Students and companies from Cameroon require engineering education that is of high level and officially recognized (cf. the national engineers’ association report on controlling the proliferation of new engineering formations whose level is sometimes appalling; this report was ordered by the Ministry of Higher Education and has yet to be published). We are going to support three different higher education institutions in defining a method for quality enhancement of their educational programs in order to reach an international standard (CTI accreditation and EUR-ACE label which are included in the project) that will be transferable to other engineering formations.The support, which will be very structured, will focus on all phases of the process: setting objectives, program and competence-based approach, setting evolutions, accreditation process, implementing the evolutions, and on-going quality. It will cover the whole set of related issues: pedagogical, didactic, institutional, economical, administration, external relations, governance, and implementation of adapted multi-purpose technological platforms so as to ensure an autonomous and efficient quality process control. At each step, staff (teachers and administrative personnel) will be trained on site or through immersion at the European institutions and then supported to take over each and every component that is required to obtain and maintain the accreditation within their own cultural and socio-economic reality.All of the acquired know-how and the general methodology of this project will be assessed and adjusted. They will lead to the writing of a White Paper and to the creation of Cameroon’s national association of engineering school directors who will take part in the release of the methods, the organization of high level schools, and lobbying towards the local authorities. Cameroon was chosen for its visibility in higher education in Central Africa where its standards and models lead the pack.
One of the postulates of the MOSE-FIC project is to consider that an engineering school is an important link in its socio-economic system. Its role is to enable the development of the economy and to raise the standard of living. It must therefore maintain, participate in and develop the socio-economic structure for the direct or indirect benefit of a maximum number of people and actors.The highly structured support covered all phases of the process (definition of objectives, program and skills approach, definition of developments, accreditation process, implementation of developments, permanent quality). All the issues involved (pedagogical, didactic, institutional, economic, administrative, external relations, governance, deployment of adapted multi-purpose technological platforms) were addressed, in order to guarantee an autonomous and effective handling of the quality processes. For each step, the staff (teachers and administrators) were trained, either on site or by immersion in the European institutions, and then supported in taking charge of each of the elements necessary to obtain accreditation and to ensure its sustainability in their socio-economic and cultural context.All the know-how acquired and the general method of this project are subject to evaluation and adjustments by the Scientific Council.During its implementation, this project has allowed to observe a certain evolution of the beneficiary institutions on various points, in particular through- The installation of new modes of governance;- The structuring of a quality approach;- The evolution of pedagogical approaches and the skills approach;- The rapprochement with the socio-professional world- The deployment of new technological platforms for the training of engineers- And the establishment of a collaborative dynamic of the beneficiaries with a perspective of opening to other national and international establishments in order to share experiences.The conclusions take the form of a final work "GUIDELINES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR AN AFRICAN WAY TO QUALITY IN ENGINEERING TRAINING" which aims to propose recommendations allowing African Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to institute good practices to achieve quality standards adapted to their ecosystemKey figures- 3 institutions : Ecole Nationale Supérieure Polytechnique de Yaoundé, Ucac-Icam Institute (Douala) and Saint Jean University / Saint Jean Ingénieur (Yaoundé)- 12 supported engineering training programs, including 6 accredited with the EUR-ACE© label issued by the Commission des Titres d'Ingénieurs (CTI) over the period (12 of these institutions will eventually be accredited)- 250 engineers graduate per year with an engineering title recognized by the CTI (500/year within 3 years)- 100 academic and administrative staff, direct beneficiaries of the experimentation, i.e. 70% of the staff of the 3 Cameroonian institutions- 3 technological platforms with a total value of 170 million CFA francs- Nearly 3600 days of work including 30 months of immersion of Cameroonian colleagues in Europe- 35 deliverables produced including tools, reports and decisions published on the project website