Importance and Barriers of Establishing Educational/Training Programs in Electric Vehicles/Hybrid-Electric Vehicles in Jordan

Abstract

Jordan has set priority plans to mitigate climate change impacts, where Jordan moves towards low emissions by promoting the Electric Vehicle and Hybrid-Electric Vehicle (EV/HEV) market. Therefore, there will be a pressing need for professionals in the field of maintenance and design of EV/HEVs. Accordingly, surveys were conducted to address the market needs in Jordan. The surveys targeted main stakeholders from different geographical locations in Jordan. This study was concerned with project partners, Academic staff, and students from eight universities located in Balqa’a, Irbid, Al-Karak, Tafilah, and the capital city Amman. The responses obtained are from 8, 140, and 799 project partners, academic staff, and students, respectively. The results, including surveys on teaching and training facilities, are analyzed and discussed. In conclusion, this study presents a crucial foundation for three specialized diploma programs (vocational diploma, technical diploma, and higher diploma) and a bachelor program tailored to Jordan’s EV/HEV market needs. Through a deliberate alignment of the curriculum with the evolving demands of the EV/HEV sector, the diploma programs will foster graduates who hold the essential knowledge and skills to excel in this rapidly expanding field. Furthermore, the programs address the distinct competencies and expertise that the local market requires, ensuring that graduates are well prepared to meet industry needs. The significance of this work serves as a bridge between academia and the market, resulting in graduates who possess the knowledge and skills, that are highly sought after by prospective employers.

1. Introduction

The new Jordan energy strategy 2020–2030 was launched by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resource in 2020. According to this strategy, the major aims for Jordan are achieving energy security, maximizing the deployment of local energy resources, and reducing the cost of energy [1]. For example, only in 2019, Jordan imported about 88% of its energy needs at high costs. The transport sector is a primary user of energy, responsible for 46% of final energy consumption, making it central to the country’s overall energy economy equation, and thus it is considered an important driver for determining future national energy needs. In Jordan, 50–90% of air pollution is caused by traffic and transport, and black carbon particles in the air are more concentrated in urban areas than in industrial areas [2]. Climate change scenarios indicate that Jordan and the Middle East could suffer from reduced agricultural productivity and water availability, among other negative impacts, according to the 2013–2020 Jordan Climate Change Policy [3]. Jordan is adopting renewable energy due to the scarcity of fossil fuels. Jordan is moving towards a low-emission or zero-emission transport sector.

Under the Nation Green Growth Plan (NGGP), the government aims to raise awareness among consumers. Jordan aims to mitigate climate change impacts by promoting EV/HEVs. The National Energy Strategy 2020–2030 sets a target of 10% EV adoption in the total vehicle fleet by 2030. To achieve this, the government offers incentives, such as tax exemptions and reduced registration fees. In 2019, the government reduced the taxes on EV/HEVs, which in turn will increase their sales in Jordan. The Jordan Electric Vehicle Market size is projected to grow at a CAGR of 35.1% during 2020–2026 [4]. Over 500 public EV charging stations are already in place. Nevertheless, significant investments are being made for the implementation of the Jordan National Vision 2025 initiative, to support green and clean energy projects, such as installation of 3000 charging stations in several parts of the country [5]. In addition, Jordan is working towards scrapping old fuel-run cars and exchanging them for EV/HEVs. Thus, by encouraging the adoption of EV/HEVs, Jordan strives to reduce carbon emissions and the transition towards a more sustainable transportation sector, aligning with its commitments under the Paris Agreement and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) [1,6,7].

The gap between workforce supply and demand is significant in Jordan especially in (Balqa, Karak, and Irbid) governorates. A review has been conducted for the existing programs in Jordan that deal with EV/HEVs. It was found that the B.SC. programs in Mechanical Engineering in Jordan universities include an elective course that covers Vehicles Technology. The course focuses on conventional cars that run on combustion engines. In addition, other programs provide an introduction about Electric and Hybrid Cars Technology. The B.SC. programs in Mechatronics Engineering include few courses dealing with issues related to EV/HEVs, such as Power Electronics and Drive, and Autotronics. However, the practical skills needed by the market are not introduced. And, there are no labs for EV/HEVs in Jordanian universities.

