On Tuesday, May 13, 2025, the Saudi Council of Engineers (SCE) held the fourth meeting of the Deans' Committee for Colleges of Engineering and Architecture at its headquarters in Riyadh. The meeting was chaired by the Committee's President and SCE Secretary General, Eng. Abdulmohsen bin Dawi Al-Majnouni, and attended by several deans from engineering and architecture colleges across Saudi universities, along with Dr. Bandar Al-Khayyal, Director General of Program Accreditation at the Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC), and a number of professional partners.
This meeting is part of SCE's ongoing efforts to strengthen strategic partnerships between academia and professional institutions, promote knowledge exchange, and discuss key challenges and opportunities in engineering and architectural education. The goal is to improve the quality of academic outcomes and advance the engineering profession in alignment with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030.
The session began with remarks from Eng. Al-Majnouni, who emphasized that this meeting marks a qualitative step forward in fostering integration between academic and professional sectors. He highlighted the importance of continuing such constructive engagements to keep pace with the rapid transformations occurring within the engineering sector in Saudi Arabia.
He stated that the committee is continuously working to unify efforts and share best practices across engineering and architecture colleges to ensure the enhancement of academic programs and align educational outcomes with the labor market's needs. He noted that the current stage—marked by evolving professional standards, expanded infrastructure projects, and the growth of smart and sustainable cities—requires a collaborative spirit to modernize curricula and strengthen the connection with real-world professional practices.
Eng. Al-Majnouni further explained that since its establishment, the committee has aimed, in partnership with SCE, to ensure alignment between academic education and professional practice, and to support initiatives that help build a generation of engineers equipped with skills, competence, and professional responsibility, aligned with Vision 2030. He expressed his hope that this meeting would open new avenues for collaboration in advancing engineering education and its outcomes in response to the current phase's developments and challenges.
The meeting included a presentation on the minutes of previous meetings and the committee's goals, as well as an overview of SCE's institutional strategy. Additional topics discussed included the engineering professional registration and classification system and a comprehensive review of the engineering professional examinations.
Key agenda items also featured a discussion of proposed “bridging programs" for technical college graduates to obtain a bachelor's degree in engineering—stressing the importance of official accreditation by ETEC. There was also support for specialized training programs for engineering exams (Fundamentals of Engineering and Principles and Practice of Engineering), and a proposal to establish a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Fire Protection Engineering to meet labor market demands, with a recommendation to offer it as a standalone program rather than integrating it with safety programs.
The meeting concluded with an open discussion session, where participants exchanged perspectives on aligning academic education with professional market requirements. The session reinforced the importance of continuing such strategic meetings to enhance synergy between education and professional practice, and to support national efforts to develop and empower engineering talent.