Integration of Sustainability in Engineering Education in Palestine

Abstract

Supporting engineering education is considered as one of the main goals that lead to strong Palestinian economy due to the strong interactions and synergy effects between education and the economy. Engineering education is considered a mid-point that connects natural resources at one side to industrial products at the other side. To keep this connection in a sustainable manner that guarantees maintaining these resources for the longest time of life, engineering courses and programs are designed by integrating sustainability aspects into engineering education in order to increase productivity resource efficiency without damaging the environment.The focal point of this paper is the academic faculties of engineering where education and training courses are designed and delivered on one hand and innovation and research are fostered on the other hand. This paper demonstrates an overview of the potential contributions of academia in altering the attitude of industries toward more sustainable resource consumption and capacity building for implementing sustainable engineering. Bachelor and master engineering programs will be considered in the paper. Cooperation and partnership between higher educational institutions and industry will be addressed in the context of sustainability and taking into account national and international indicators for this partnership.