Therefore, the main research emphasis of this paper is to understand the opportunities and challenges that may influence the education of the EV/HEV field in Jordan. The methodology used in this study was based on a non-experimental, quantitative data collection procedure, through distributing web-based surveys. The survey questions, which are available online, can be found in the Supplementary Materials section of the paper. The questions in each survey took the form of a close-ended question, which includes a predefined list of answer options The calculated Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were considered acceptable for data reliability. Thus, this paper aims to highlight the needs of each partner university in terms of a suitable EV/HEV program for their students, where they need to review the adequacy of the faculty members’ competencies, surveying the students’ requirements, and bridge the gap between the university graduates and the market needs.

Literature Review

The Transportation sector forms the major source of air pollution, since traditional vehicles run on fossil fuel products such as gasoline and diesel. Harmful emissions from these vehicles have negative impacts that pollute air and affect human health. Moreover, the massive increase in the world population will raise the demand on vehicles and fuel consumption. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration and IHS Global Insight, oil will be more expensive in 2035 [8]. Also, in [8], they modeled projections of what may happen given certain assumptions and methodologies. The projections of the energy market were inexact, due to future developments in technologies, demographics, and resources. Therefore, many of the events that shape the energy markets could not be predicted. Several studies agree that fossil fuel prices will likely rise in the long-term due to an oil shortage or oil running out [9]. In [9], they mentioned that SUVs and pickup trucks accounted for more than three out of four vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2021. Moreover, compact, gasoline-powered cars are typically less expensive and have a better gas mileage, but supplies are tight. Therefore, the adoption of EV/HEVs in the transportation sector will reduce harmful emissions and then reduce climate change.

In the United States, there is increasing interest in electric cars. Overall, the transportation sector consumes 30% of total U.S. energy needs and 70% of fuel consumption [10]. Although energy costs for EV/HEVs are generally lower as compared to similar conventional vehicles, initial purchase prices can be significantly higher. Increasing production volumes and advances in battery technologies tends to equalize the initial cost with conventional vehicles. Since fuel is a limited resource, its demand signifies a challenge to take advantage of new vehicle technologies to reach a substantial economic development. The alternate source of vehicle fuel is electricity. It is not only a smart technology, but also an inevitable one. Furthermore, the transformation into electric vehicle technology will create new jobs, improve the quality of life, and reduce energy demand.

On the other hand, the transportation sector, especially gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles, is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions, which have harmful impacts on human health and atmosphere quality [11]. In the EU, the transport sector forms a large portion of the total energy consumption (about 74%) and raises the greenhouse gas emissions [12]. Electric vehicles (EV) are realized as the alternative to fossil fuel-powered vehicles in transportation.

Madziel et al. found that the renovation of 25% of traditional vehicles to electric vehicles in the current fleet has reduced the concentration of PM10 (PM10 is a measure of particulate matter concentration) by about 30% along the ring road, which greatly reduces harmful exhaust components and diminishes climate change impact [13].

Electric vehicles (EV) have to be supplemented by the appropriate infrastructure. This requires co-operative efforts from countries, cites, and municipalities [14]. The improvement of infrastructure is often highlighted as the main contributing factor for increasing the rate of the EV use. Moreover, the availability of charging stations accelerates the spread of EV, which makes it easier for users to charge their vehicles. For this reason, the location of the electric charging stations encourages the ownership of these cars due to the ease of charging in any location [15].

House charging stations are completely connected to the electricity distribution network. Normally, they have a low power rating and need a longer charging time. Moreover, fast charging stations can charge EVs in less time with a high-power charging rate. This may cause heat accumulation and faster degradation of EV batteries.

