Ethiopia is looking to kill two birds with one stone. By introducing online education in its engineering institutions and technical vocational education centers (TVET), the African nation hopes to overcome both space and infrastructure constraints.

The country’s Capacity Building Ministry is working in tandem with members of the Engineering Capacity Building Program (ECBP) from Germany to set up an eLearning program that will allow engineering students to take 5 to 20 percent of their coursework online, with the remaining 80 percent being taught in traditional classroom lessons.

ECBP is engaged in improving competitiveness and promoting employment in Ethiopia with sponsorship and funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. A two-day workshop was held recently to discuss the eLearning system which will be rolled out within the next three years.

The curriculum for engineering students is being revamped to include more practical and problem-solving lessons that will enable students to be of productive use to the country’s development.