Project Details

Project Number: 101129192

Project Name: Sustainability and Quality Assurance for Academic Governance and Redesign Engineering Studies

Project Acronym: SQUARES

Call: ERASMUS-EDU-2023-CBHE

Granting Authority: European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)

Funded: European Union

Project Duration: 36 months

Partner #	Name	Country
P1	Gdansk University of Technology	Poland
P2	University of Sannio	Italy
P3	Tallinn University of Technology	Estonia
P4	Daffodil International University	Bangladesh
P5	University of Dhaka	Bangladesh
P6	Tribhuvan University	Nepal
P7	Far Western University	Nepal
P8	College of Science and Technology	Bhutan
P9	University of the Punjab Lahore	Pakistan
P10	National University of Sciences and Technology	Pakistan

Project Overview

In many Asian countries, particularly those with limited academic resources, there is a significant gap in the provision of transversal skills that are critical in today’s labour market. Courses of study (CoS) in fields such as Civil Engineering and Industrial Engineering often lack comprehensive competencies in areas like energy-saving technologies, new materials for construction, and logistics management. Additionally, these countries face challenges in implementing systematic Quality Management approaches to enhance their academic governance. This project aims to address these gaps by leveraging the expertise of European Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to improve educational standards and governance in targeted Asian countries. Additionally, the project will focus on developing specific competencies in Energy Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Industrial Engineering, thereby producing graduates who are better equipped to meet the demands of the modern labour market. Additionally, the project aims to implement continuous improvement approaches in the governance of these courses of study.

Main Objectives

The main objective of the SQUARES project is to bridge the educational skill gap between HEI, industry, and the professional employment market in Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan in the fields of engineering education and quality management in universities in following areas:
1. Enhancement of Transversal Skills: The project will integrate additional activities into existing courses of study to develop key competencies in energy management, new building technologies, and urban transport systems.
2. Quality Management and Continuous Improvement: The project will steer the governance of courses of study towards systematic quality management and continuous improvement, ensuring better service delivery to students and stakeholders.
3. Bridging Gaps Between HEIs, Industry, and Employees: The project will enhance the employability of graduates by aligning the curriculum with the needs of the labour market and promoting industry collaboration.

Specific Objectives

The specific objectives are as follows:
1. Improve the quality and relevance of higher education in partner countries.
2. Enhance the competencies, skills, and employability of students.
3. Promote inclusive education and equality.
4. Improve teacher training and continuous professional development.
5. Foster cooperation and exchange of best practices among institutions.

EU Added Value

The SQUARES project will provide numerous benefits, including:
1. Raising awareness of engineering challenges.
2. Introducing European research results to Asian educators.
3. Promoting cultural exchange and mutual understanding.
4. Enhancing the image of EU universities among Asian students.
5. Strengthening international cooperation.

Target Groups

The main direct target groups of the project are students, teachers and trainers, as well as administrative staff and HEI management.

Domains

The project encompasses the following five main domains.
1. Domain 1: Energy saving and efficiency techniques in Civil Buildings
2. Domain 2: Energy Management for civil and industrial infrastructures
3. Domain 3: Renewables techniques and economic feasibility
4. Domain 4: Transportation and Smart Cities
5. Domain 5: Quality management for university

Meeting	Venue	Date
Kick-off Meeting	Pulchowk Campus, the Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu	8-11 January, 2024
2nd Meeting	University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy	29-30 April, 2024
3rd Meeting	Gdansk University of Technology, Poland	18-19 July, 2024
4th Meeting	Office of the Vice Chancellor, RUB, Thimphu, Bhutan	1-3 October, 2024

Among the partner universities, the Capital University of Science & Technology, Pakistan will act the role of the Project Coordnator.
The Royal University of Bhutan has joined the consortium for buiding its capacity on Academic Programme Accreditation System and Internationalization. As enshinred in the vision and the strategic plan, the RUB inspires to have its programmes internationally recognized. The two engineering programms namely Bachelor of Electrical Engineering and Bachelor of Engineering in Information Technology of its College of Science & Technology has been identified for developing the accreditation documents through support of the SSAPI project.

Project Members

The following are staff from College of Science & Technology, Royal University of Bhutan involved as a core team members of the project for successful management and implementation of the project activities.