Ali et al. studied the optimal locations of charging stations for EVs in Amman, Jordan [16]. Using the flow-capturing location model and the modified flow-capturing location model, the problem of installation of a charging station at one’s own facility was illustrated in [17]. Several studies also show results for the optimal location of EV infrastructure components, including charging stations [18,19,20]. The problem of locating and sizing of EV charging stations that are assisted by solar energy in an urban area was discussed by Ji et al. [18]. Their objective was to maximize the profit of utilizing solar energy in charging stations to satisfy charging requirements. They propose a heuristic optimization algorithm to jointly decide the locations of the charging stations and the size of each station.

According to the transportation energy data book produced by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. [21], hybrid vehicle sales began in 1999 and plug-in electric vehicle sales began in 2010. Thus, producing hybrid and semi-hybrid and electric cars has already started. This was enabled after overcoming the problems related to manufacturing and charging stations. Hybrid vehicles took 3.2% of the total vehicles market in 2013. Plug-in hybrids and all-electrics combined accounted for 2.1% of the light vehicle market in 2019.

Successive Jordanian governments have put in place innovative policies, laws, and legislation on electric transport that regulate and encourage the use of electric vehicles. They started with facilitating the import process and reducing customs and licensing fees for these vehicles. Gasoline supply companies have equipped fast charging stations to supply electric vehicles with charging in a short period of time. Moreover, the Ministry of Energy also encouraged investment in installing home solar power stations and supporting this train, which encouraged citizens to acquire electric vehicles, as home charging became an alternative to charging at gas stations.

Through this policy followed by governments, the demand for electric vehicles increased. The number of registered electric vehicles (EVs) in Jordan has increased rapidly through the period from 2010 to 2017. According to the Jordanian department of statistics, more than 18,000 privately owned EVs were registered up to 2019 [22].

Stanton and Bradley highlighted that an academic needs assessment process was used to create an industry informed hybrid-electric vehicles engineering (HEVE) program at Colorado State University (CSU) for both undergraduate and graduate students [23]. They demonstrate how a needs assessment may be used to design the HEVE learning objectives to focus on job placement and career development. The created HEVE program contains four courses. It illustrates how the process and results of the needs assessment guide create the learning objectives and program details so that students can easily utilize this process for their own needs.

The factors affecting the uptake of EV/HEVs in the European Union were discussed in [24]. Two extensive cross-sectional surveys were distributed across the EU to collect data from 26,500 respondents for each survey. Socio-economic and behavioral aspects were combined in the survey. The percentage of respondents who are interested in purchasing a hybrid or electric vehicle (H&EV) in the near future rose from 32% in 2014 to 37.4% in 2018. A machine-learning classification model was used to analyze and explain the interaction between the variables affecting the purchase decision.

The basic design considerations for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) were reviewed in [25]. It includes vehicle architecture, energy management systems, drivetrain component function, energy storage trade-offs, and grid connections. Recent PHEV design studies and vehicle demonstrations were used to derive the general design characteristics of PHEVs. In addition, a review of recent studies was used to assess the sustainability impact of PHEVs to propose research topics and development needs for PHEVs.

The potential for PHEV market penetration was discussed in [26]. They administered a survey to 1000 stated US residents to study the factors influencing the PHEV market. The odds were 71 times greater that they would consider purchasing PHEV to reduce energy consumption, while there were 44 times greater odds that they would consider purchasing PHEV to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The authors in [27] present a new approach for developing a training program for working on Electric Vehicles. Their target groups were professionals, like motor mechanics, firefighters, or vocational schoolteachers. They clarify the different health risks in working on EVs and propose an iterative concept for fault probability analysis (FPA) to identify potential errors in the everyday use of EVs. Moreover, two surveys were conducted, the first survey highlighted the risk of a high-voltage system in EVs, while the result of the second survey encourages the adoption of blended learning for working on EV training programs.

