Department of Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical Engineering Department of Adigrat University was established in December 2004 E.C., to teach students, conduct research and community service, and with the broad objective of responding to the need for rapid industrialization and the changing societal needs of the country for sustainable development. It has graduated six batches of engineers. The department believes in cultivating the full potential of students and the advancement of all forms of knowledge, keeping in pace with international standards of academic quality, including the high-skilled employment needs presented by a growing economy operating in a global environment.     

Statistical data obtained from the Adigrat University shows that the total number of mechanical engineers who graduated from the University with a B.Sc. degree during the period 2004 to 2016 E.C. is more than 3200. Further examination of the data shows that the number of graduates per year was increasing. This department started its work by encompassing 7 lecturers, 2 assistant lecturers, and 2 technical assistants, and by around 150 students in 2004 E.C. But, currently in the mechanical engineering department, there are 4 assistant professors, 1 PhD holder assistant professor, 50 lecturers, 24 assistant lecturers, and 9 technical assistants total of 88 academic staff.

• Professional Profile of Mechanical Engineering Department:

Mechanical Engineering is a profession that deals with the design, manufacturing, selection, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance of all forms of machinery, equipment, and industrial systems. The profession plays a vital role in the establishment and sustainable operation of a nation’s manufacturing industries, transport systems, power generation, construction, and mining industries. In the mechanical engineering department of Adigrat University, there are five streams named motor vehicle stream, manufacturing stream, design stream, thermal stream, and industrial stream. And each of these streams has its own instructors. Starting from year one to year three, there is no stream classification, but starting from the 4^th year 1^st semester till the 5^th year 2^nd semester (GC), students are divided into such streams.

The work of mechanical engineers varies by industry and function. Many mechanical engineers work in the erection and commissioning of industrial plants, production operations, maintenance, technical sales, etc.; a few are engaged in research, testing, and design work. Many are administrators or managers, while some work as consultants. Some of the typical job profiles that Mechanical Engineers, in various capacities, perform include:.

• development and manufacturing of products and machines for industrial and consumer use
• Industrial plant design, equipment selection, plant erection, commissioning, operation and maintenance;
• Installation of machinery and piping
• Engineering material production and testing
• Industrial gas- and water supply system/component design
• Automotive and construction equipment design and maintenance,
• Heating, refrigeration, air-conditioning, and compressed air systems, water supply systems design, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance
• Energy conversion system/component design, installation, commissioning, operation and maintenance
• Control of noise, vibration, and environmental pollution
• Industrial project design and evaluation
• Project planning and total quality management
• Factory management in the capacity of general manager, technical manager, operations manager, maintenance manager, quality controller, and sales manager
• Teaching, training, research, and development
• Appropriate technology solutions to address local community problems
• Agro machinery and processing
• Railway Systems Engineering, Sugar manufacturing and processing
• Reverse engineering, Procurement of equipment and machinery, Spare parts management, Specification development
  • Responsibilities of Mechanical Engineers:

The following are several examples of the types of systems for which mechanical engineers are responsible:

• Refrigeration and air-conditioning systems, Public utility systems, Automotive and aerospace vehicles, Hydraulics and fluid power systems, Automation systems, Heavy duty and earth moving Equipments, Robotics, Control systems, Medical equipment, Propulsion systems, Power generating systems, Energy conservation and production systems, Agricultural equipments, Transportation systems and logistics, Lubrication and oil, Mining Operation, Fire and Safety Systems, Installation and Commissioning.

The Mechanical Engineering profession can be acquired and mastered by graduates who are well educated to enter into and are dedicated to continuing to grow in the profession. An undergraduate Mechanical Engineering program meant to produce such graduates must be designed to provide to the students a sufficiently broad and deep base of mathematics, physical sciences, and engineering sciences; broad knowledge of mechanical engineering systems, machineries and control systems; excellent knowledge of design and manufacturing theories supported by extensive laboratory exercises, workshop practices, and industrial internship; sufficient practices in the use of computers, mechatronic devices and application of software related to the field; sufficient knowledge of management concepts and communication skills, etc. In short, the program should give due emphasis to the integration of knowledge and skill to enable its graduates to enter the profession.

Due to the very broad nature of the profession of mechanical engineering, the profession has numerous areas of specialization at the global level. In the current Ethiopian context, one could specialize in any one of the following areas:

• Product Design and/or Applied Mechanics: This area of specialization focuses on the design of a product, starting from the need analysis through three-dimensional modeling, strength and dynamic analysis, up to prototype manufacturing and testing.
• Material Science: It deals with the study and application of materials used in mechanical engineering.
• Manufacturing Engineering/ Technology: It deals with the design of manufacturing processes (like casting, forming, machining, joining, assembling, etc.) of an engineering product, starting from its design to planning and management of the manufacturing operations.
• Thermal and Power Plant Engineering: It deals with the design, selection, installation, commissioning, maintenance, and operation of energy conversion, heating, cooling systems, and equipment that utilize thermal primary energy resources.
• Fluid Machinery: It deals with the design, performance analysis, selection, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance of rotating machines such as pumps, blowers, compressors, and various types of turbines.
• Maintenance Engineering: It deals with the systematic application of reliability theory, condition monitoring and reconditioning techniques, and preventive maintenance programs to increase plant or equipment availability.
• Automotive Engineering: It deals with the design and maintenance of a motor vehicle and its accessories.
• Aeronautical Engineering: It deals with the design and maintenance of an aircraft and its components.
• Mechatronics and/or Robotics: It deals with the control of mechanical systems and the interfacing of mechanical systems with electronic controllers and computers.
• Production Systems Management: It deals with the optimal design of manufacturing plants and optimal management of material, human, and machine resources in manufacturing operations to minimize production costs and maximize product quality.
• Sugar Engineering and manufacturing: It deals with the principles, operations, and design of sugar processing industries.
• Railway Systems Engineering: Railway Engineering is a profession that deals with management, economics, and engineering fields of specializations, such as power supply for electric traction, signaling and communications, design, manufacturing, operation, control, and maintenance of all forms of railway and related equipment and industrial systems. The profession plays a vital role in the establishment and sustainable operation of transport systems to boost the economy of the country in all aspects.
• Agro machinery and processing: It deals with principles, operations, and design of agricultural equipment and agro-processing equipment.
• Industrial Engineering: It deals with the optimal design of manufacturing plants and optimal management of material, human, and machine resources in manufacturing operations to minimize production costs and maximize product quality.
• Energy Technology/Engineering: It deals with principles, operations, and design of renewable energy technologies. Depending on the engineering tasks one is undertaking or the position one is holding, a professional mechanical engineer working in an industrial facility can have professional titles and/or job specifications like Design Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer, Maintenance Engineer, Installation Engineer, Utilities Engineer, or Management title/job like General Manager, Technical Manager, Operation Manager, Maintenance Manager, Sales Manager, and rendering consultancy services in the field.

1.3. Abilities and Skills Required from Mechanical Engineers:

1. a) Technical Abilities and Skills:

• To analyze needs and requirements when designing products
• To design a system, component, or process to meet user needs
• Design, sequence, and schedule the production process of the product
• To operate relevant computer software for design/analysis/optimization
• To determine the tools and equipment needed to do a job
• To interpret written directions, specifications, plans, and drawings
• To write specifications for mechanical and electrical equipment
• Testing and inspection of products or processes and evaluating quality or performance.
• To determine the compliance of products with specifications
• To identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
• To design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
• Engineering material identification/ prescription while differentiating availability vis-à-vis suitability, Inspection, and commissioning of equipment
• To plan, control equipment maintenance, and determine life cycle costs
• To use fault diagnosis tools and NDT, to estimate and analyze product or service costs
• Die and tool design skills
• Drafting skill recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning

1. b) Analytical/Computational skills:

• To apply mathematical analysis and computational methods for solving engineering problems
• To apply modeling, simulation, and visualization techniques to mimic the system behavior for predictive control and to test different solutions:

1.  c) Reasoning and Problem-Solving skills:
2. Problem Identification through root-cause analysis
3. Problem solving using cause-and-effect relationships, logical thinking, and with an open mind (overcoming mental blocks)
4. to comprehend the scheme of things when configured/reconfigured, assembled/disassembled by visualization
5. to group together things or actions in a specific order/pattern using a specific rule/set of rules
6. Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making
7. Deductive reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce a reasonable solution
8. Inductive reasoning: The ability to  combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions
9. Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential  actions  to  choose  the most   appropriate one
10. d) Communicative English skills:

• Language proficiency skills (oral & written)
• Technical reporting skills
• Professional Presentation Skills
• Persuasive and vegetative skills

1. e) Managerial abilities/Behavioral skills:

• To plan, organize, coordinate, and control the work of subordinates
• To set priorities and assign work to other professionals
• To maintain records, prepare planning and performance reports
• To tell when something is wrong or is likely to go  wrong
• Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and    the actions needed to prove or correct performance, relative   to the goals of the system
• Managing one’s own time and the time of others
• Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best  people for the job
• Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for  these expenditures
• To work in team environment
• To satisfy customers
• Positive, flexible, and forward-looking attitude

2. Mission:

The objective of the Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Program is to provide broad-based educational training in mechanical engineering and its applications, leading to a Bachelor of Science Degree. Its goal is to enable graduates to meet the challenges of the engineering profession in a rapidly changing environment that exists in a developing country like Ethiopia. These challenges require the ability to apply existing knowledge in new ways, thereby creating new systems and opportunities as well as adapting existing technology to local production conditions. These require the ability to manage service, maintain, and improve existing systems.

3. Vision:

“To impart futuristic technical education and instill high patterns of discipline through dedicated staff who shall set global standards, making our students technologically superior and ethically strong, who in turn shall improve the quality of life of the human race in general and our own people in particular.”

4. Strategic Objectives:

• To develop future professionals with problem identification/solving skills and positive attitudes to serve society
• To produce technically sound and practically competent engineers of a global standard.
• To train professionals equipped with relevant knowledge and skills, who would contribute to the development of the country.
• To bring out professionals who are not mere government expectants for jobs, but job creators.
• Reorient the education system to be more practical, research-oriented oriented and problem-solving.
• To address the demands of the new education policy of the country.

5. Motto of the Department:

We have already followed the university motto, “Hard Work is our hallmark”

6. Achievements:

6.1: Teaching and learning activities:

• Preparing a work plan.
• Making all staff ready for the class.
• Preparing a schedule for each class in each semester
• Assigning instructors for each course
• Managing classes, whether they are performing as per the prepared schedule and plan of work.
• Grade approval.
• Preparation for the graduation process.

6.2: Community service activities:

• Preparing activities to be performed by our department, college, and the university.
• Communicating with the university’s concerned bodies.
• Participating practically in the selected community service and reconstruction, and maintenance of the university.