Agricultural Engineering and Modern Technologies

The Department of Agricultural Engineering and Modern Technologies was established in 1990 as a division within the Department of Soil and Water Resources and Agricultural Mechanization. With the necessary factors in place for the establishment of a fully independent department of agricultural engineering, including the growth in the number of teaching staff in the Department of Soil, Water, and Agricultural Mechanization, the Sana’a University Council made a decision to transform the Agricultural Mechanization Division into an independent department known as the Department of Agricultural Engineering. The university council approved the department’s academic plan, which included 17 core courses in addition to the requirement courses for the faculty. As the faculty and departmental programs continued to develop, the department became known as the “Department of Agricultural Engineering and Modern Technologies”. The department offers two programs:

• the Agricultural Engineering and Modern Technologies Program

• the Irrigation Systems Engineering and Technology Program

Each program consists of 28 core courses, in addition to the faculty and university requirements. Dozens of academics and engineers with master’s degrees in various scientific fields have graduated from the department. There is currently a doctoral program in the department.

The department has a teaching staff of highly qualified and experienced academics who possess exceptional competencies and scientific qualifications from various academic institutions. Our teaching staff members specialize in different fields of agricultural engineering and modern technologies, including power and machinery engineering, irrigation systems engineering, agricultural facilities engineering, food processing engineering, and renewable energy engineering.

In addition to their teaching responsibilities, our esteemed teaching staff also extends their expertise to provide consulting services to both the public and private sectors. This enables the department to offer essential scientific guidance and advice to a wide range of stakeholders. The department currently has 10 faculty members, including 4 professors (one of whom is retired), 3 associate professors, and 3 assistant professors. We also have an assistant teaching staff, three of whom have been granted scholarships to pursue higher studies abroad. Our department also employs 6 technicians, one of whom has been granted a scholarship to pursue higher studies abroad.

The department houses several laboratories and engineering workshops equipped with various tools and equipment that support the implementation of the program’s educational, service, and advisory plans. These facilities include:

• Physics and Meteorology Laboratory

• Agricultural Machinery Laboratory

• Agricultural Power Laboratory

• Agricultural Processing Laboratory

• Carpentry Workshop

• Surveying Laboratory

In addition to these laboratories and workshops, the department also possesses a variety of agricultural machinery, tractors, and irrigation networks that support the practical aspects of implementing the program’s learning outcomes. These facilities play a crucial role in preparing students with the diverse skills they need to compete in the labor market and secure excellent positions in their specialized field.

Potential Career Opportunities for Graduates of the Department:

Graduates of the Department of Agricultural Engineering and Modern Technologies can:

1. Work as academics in the faculty and pursue postgraduate studies in this field.

2. Work for government and private companies and institutions related to agricultural production engineering.

3. Work in the fields of surveying agricultural land, planning agricultural buildings, constructing dams and water barriers, and designing irrigation networks.

4. Work in the field of installing and maintaining water pumps in general and solar energy pumps in particular.

5. Work on large productive farms in the field of agricultural production engineering.

6. Work for agricultural research institutions.

7. Work for local and international organizations concerned with the agricultural sector.

8. Work for consulting firms specializing in the agricultural sector.

Graduate Attributes of the Agricultural Engineering and Modern Technologies:

The graduate of the Agricultural Engineering and Modern Technologies Department will be capable of:

• Designing, operating, maintaining, and managing agricultural machinery and equipment used in agricultural production operations.

• Designing, installing, and maintaining modern irrigation systems.

• Designing agricultural structures in accordance with engineering and environmental standards.

• Designing and installing renewable energy systems, with a focus on the agricultural sector.

• Working as part of a team to solve agricultural engineering and modern technology problems and improve the performance of agricultural equipment, pumps, and machinery through scientific research.

• Designing and managing greenhouses, introducing appropriate irrigation methods, and studying the environmental and thermal conditions within them.

Studying and employing the best practices for rainwater harvesting