In Malaysia [28], a survey questionnaire was designed with reference to the decision-making trials alongside the Decision-Making Trials and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method. The study focused on the factors which affect consumers’ intention to use EVs in the Malaysian context. The results showed that environmental concern, trust in EVs, personal norms, price value, attitudes regarding EVs, and subjective norms are the most important factors influencing the adoption of EVs in the Malaysian context.

The challenges associated with new charging station installion in Canada was discussed in [29], specifically in Multi-Unit Residential Buildings (MURBs). They developed a conceptual framework to identify the challenges, potential barriers, and stakeholders involved in the process of charging infrastructure installation in MURBs. A decision-making flow diagram was used to map out problem domains to characterize their internal dynamics and the relationships between stakeholders. Informing policy interventions and directions for policymakers and automotive manufacturers are the main findings in [28,29], while this study concentrates on the needs and competencies of the market.

The current study conducts a needs analysis in the market in the field of EV/HEVs in Jordan and the potential clean technologies in the field of transportation and their regulations. Three surveys with appropriate stakeholders are analyzed and discussed including surveys on teaching and training facilities. The integration of the survey results reports the list of needs and competencies.

2. Materials and Methods

The methodology and research design of this work is summarized in this section in order to highlight the opportunities and challenges that may influence the education of EV/HEV field in Jordan. It is important to mention that four diploma programs are suggested to empower the education of EV/HEV field, which are listed below:

• Vocational diploma (9-month study and training, including around 300 h). This includes comprehensive theoretical and practical lectures that include diagnosing, checking, and maintaining all EV/HEV systems and parts.
• Diploma degree (2-year study and training, includes around 90 credit hours). A student with a secondary school certificate can join this program.
• Higher diploma (1-year theoretical study with 30 credit hours) including lectures, assignments, group work, exams, and final research project. This program is designated for students with engineering backgrounds such as Mechanical, Electrical, Mechatronics Engineers (Bachelor’s degree holders).
• Bachelor’s technical degree (4-year Engineering plan with a focus on EV/HEVs, total 130 credit hours required by the ministry of higher education in Jordan). Appendix A shows details of the different programs.

Moreover, efforts are directed to enhance the cooperation between universities and the local market for enhancing the quality of education outcomes. To achieve the goals of this study, three surveys were prepared to collect information from project partners, faculty members, and students through a web-based survey. This section aims further to describe the research method, study population, research instrument, data collection methods, and data analysis procedures.

2.1. Research Method

The methodology used in this study was based on a non-experimental quantitative data collection procedure. Three web-based surveys were distributed. They are labeled as shown in

Table 1. The codes, target population, and general information of the distributed surveys.

Survey Code	Target Population	General Information
A	Project partners	The survey requests that each partner shall estimate their needs and select the suitable program for their students from the four suggested programs
B	Faculty members	Looks for competencies in the faculty members who teach in the partner universities, and review the content of the suggested programs.
C	Students	A survey analyzes the requirements of the students from different education levels

; their labels will be used in the entire paper. The surveys were developed after consulting several existing studies in the literature in addition to the created items by the coworkers of this work to fulfill the aims and scopes of the current study. The questions in each survey took the form of a close-ended question, which includes a predefined list of answer options. Questions took the form of an attitude scale similar to a Likert-type scale [30], where the respondents have to choose one from the five-point rating scale. The five-point scale includes the following answers: (1) strongly disagree, (2) disagree, (3) do not know, (4) agree, and (5) strongly agree. Open-ended questions were also adopted in order to collect more reliable data from participants in the target population, which may help in decision making during data analysis.

