An analysis of gender when creating a water engineering course

The aim of this research was to create a fully engaged pedagogic postgraduate course in water engineering that was dovetailed to meet the needs of overseas engineering students from developing countries, and more especially female candidates, as they are currently grossly underrepresented in this sector. A standard Likert-type questionnaire was prepared and given to appropriate participants attending the ‘Technological advances and challenges in water reclamation and reuse’ workshop held at the National University of Science and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan; 51 responses were recorded, with 19 female respondents. A statistical analysis was carried out on the responses to ascertain any variation based on gender. Some significant differences were recorded, with the female students appearing to favour a more cautious approach as a learning style while seeming slightly more ambitious than their male counterparts. Further research work is needed in this area to confirm these initial findings.