Kabul University
Originally established in 1956, Kabul University is a premier Afghan educational institution that shares a deeply personal and enduring partnership with our Society, as many of our founders and members are proud alumni and former faculty who continuously give back to the university’s academic development by providing tele-education, capacity-building workshops, curriculum support, and student scholarships.
Background
The Society of Afghan Engineers (SAE) serves as a vital architectural and engineering link between North America and Afghanistan. At the heart of our mission to enhance the technical capacities of our home country is our deep-rooted and ongoing relationship with Kabul University (KU). Through decades of collaboration, we have remained committed to supporting the university’s students, faculty, and institutional growth.
A Shared History and Deep Roots
The Faculty of Engineering at Kabul University was originally established in 1956. Since the foundation of our Society in 1993, our connection to this historic institution has been profoundly personal. Many of our founders, board members, and executive leaders are proud alumni, former instructors, and past deans of the Faculty of Engineering and the Department of Architecture at Kabul University. This shared history fuels our unwavering dedication to giving back and assisting the university in its continuous academic and structural development.
Capacity Building and Academic Development
We have consistently organized seminars, workshops, and capacity-building programs for Kabul University students and faculty members. One of our landmark collaborations occurred between 2007 and 2008 when we partnered with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) to deliver a comprehensive training program hosted by Kabul University. During this initiative, twelve of our SAE members alongside five KU staff members successfully trained 74 Afghan engineers to enhance the nation’s private sector engineering consulting capabilities.
Tele-Education and the Afghan Architecture Studio (AAS)
To overcome geographical barriers and recent societal challenges, we have actively embraced digital platforms to ensure uninterrupted learning. In collaboration with the Afghan Education for a Better Tomorrow (AEBT), we launched robust tele-education initiatives to deliver online academic courses and professional seminars to undergraduate upperclassmen at Kabul University. Through these virtual classrooms, our experienced expatriate engineers deliver cutting-edge lectures on topics such as structural design, earthquake-resistant design, and computer architecture.
Furthermore, we established the Afghan Architecture Studio (AAS) to offer online architecture courses specifically tailored for female students at Kabul University and other institutions who have faced severe restrictions on their education. Our esteemed architects and professors teach intensive design studios, and we have proudly served as advisors to 5th-year architecture students at Kabul University, reviewing and guiding their final thesis projects.
Scholarships and Student Competitions
We believe that engineering and architecture students deserve the opportunity to overcome financial hardships and excel in their fields. In partnership with the family of our late founding member, Ashraf Roshan, we established the SAE-Ashraf Roshan Scholarship for Architecture Education. This fund provides significant financial assistance to outstanding architecture students at Afghan universities, including Kabul University, to support academic excellence, heritage research, and portfolio development.
We also actively engage Kabul University students through practical design challenges. During our Bamiyan International Student Design Competition—an initiative aimed at rehousing displaced cave dwellers—we proudly awarded certificates and cash prizes to a dedicated team of female students from Kabul University’s architecture department for their exceptional design proposals.
Strategic Collaborations and Memorandums of Understanding
To formalize our support, we have drafted and pursued Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) directly with the Faculty of Engineering at Kabul University. These strategic agreements outline our joint commitment to reviewing and modernizing engineering curricula, delivering relevant training to faculty and staff, and identifying technological support needs.
A major long-term objective of our collaboration is the establishment of an “Applied Research and Design Innovation Center,” also conceptualized as the Society of Afghan Engineers Research and Innovation Center (SAERIC), within the Faculty of Engineering. This center aims to promote interdisciplinary networking, support advanced research, and transfer critical knowledge for the benefit of Afghan society.
Providing Accessible Engineering Literature
Recognizing that language should never be a barrier to world-class education, our dedicated members have undertaken the monumental task of translating major global engineering textbooks into Pashto. Essential texts such as Structural Analysis, Mechanics of Materials, and Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics have been meticulously translated and distributed free of charge to the library at Kabul University and other educational institutions across Afghanistan. This initiative ensures that Kabul University students possess the analytical foundations required to solve real-world engineering problems in their native language.