2.2. Population of the Study

Survey A targeted eight Jordanian partner universities. The surveys were conducted through March, April, and some of them extended to the first week of May 2021 in order to evaluate the following aspects: (1) the capabilities of these partners to teach and train the EV/HEV programs, (2) the availability of facilities and laboratories to teach these programs, (3) the proficiency of the faculty members to teach courses in the suggested programs, and (4) the opportunities to build or improve required facilities in the partner universities. The Jordanian partners that participated in distributing and collecting answers based on their region in the country are:

• Al-Balqa Applied University (BAU), covered Al-Salt-Irbid.
• Al-Hussein Bin Abdullah II Technical University (HTU), covered parts of Amman (Albayader area).
• Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan (ZUJ), covered west Amman (Abu-Alanda, Al-Yadodeh, Al-Jomrok).
• Applied Science Private University (ASU), covered north Amman (Shafa-Badran, Al-Jubiha).
• Jordan University of Science and Tech (JUST) North Jordan (Irbid, Al-Ramtha).
• Mutah university (MU) West Jordan (Maan, Karak).
• Tafila Technical University (TTU) West Jordan (Tafila, Aqaba).
• University of Jordan (UJ) covered parts of Amman and Aqaba.

Surveys were electronically sent to the project partners specifically and given 20 days to be submitted. Thus, the expected number of responses was 8 (1 response from each partner). Survey B was distributed electronically among faculty members who are in-volved in teaching from the eight Jordanian universities. The aim of this survey was to determine the competencies, needs and requirements of faculty members to teach courses in EV/HEV field. Several information about the faculty members, such as age, academic rank, teaching experience, and relevance to the field, were taken into consideration. The results of this survey were used to evaluate the opportunities of establishing the suggested programs. A total of 140 responses to Survey B were completed and submitted by different engineering disciplines. Survey C was sent to the students from different educational backgrounds in the eight partner universities. The survey was filled and submitted by bachelor’s degree, technical diploma, and master’s degree students, with 799 total responses. This survey focused on the needs of the students who would like to enroll in any EV/HEV program. The students’ interest in the program was measured through questions about the program cost, funding opportunities, enrollment flexibility, the offered courses, and mode of lecturing. The population of each survey, i.e., A, B and C, was selected from the partner universities. The surveyed faculty members are instructors/lecturers, assistant professors, associate professors, or full professors from across all academics and employed as full-time faculty members. Survey C was distributed to students from the local community surrounding each partner university.

Table 2. Summary of the participants’ responses from partner universities.

	Survey A		Survey B		Survey C
Partner’s Name	Response Total	Response %	Response Total	Response %	Response Total	Response %
UJ	1	12.5	16	11.4	96	12
JUST	1	12.5	11	7.9	96	12
MU	1	12.5	22	15.7	112	14
TTU	1	12.5	18	12.9	183	23
BAU	1	12.5	26	18.6	104	13
HTU	1	12.5	14	10	80	10
ASU	1	12.5	17	12.1	104	13
ZUJ	1	12.5	16	11.4	24	3

summarizes the responses of participants from each partner university.

2.3. Data Collection Procedures

The data were collected using web-based Google form surveys to investigate the major incentives and barriers facing the development of programs in the EV/HEV field, which are accredited by the Jordanian Ministry of Higher Education.

• The surveys are designed and developed pertaining to the following four programs: Vocational diploma, which has a duration of 9 months of study and training and it includes 300 credit hours.
• Diploma degree, which has 2 years of study and training and it includes 90 credit hours).
• Higher Diploma, which has 1 year of theoretical study with 30 credit hours.
• Bachelor’s technical degree, which has 4 years.

Three surveys were developed to select the best program as described earlier. All surveys were sent at the beginning of March 2021, with email reminder messages delivered two weeks after the first distribution, and the surveys were completed by the beginning of May 2021. A request was sent to the administration offices of the partner universities to fill the required forms based on the selected population. All incomplete or redundant responses were excluded from the result analysis; thus, the given data are based on the accepted responses in the theme of this work.

