E-ENGINEERING: FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY M. Gericota 1 , G. Andrieu 2 , C. Dalmay 2 , M. Batarseh 3 , A. Fidalgo 1 , P. Ferreira 1 1 Polytechnic of Porto, School of Engineering (PORTUGAL) 2 Université de Limoges (FRANCE) 3 Princess Sumaya University for Technology (JORDAN) Abstract Even before the digital era, the implementation of distance learning in higher education was a reality in many areas. Notwithstanding, the offer of distance higher education courses was not equal in all knowledge areas due to different teaching and learning requirements. The experimental work developed during the learning process in engineering areas is widely recognized as essential for engineering students. However, the remote availableness of this experimental, hands-on, works, typically done in University laboratories designed according to the different teaching subject requirements, was nonexistent. With the advent of remote laboratories, real-time remotely controlled laboratory facilities made possible by the advancements on the Internet network, this limitation disappeared. The concept of e-engineering, a merge between the e-learning concept and the remote laboratories, emerged as a solution to offer distance learning engineering courses without abdicating of the indispensable practical component of any engineering course. Two European projects – the Tempus EOLES project and the ERASMUS+ e-LIVES project – try to bridge the gap between concept and reality by first implementing an accredited higher education engineering course in Electronics and Optics e-Learning for Embedded Systems and then by producing a set of guidelines to help others to be autonomous in the creation of their own e- engineering courses. Keywords: e-engineering, e-learning, remote laboratories, course accreditation. 1 INTRODUCTION The number of worldwide students enrolled in tertiary education more than doubled since the end of the XX century, growing from 94.5 million in 1999 to almost 221 million in 2015, a gross enrolment ratio change from 19% to 36%. However, these global figures hide major differences between regions. While in Europe and North America the higher education gross enrolment ratio is around 75%, in the South and Eastern Mediterranean Basin countries the values range from 28% to 45% [1] [2]. In the last few years, however, higher education enrolment has been on the rise in this region. The graphic in figure 1 shows that the number of students enrolled in higher education in Morocco doubled in the last five years while in Algeria it incremented by a third in the same period. On the contrary, in Jordan and Tunisia, the number remained stable but rather below the desirable value, mainly when compared to the European rates [3]. Algeria is a successful case in this region. There, the percentage of students transitioning from upper secondary to tertiary education by the end of the school year 2015 was 109%, meaning that a lot of students that had left school after the end of their secondary studies in the past are returning to continue their higher education studies [2]. This growth in the number of students in the tertiary education is highly encouraged by national governments committed to the development of higher education in advanced engineering fields ‒ physical sciences, computer sciences, engineering and engineering trades – perceived as essential to making their economies competitive in today's globalized knowledge society. Despite being highly positive and desirable, the recent rise in the number of students in the higher education system in South and Eastern Mediterranean Basin countries created important challenges to Universities forced to handle overcrowded classes. These difficulties are particularly significant on some STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) related courses where the need for new laboratory spaces and associated equipment is critical. One promising solution involves the extensive development of nationally accredited e-learning undergraduate and graduate courses. This strategy prompted a group of Maghrebin High Education Institutions (HEIs) to join efforts with four Proceedings of EDULEARN18 Conference 2nd-4th July 2018, Palma, Mallorca, Spain ISBN: 978-84-09-02709-5 1256