Yemen's Strategic Vision 2025* recently laid out by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation* looks forward to linking higher education to the needs of society. It seeks to produce graduates that are not job seekers* but generators of job opportunities. It emphasizes the importance of stimulating economically related scientific and technological development and establishing research and development institutions enhance the national capacity to absorb the appropriate technologies." But a question remains. With the current economic situation* can Yemen achieve this vision?The first step has already been taken by local private and public enterprises* supported by experts from Delft University of Technology (TUDelft) in the Netherlands. They are launching a project to help Taiz University develop a master's program ?to address the requirement the requisite training needs of mid-career engineering and IT professionals in Yemen*? said Vicente Pijano* a consultant at TUDelft.Before setting this project in motion in October 2008* a comprehensive report has been prepared that examines the needs Yemeni industry sector. The outline found out that engineers graduating from the Yemeni universities are technicians that lack the competency to design and manage business processes* improve productivity* or achieve improvements in terms of other performance indicators* such as the quality of products and services. ?The program is designed to develop two commercial and multi-disciplinary master degree programs in the fields of engineering and management and in information technology and management for mid-career engineers at Taiz University*" said Pijano. "We have two partners* Hayel Saeed Anam Group and the General Training Institute (GTI) of the Yemeni Ministry of Telecommunications. By doing so* the project will contribute to strengthening Yemen?s industrial entrepreneurial sector* as well as public sector*? he added. TUDelft has been providing technical assistance to the Yemeni government since 2004* when it assisted Yemen?s authorities in formulating the now approved ICT Policy and Master Plan for the country?s Higher Education sector. Since then* TUDelft has been involved in the implementation of the ?Institutional Strengthening of Post-secondary Education and Training Capacity? projects and other related projects with the Ministry of Higher Education. Hard economic state In 2006* the World Bank (WB) said that the first economic priority for Yemen ?is to diversify its economy from a declining oil sector? to generate employment and for generating new fiscal revenues."According to studies* Yemen's economy is characterized by a weak production sector* sensitivity to sudden fluctuations especially in agriculture* a high dependence on the external sector and a growing dependence on imports of strategic goods such as wheat. Oil revenues make up almost 63 percent of the central state budget. According to statistics from the second Five Year Plan* 65 percent of the population was employed in the informal sector and 53 percent worked in agriculture in 2000. "Industrial development should be a strategic option and determinant of economic development in Yemen over the next period* in order to achieve the desired goals and to ensure moving from the status of a country of low income to the rank of middle income economies with rapid growth by 2025*" said the Yemen's Strategic Vision 2025.However* the WB said that the current industrial sector does not have a conducive environment for growth. The sector suffers from weak infrastructure* government bureaucracy* reliance on imports* conservative family businesses* and undeveloped banking facilities. In addition* the small manufacturing enterprises that constitute 95 percent of the sector face great difficulties in obtaining financing* said the WB. Manufacturers in Yemen mostly produce foodstuffs* followed by textiles and clothing* wood-based products* metal products* and construction and building materials. Gap between education and marketsThe 2006 National Strategy for the Development of Higher Education in Yemen points out the following challenges:? ?There is no tradition of preparation for entrepreneurship and self-employment* and graduates generally leave Yemeni universities without the skills necessary for this? ? ?Academic activities do not comply with recent socio?economic trends... [While there is an imbalance] of higher education outcomes and society's needs and labor market demand.? ? ?Yemen has a particular difficulty producing sufficient graduates in science* engineering and mathematics* and universities are dominated by social science and humanities students. This probably results not only from a lack of student demand* but of supply as well.? The strategy recommends that educators make the following improvements:? Improve the quality of the graduates of universities and other higher education institutions with particular emphasis on acquiring breadth and depth of knowledge* problem-solving skills* critical and creative thinking* communication skills in both Arabic and English* lifelong learning* IT skills* and proactive participation in achieving their personal and national aspirations."? ?Universities should consider whether they might run short modules in aspects of entrepreneurialism for postgraduates* for which fees would be paid; and also whether more generally they should run postgraduate programs specifically to prepare students for specific careers for which their original program may not have prepared them? ? ?To develop universities and other higher education institutions vertically and horizontally* initiate or open new disciplines* and diversify programs that meet local* national* and regional labor market needs.? A step towards the pathWith an estimated coast of USD 4.9 million* the program will start the first master's degree programs in Taiz University. ?We aim to position Taiz University as Yemen?s technology university*? said Bert Grees* the Project Supervisor.The programs will initially focus on mid-term career engineers and not regular students. ?We found out that there are almost no Yemenis that have master's degrees in these fields*? said Pijano.He added that the program was designed train future teachers for undergraduate program at the Faculty of Engineering & Information Technology. Prospective students need to have bachelor's degree in relevant field* and at least two years experience working with industrial sector. Ali Shuoaib* PMU Manager-TUDelft Project added that the program also provide training to the staff of the IT department at the university. The choice of Taiz and Taiz UniversityThe Taiz region* located in the south western part of Yemen with an estimated population of about 4 million* is a favored location for consumer goods-related manufacturing. The Hayel Saeed Anam Group of Companies is the largest enterprise conglomerate in the area. Its operations include six production groups in the areas of: general manufacturing (raw materials)* Unilever products* Kraft products* cigarettes* packaging products and other consumer products. In addition* the region features a host of small to medium sized enterprises* factories and mills which produce consumer goods* such as foodstuffs* chemicals* plastics* rubber products* soaps* detergents* disinfectants* packaging materials* cigarettes* various raw material inputs* and a range of other manufactured goods.The project outline also emphasizes the importance of the relationship between the university and industry. It says it wants to work with the ?Yemeni industrial entrepreneurial sector in particular by delivering graduates with knowledge* skills and attitudes to assume leading responsibilities in the process of innovation* knowledge transfer and in sustainable development."The Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology is the latest department at Taiz University and was established in 2004. The faculty aims to contribute to the development of Yemeni society and the region in the area of IT and Industrial manufacturing systems engineering problems. Staffing of the faculty includes 16 Yemeni professors. According to the project outline* weaknesses in the program stem from its newness and the fact that its academic staff is relatively young and limited in size. It is expected to increase in the years ahead.Though the current programs have certain weaknesses* particularly with respect to the managerial aspects of engineering and IT* the teachers are "qualified and very motivated to complement their teaching skills." They seek to collaborate with staff from other faculties and the private and public sectors* noted the outline. In 2005 and 2006 the faculty had 571 students* including 158 women. Enrollment was up from 388 in 2004. Students are enrolled in undergraduate degree programs in the fields of communications and computer engineering* software engineering* IT and industrial and manufacturing systems engineering. With respect to these programs* the project outline highlights their relative youth and that little is still known of their quality as there have been neither graduates nor feedback from the world of business....

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