RIYADH - Increasing the number of engineering seats, making the engineering courses job-oriented and revising the Saudi engineers' payscale in the private sector were among the nine-point recommendations made by the participants of the 7th Saudi Engineering Conference that concluded here, Wednesday. Qasim will be the venue for the 8th Saudi Engineering Conference in 2010.
Some 1,500 Saudi engineers graduate every year from various engineering colleges in the Kingdom, which constitutes a mere 20 percent of 110,000 engineers presently employed in the Saudi private sector.
Prof. Abdulaziz A. Al-Hamid, Dean, College of Engineering, King Saud University, the organizer of the event chaired the final session and read out the nine-point recommendations adopted after four-day deliberations at the conference.
Around 300 research scholars from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Syria, Sudan, Tunisia, and Algeria, Malaysia, India, the US, Britain, France, German, Canada, Japan and Holland participated and discussed topics ranging from the engineering environment to Saudization strategy.
The participants also called for revision of payscale for Saudi engineering graduates in the private sector.
The salary offered in the private sector to fresh Saudi engineers ranges between SR3,000 and SR4,000.
The conference also called for qualitative change in the engineering courses and suggested improvement in the standard of education at engineering colleges.
The conference also stressed on the need for improving the English language skills of the Saudi graduates.
According to a bio-medical engineering lecturer, the lack of proficiency in English language was a major teaching barrier.
"There are around 60 students enrolled in the three-year bio-medial engineering course. Of this number, hardly 20 are promoted to the next semester. The rest either opt for other faculties or simply leave the university," said the lecturer of Bio-medical Engineering, Department of Applied Medical Science, Riyadh Community College, KSU.
By Shahid Ali Khan
© The Saudi Gazette 2007
