Teambuilding, Innovation And The Engineering Communication Interface

Recent engineering industry-based research has identified a number of skill deficiencies in graduating engineers. Emphasis on communication and teamwork informed by attributes of self management, problem solving and mutual accountability have been recognized as important needs by The Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET of the United States and are now required in undergraduate course material. The Engineering College at the American University of Sharjah has recognised this reality with the development of a course in language enhancement and professional communication centred on engineering multidisciplinary projects (EMDPs). This paper will outline four innovative practices that together inform this course; team-building, teamwork management, collaborative problem solving, resource management. Brief illustrative descriptions of: team-building through the use of the Belbin Team Role Inventory; management of teamwork development via planning and documentation; personnel and collaborative problem solving and interactive information sources hosted via a LibGuide will elaborate these innovative practices.

Professionalizing public health education in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

During the eighth EMPHNET Regional Conference, a roundtable session gathered eight public health leaders and academics from the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) and Europe to discuss the professionalization of public health education with a focus on the EMR. The discussion reviewed the achievements, challenges, and prospects of public health education in the EMR and identified the tenets and strategies for professionalizing public health education and the public health workforce to better address health systems challenges. It also introduced the best practices and innovative approaches of public health professional education, and proposed strategies and interventions to strengthen public health education in the EMR toward professional and competency-based approaches. The findings highlighted that public health is not seen as an attractive career in the EMR due to the lack of clear career pathways and limited recognition. This has significant implications for education in the region, emphasizing the need to professionalize the public health workforce by leveraging international and regional experiences to address local challenges. The findings also underscored the importance of adopting competency-based approaches and pursuing professional recognition, credentialing, and regulation. In response, panelists recommended mapping and reviewing existing educational programs to develop competency-based frameworks and curricula tailored to the region’s context. They also stressed the importance of fostering partnerships between academia and public health organizations to provide experiential training and education in public health

The role of public health networks in strengthening public health systems: the case of EMPHNET in the Eastern Mediterranean region

The Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) faces a range of complex public health challenges, including endemic diseases, recurrent outbreaks, and weak health systems exacerbated by political instability and humanitarian crises. Public health networks play a pivotal role in addressing these challenges by fostering collaboration, enhancing workforce capacity, and strengthening disease prevention and response systems. This manuscript examines the contributions of the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET) as a model for leveraging public health networks to improve health systems and outcomes in the EMR. EMPHNET operates across multiple public health domains, including disease surveillance, routine immunization, polio eradication, emergency management, non-communicable diseases, neglected tropical disease (NTDs), and One Health initiatives. Through its strategic partnerships with ministries of health, international organizations, and academic institutions, EMPHNET has strengthened epidemiological capacity, supported mass vaccination campaigns, and advanced research and policy development. Notable initiatives include enhancing syndromic surveillance and implementing laboratory-based brucellosis surveillance. In addition to infectious disease control, EMPHNET has made significant strides in maternal and child health, workforce development, and digital health innovations. It has supported national immunization strategies, developed digital health tools for real-time surveillance, and provided capacity-building programs for frontline healthcare workers. Furthermore, EMPHNET's contributions to biosecurity, antimicrobial resistance, and NTDs underscore its commitment to addressing both regional and global health threats. In conclusion, EMPHNET has emerged as a leading organization in strengthening public health systems in the EMR. Its work highlights the critical role of public health networks in building resilience, enhancing emergency preparedness, and improving population health outcomes

A case study of a college-wide first-year undergraduate engineering course

Introductory engineering courses are either programme specific or expose students to engineering as a broad discipline by including materials from various engineering programmes. A common introductory engineering course that spans different engineering programmes raises challenges, including the high cost of resources as well as the lack of background courses of first-year students. This paper presents the design, implementation and evaluation of a first-year common engineering course that uses low-cost materials to expose students to a structured engineering design process. The course is explicitly designed to satisfy the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology criteria for engineering programmes. Our experience with the course shows that not only students are able to follow a structured design process successfully but we also believe that most of the ABET criteria are being delivered through the course

Organizational Excellence and Agility - Correlation Model

The strive to sustain excellence within organizations has increased with the constant change in customer demands and toughening of competition. With these rapid changes occurring, the need for organizations to be agile has become a significant element in their operation schemes to sustain the excellence and be future-ready. This need raises the question of the relationship between organizational excellence and agility. Various models and frameworks have been developed to achieve excellence and agility in organizations. However, limited studies have correlated the two. This research investigates the relationship between excellence and agility within organizations and develops an assessment correlation index matrix between the two domains. That will help organizations understand their states in agility and excellence. The out-take for an organization is to know its categorization in the correlation model (beginner, master, conservative or fashionist) and determine the under-achieving pillars in each domain. The results of the study have shown that there is a high positive correlation between the two domains in both the public and private organizations. Although while one would expect that private organizations would have higher correlation between the two domains, it has been observed in this study that public organizations within the UAE have shown higher correlation data. This could be attributed to the fact that the Government of the UAE has introduced various initiatives since the 90’s that encouraged public organizations to implement excellence models such as DQA and SKEA. Moreover, the study has shown that regardless of the size of the company, the correlation between agility and excellence is highly positive

Single-Chamber Microbial Fuel Cells’ Behavior at Different Operational Scenarios

A Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) is a process in which a microorganism respires and captures the electrons that normally passes through the electron transport system of the organism and produces electricity. This work intends to present the different operating parameters affecting the efficiency of a Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) process. To study the performance of the process, various materials for the cathode and anode rods with similar size and chape including, copper, aluminum, carbon cloth, steel and brass were considered to determine the combination that leads to the best results. Moreover, different oxidizing agents such as Copper Sulphate and Potassium Hexacyanoferrate were considered. Furthermore, the effects of shapes, sizes and distance between electrodes on the current and voltage were investigated. The power outputs between electrochemical and microbial cells were recorded. In addition, the power, whether expressed as voltage or current, was measured at different conditions and different cell combinations. The power is directly related to the area, volume of the bacterial solution and supplying air and stirring.</jats:p