Engineering education in the developing world: The case for biological engineering

Engineering education in the developing world is not only necessary for economic growth, intellectual development and innovation, but is also fundamental for national security and short and long-term sustainability. Successful engineering institutions and productive engineers are not only necessary to create knowledge based economies in developing nations, but they are also important players in maintaining economic viability that is tied to national security of immediate and distant neighbors. The necessity for innovation in engineering education and grounding of this training in local needs and markets is true for all forms of engineering, including biological and biomedical engineering that have been rather recent inductees to the engineering education portfolio. Developing countries are taking biological and biomedical engineering seriously to address issues in food and agriculture, processing and nutrition and various aspects of healthcare and medicine. In this paper we address the need, status, challenges and opportunities for the developing world in bioengineering and biomedical engineering education and discuss ways in which the fundamentals of engineering education can be strengthened for a sustainable society.