines started in September 1994. On 9 November 2000, the Committee of the Engineering Sector at the Supreme Council of Universities paid the College a visit to evaluate the graduate programs, and collected data on laboratories, libraries and other College facilities. It also asked for data describing the performance of staff members and researchers on overseas scholarships.
On 28 April 2001, the Supreme Council of Universities issued the decree No. 30 of 2001 stating that the Master's degrees offered by AASTMT in (1) Electronics and Communications Engineering, (2) Computer Engineering, (3) Electrical Engineering and Control, (4) Mechanical Engineering, (5) Marine Engineering, (6) Engineering Management, and (7) Construction and Building Engineering are all equivalent for 5 years to those offered by State Egyptian Universities.
In February 2005, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) at the UK validated the program of B.Sc. in Architectural Engineering and Environmental Design. In June 2005, the Degree Accreditation Board for Chartered Engineers (DABCE) at the UK accredited all the other engineering programs.
In June 2006, the Supreme Council of Universities (SCU) issued the decree No. 70 of 2006 stating that the Master's degree offered by AASTMT in Architectural Engineering and Environmental Design is equivalent for 3 years to that offered by the state Egyptian universities.
On the same time, SCU issued the decree No. 79 of 2006 to pursue the decree No. 30 of 2001 and to renew for 3 years the equivalence of the Master's degrees offered by AASTMT at Alexandria in (1) Electronics and Communications Engineering, (2) Computer Engineering, (3) Electrical Engineering and Control, (4) Mechanical Engineering, (5) Marine Engineering, and (6) Construction and Building Engineering to those offered by the State Egyptian Universities.
In July 2006, SCU issued the decree No. 97 of 2006 to pursue the decree No. 30 of 2001 and to renew for 3 years the equivalence of the Master's degree in Industrial and Management Engineering offered by AASTMT at Alexandria in the divisions of (1) Industrial Engineering, and (2) Engineering Management to those offered by the State Egyptian Universities.
Recently, through its current nine departments, the College of Engineering and Technology offers Bachelor's degrees that take a minimum of 10 semesters (5 academic years) to complete. Also, through the graduate studies department, the College offers Master's degrees that take a minimum of 4 semesters (2 academic years) to complete.
The degrees offered are in the areas of:
The College maintains sound relationships with a number of universities in USA, UK, Canada and Egypt for joint supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate studies and research work. Such cooperate agreements are based on major activities such as: the twinning of programs of study, and jointly taught Masters Program, programs of research leading to PhD degree and regular visits by academic staff.
