Agricultural, Biosystems, and Biological Engineering Education
Global Perspectives and Current Practice
Contemporary Food Engineering Series

Agricultural engineering, developed as an engineering discipline underpinned by physics, applies scientific principles, knowledge, and technological innovations in the agricultural and food industries. During the last century, there was exponential growth in engineering developments, which has improved human well-being and radically changed how humans interact with each other and our planet. Among these, ?Agricultural Mechanization? is ranked among the top 10 in a list of 20 Top Engineering Achievements of the last century that have had the greatest impact on the quality of life.

While many success stories abound, the problems of low appeal among students, identity crises, and limited job opportunities in many climes continue to trouble the discipline?s future in many parts of the world. Yet agriculture and agricultural engineering remain fundamental to assuring food and nutrition security for a growing global population.

Agricultural, Biosystems, and Biological Engineering Education provides the first comprehensive global review and synthesis of different agricultural, biosystems, and biological engineering education approaches, including a detailed exposition of current practices from different regions.

Key Features:

• Describes novel approaches to curriculum design and reform
• Outlines current and emerging epistemology and pedagogies in ABBE education
• Provides a framework to grow agricultural engineering in Africa and other developing regions
• Highlights the role of ABBE education in the context of the SDGs

Presented in 3 parts and containing 42 chapters, this book covers the historical evolution of agricultural engineering education and discusses the emergence of biological and biosystems engineering education. It will appeal to engineers and other professionals, education planners and administrators, and policy makers in agriculture other biological industries.

PART 1: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION AND IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

1. Introduction – Revisiting and Rethinking Agricultural and Biosystems/ Biological Engineering Education for Sustainable Development

2. Emergence and Advancement of Agricultural Engineering Education, Research and Practice – A Historical Perspective

3. Agricultural Engineering in the Context of SDGs: A Quest for Global Relevance

4. Top 100 Questions of Importance to the Future of Agricultural Engineering Education, Research, and Practice in Africa

5. Enhancing the Role of Agricultural and Biological Engineering through Education: Perspective from FAO

PART 2: CURRICULA DESIGN AND REFORM

6. Curriculum Design and Application in ABE Education

7. Curricula Design and Reform of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE) in EU Member and Candidate States

8. Bioresource Engineering Curriculum and Reform at McGill University, Montreal, Canada

9. Designing Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Education to Transform Agricultural and Food Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from the University of Zimbabwe

10. Reshaping Agricultural and Biosystem Engineering Degree Programs for Student Success and Retention

11. Essential Contextual Knowledge for Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering Education in Low-income Countries

12. Novel Models for Delivering Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Education in Developing Countries: Trends, Challenges and Future Prospects

13. Current and Future Trends in Agricultural Engineering Education in Nigeria

14. The Need for an Equipment Engineering Course in ABE Education

15. Accreditation Program for Engineering Education in Japan Applicable to Agricultural and Rural Engineering Education

16. Process for Improvement and Evaluation of the Agricultural Engineering Curriculum at the Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica

17. Agricultural Engineering Education at Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman – Historical Evolution, Curriculum Design and Reform, Students’ Perceptions, and Future Prospects

18. Agricultural Engineering Education at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Nigeria

19. Agricultural Biosystems Engineering Education in Indonesia – A Journey

20. Agricultural and Food Engineering Education in Hungary

21. Food Engineering Education in Nigeria

22. Agricultural Engineering Higher Education in Turkey

23. Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Education in Ghana

24. ABE@Illinois

25. A Profile of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Education in Indonesia

26. Evolution and Status of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering Education at the University of Nigeria

27. Development of the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Programme at the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN)

PART 3: PEDAGOGY, EPISTEMOLOGY AND EMERGING TRENDS

28. Developing Faculty Competency for the Delivery of Active Learning Methods

29. Educating the Compleat Biological Engineer

30. Innovation in Bioengineering Education

31. Nomograph-based Models for Introductory Undergraduate Teaching and Research in Selecting Agricultural Power and Machinery Ownership Systems in Developing Countries

32. The Role of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access (IDEA) in Agricultural and Biological Engineering

33. AgTecCollection – Repository Approach to Rescue Analog Agricultural Engineering Knowledge

34. A Need to Incorporate Intelligent Food Drying Systems in ABE Education – A Recipe for Reducing Global Food Losses and Waste

35. The Need to Incorporate Ergonomics in Smart Agriculture and Organic Farming in Agricultural and Biological Engineering Education

36. CAM-SAM: A Computer-aided Tool for Education and Research on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization Development

37. Information and Operational Technologies Curricula in Agricultural Engineering Studies

38. Technological-based Resources as Support to Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering studies

39. Present Content and Trial Approaches of Student Experiments for ABEE in Japan

40. Practical Engineering Education to Address Sustainability and Food Security

41. Growing Agricultural Engineering in Africa: Students’ Attitudes, Perceptions, and Expectations on Agricultural Engineering Education

42. Prospects for Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Education and Research for Knowledge-intensive, Data-driven, Climate-smart, and Sustainable Agriculture

Umezuruike Linus Opara is a Distinguished Professor at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, where he also holds the Chair of the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) in Postharvest Technology, and the founding Director of the Africa Institute for Postharvest Technology (AIPhT). He graduated with degrees in Agricultural Engineering (BEng, First Class Honors; MEng, cum laude) from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, a PhD in Agricultural Engineering from Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand and a Certificate in Innovation for Economic Development, from the Executive Education program at Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, USA. He is a Chartered Engineer, Certified Food Scientist, and has leading memberships of several professional agricultural engineering societies, including Fellow of the International Academy of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Institution of Agricultural Engineers (UK), South African Institution of Agricultural Engineers, Nigerian Institution of Agricultural Engineers, and Life Membership of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, Asian Association for Agricultural Engineering, and the Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers.

Prof. Opara is currently developing the UNESCO International Centre for Biotechnology in Nsukka, Nigeria, a Category II Centre under the auspices of UNESCO, for advancing biotechnology research and high-level capacity building in the Africa region in the areas of food security, tropical diseases, and bioresources conservation.