Engineering Program Initiation at Northrise University

John Tixier

Keywords: Northrise, startup, development

TL;DR: Description of the first year engineering program at Northrise University in Zambia, with opportunities for US faculty to engage.

Abstract: Northrise University is a private Christ-centered university, with a campus on 640 acres outside of Ndola, Zambia. After more than a decade of planning and development to implement an engineering degree at Northrise, the program began in January 2025 with the first cohort of engineering freshmen. The second cohort will be accepted in January 2026 and will have completed their first semester – and the first cohort three semesters – of instruction as of the 2026 CEC gathering. Previous CEC papers have documented the planning and development efforts, which are summarized in this paper for background. This paper presents the status of the program, ongoing development efforts, and collaboration opportunities with Engineering professors and professionals. Planning and development began in about 2015 with the vision of an Engineering program at Northrise and culminating with the dedication of the Engineering building in the summer of 2024 and the first cohort in January 2025. First cohort retention is also examined. A description of courses taught so far and those still under development is provided. While integration of faith and learning is core to a Northrise education, a strong distinction of the Northrise engineering program is a series of three sequential Introduction to Engineering courses, taken in the second, third, and fourth semesters of the five-year program. In addition to introductory topics on engineering principles and practice, each course includes a hands-on design and build project each semester. Lessons learned from completed courses are offered in the paper. Most upper-level courses are under development, and faculty recruiting is on-going; a progress report is provided. Finally, collaborative opportunities for ex-patriot engineering faculty or professionals are described. These include a semester sabbatical, teaching one or more courses and/or contributing to course development. Perhaps a year (or more) stint for a retiree could be considered. Contribution to remote seminars is also a possibility.

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Submission Number: 26