M’Hamed Bougara University at Boumerdes, Algeria

Faculty of Engineering/Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering

Formerly
National Institute of Electricity and Electronics, INELEC
at Boumerdes

BRIEF PRESENTATION
1976-2006
1. Brief History
The Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering of Boumerdes University,
formerly called the National Institute of Electricity and Electronics, INELEC, came into
existence as a result of an agreement signed between the National Company for
Manufacture and Assembly of Electrical and Electronic Equipment, SONELEC, and
Education Development Center, EDC, Newton, Mass., USA. The agreement was signed
as early as March 1976, according to the program set forth in the planning study
conducted for SONATRACH in March 1974.
The main objective assigned to the agreement was the creation of an adapted version of
an American type higher educational institution to serve as a technological pole offering
the state of the art in the various fields of Electrical Engineering. This led to a set of goals
assigned to the newly created institution
· Training engineers and technicians to serve the emerging national electronic industry.
· Training and updating continuously the know-how of field engineers and technicians
already working in industry.
· Developing applied research and graduate education in relation with industry.
· Developing a good documentation/library center to support research and pedagogical
activities.
To meet these requirements, it was necessary to settle for an adapted version of a
typical American Higher Educational Institution having the following characteristics:
· Selection of English as the language of education.
· Selection of a curriculum insuring an optimal balance between theoretical and
experimental work.
· Use of a small ratio of students to teachers.
· Involvement of students and faculty staff in the achievement of training objectives.
· Integration of industrial training periods in the curriculum.
· Development of close ties with industry through the direct involvement of faculty
members and students.
· Creation of sound pedagogical management structures (curriculum, library, equipment,
committees, etc.
· Creation of a sound set of support services with a special emphasis on the library / doc
center, the computer center, the audiovisual centers, etc.)

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· The implementation of such an important project could not be achieved relying only on
local resources. To this end, a consortium of American universities and some major
industrial institutions were created to provide the required resources. Among the
institutions forming the consortium, we find:
· Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
· Oklahoma State University, Still Water, Oklahoma.
· Stevens Institute of Technology
· University of Houston, Houston, Texas
· University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, Missouri.
· University of Wisconsin Stout, Menomonie, Wisconsin.
· Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, Massachusetts.
· Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Massachusetts.
· Purdue University
· GTE Sylvania
· Harris Corporation
· Raytheon Service Company

At the beginning, all faculty members and staff were American nationals from
institutions of the consortium.
At the same time, a program for training Algerian faculty members was under way.
A faculty-training program for Algerian graduates was initiated through a National entry
exam. Members of the consortium to select student groups to be trained in American
Universities conducted interviews. The first group of Algerian faculty candidates left Algeria
in May 1976. By 1985, more than 90 % of the faculty members were graduates from
American Universities.
Within few years, INELEC became one of the top schools nationwide and in the
region. The dedication and hard work of hundreds of American, Indian and Algerian faculty
and staff members made it possible for INELEC engineers and technicians to be highly
worldwide appreciated. By the end of 1989 a graduate program in Applied Electronics and
Electronic Systems Engineering was initiated for of a Master Degree.
2. Inelec today
In 1998, INELEC has been reorganized and became the Electrical Engineering
Department within the Faculty of Engineering of Boumerdes University with more than 600
students currently enrolled. The new Department continues to work as an American type
of higher educational institution, and English is still the education language. Efforts were
made to adapt the curriculum to the national standards set by the Ministry of Higher
Education while keeping the spirit of the INELEC project with the American way of
working.