Enhancing Employability and Skills for Engineering Graduates through Innovation, Networking, Collaboration and Curriculum Updating

Overview

ENG-INC is an Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) project that strengthens engineering education at universities in Jordan and Palestine. It addresses a concrete problem: engineering graduates in the region often enter the labour market without sufficient practical training and with curricula that no longer match current industrial demand. The project closes this gap by updating engineering curricula, introducing practice-oriented teaching methods, and building the capacity of academic staff, so that graduates are better prepared for employment in fast-growing sectors such as information technology and sustainable engineering.

The project operates through knowledge transfer between European and partner-country universities. European institutions with recognised expertise in engineering didactics contribute methods and experience, while universities in Jordan and Palestine adapt and implement them within their own programmes. The exchange is bidirectional rather than one-way teaching: European and partner-country teams develop, test, and evaluate the materials together.

Objectives

ENG-INC pursues four aims. It updates and modernises engineering curricula to align them with the requirements of local and regional labour markets. It introduces practice-oriented teaching, including virtual and remote laboratories, problem-based learning, and the use of ECTS for transparent credit recognition. It trains academic staff in these methods so that the changes remain in place after the funding period ends. And it improves access for students with disabilities and from disadvantaged groups through accessible learning tools, adaptive technologies, and support structures.

Approach and activities

The consortium develops updated curriculum materials and digital course content, and integrates virtual and remote laboratories, problem-based learning, and ECTS into the participating engineering programmes. The materials are pilot-tested with students and refined on the basis of feedback. Training programmes prepare academic staff and students to use the new content and tools. The project also prepares a roadmap for the accreditation of the updated programmes. Results are shared through the project website, dissemination seminars at each partner university, and public events.

Work packages

The work is organised in five work packages:

• WP1 – Management (led by Kempten University of Applied Sciences): coordination, decision-making, reporting, and six management meetings, one in each partner country, over the full 36 months.
• WP2 – Preparation (led by the University of Jordan): work plan, financial and administrative procedures, project tools, the dissemination strategy including the project website, and risk and monitoring plans (Months 1–9).
• WP3 – Development (led by the University of Patras): the core content work — curriculum materials, digital platforms, and educational tools, followed by pilot testing, revision, and the accreditation roadmap (Months 6–24).
• WP4 – Quality and Impact Evaluation (led by Universidade Católica Portuguesa): quality framework, continuous monitoring, periodic audits, feedback collection, and external evaluation (Months 1–36).
• WP5 – Dissemination and Exploitation (led by Palestine Technical University – Kadoorie): communication of activities and results through the website, social media, printed and electronic materials, dissemination seminars, and events (Months 1–36).

Consortium

The consortium brings together 18 partner organisations from six countries, coordinated by Kempten University of Applied Sciences (Germany).

Germany

• Kempten University of Applied Sciences (HKE) — Coordinator
• Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU)
• Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH)

Jordan

• University of Jordan (UJ)
• Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST)
• Mutah University (MU)
• Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT)
• Al-Balqa Applied University (BAU)
• Al-Ahliyya Amman University (AAU)
• Jordan Engineers Association (JEA)

Palestine

• An-Najah National University (ANNU)
• Palestine Technical University – Kadoorie (PTUK)
• Palestine Polytechnic University (PPU)
• SkyEdu for Educational Consultancy (SkyEdu)

Greece

• University of Patras (UPAT)
• CRETHIDEV – Dimiourgiki Skepsi Anaptyxis

Portugal

Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP)

Cyprus

University of Cyprus (UCY)

Duration and funding

ENG-INC runs for 36 months, from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2028. It is funded by the European Union through the Erasmus+ programme, in the Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) strand, and is managed by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) under Grant Agreement 101236601 (call ERASMUS-EDU-2025-CBHE). The total grant amounts to EUR 799,911.90, awarded as a lump sum.

Coordination and governance

Kempten University of Applied Sciences coordinates the project. A Project Steering Group takes strategic decisions and reviews progress, and a Technical and Scientific Committee oversees the scientific quality and sustainability of the outputs. Six management meetings, one in each partner country, take place across the project’s duration.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Gabriele Schäfer (Project Lead), gabriele.schaefer@hs-kempten.de