2.4. Limitations of the Study

This study has several limitations and restrictions. Thus, extrapolating the findings to other academic institutions should be carried out with precaution. The following are the restrictions:

• During the spring semester of the academic year 2020/2021, the research only recommended four EV/HEV programs: vocational training (9 months), diploma (2 years of study and training), higher diploma (1 year of theoretical study), and bachelor’s technical degree (4 years Engineering plan with a focus on EV/HEV). Only eight Jordanian universities were included in the sample: ASU, UJ, JUST, MU, TTU, BAU, HTU, and ZUJ;
• Due to the coronavirus pandemic, conducting direct interviews with the faculty members, students, and stakeholders was challenging. As a result, the online survey approach was employed. Even while online and mobile surveys are the most cost-effective modalities of survey research, they may not reach those respondents who can only reply in other ways;
• Geographical variances, local community interests, and cultural differences may all have an impact on the study’s outcomes;
• Each university’s laboratories and facilities may influence the choice of the best curriculum for the job market;
• When conducting surveys over the Internet, it is important to be aware of technological concerns including the user’s Web browser, network connectivity, and user interface design.

2.5. Validity and Reliability

The surveys were circulated among the participants to provide their feedback. This approach is used to validate the survey data. The data validation is essential to evaluate whether the study contents will reflect the content and definition of the needed concepts or not [31]. The number of questions for survey A, B, and C was 13, 20, and 14, respectively. The average time required to fill in Survey A was about 20 min, whereas Survey B was designed to be filled in within 25 min, since it was directed to faculty members and the accuracy of the program choice depends on their responses. The students’ survey (Survey C) took about 15 min, which is considered reasonable. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for the data reported in this study were as follows: α = 0.82 for partner universities towards adopting programs in EV/HEV fields, α = 0.85 for the faculty members to teach courses in the target field, and α = 0.87 for the student enrollment in the suggested programs. The calculated Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were considered acceptable for data reliability, since α = 0.7 is the acceptable level for social science research according to Cronbach’s alpha scale.

2.6. Data Analysis Procedures

The collected data in this work were subjected to a statistical analysis procedure that includes the use of frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviation values. Several levels of measurement and different techniques, depending on the selected scale measurement, were applied. Statistical Package for Social Science (IBM SPSS Statistics), version 20.0, was used to analyze the statistical data considering the research questions. The results were then reported based on the analysis procedure to give conclusions about the programs proposed by the research team.

3. Results

This section presents the results related to the different surveys. Before the full analysis of the surveys, the findings of the gap analysis, which is conducted in Jordan, is presented. The gap analysis is based on the opinions of professionals in the market of EV/HEV.

3.1. Gap Analysis

Figure 1 presents the findings of a gap analysis about the required knowledge, skills, and technologies that are related to EV/HEV. It can be concluded that the first-place required competency was the “Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Diagnosis for Maintenance and Repair”. Then, “Battery technology, charging safety, and Recharging infrastructure” came in second place.

In addition, Figure 2 displays the main attributes, skills, and knowledge domains that were considered essential. The number of respondents was 50. Figure 2 presents the count of respondents who expressed agreement for each domain. Approximately, 50% of the respondents agreed to the domain of vehicle fault diagnostics, 46% agreed to the domain of technical skills related to EV/HEVs, and 36% of them agreed to the domain of maintenance. In addition, they highlighted personal skills such as critical thinking, ethics, teamwork, and gentle behavior, especially with customers. The results from this gap analysis were used to design and analyze surveys, A, B and C, as will be illustrated in the following sections.

3.2. Survey A: Partner Survey Analysis

This survey was distributed to the eight partners in Jordan to evaluate the following competencies related to EV/HEVs:

• Their current capabilities in teaching and training;
• The existence of facilities and laboratories;
• The capabilities of current teaching and training staff in the field of EV/HEVs;
• The program they will select to be established or improved in their institutions.

3.2.1. Existing Programs and Required Programs for Each Partner

The coordinator from each partner institution filled out one survey. The coordinator listed the preferred program, which will be established in their university, out of the four suggested programs. Figure 3 shows the selected programs where seven of the partners preferred to have the vocational diploma, while the University of Jordan (UJ) preferred to have the higher diploma. None of the partners preferred to have the diploma degree or the Bachelor‘s technical degree.

Table 3. Summary of the responses about the existing and required programs for each partner university.

	Vocational Training Diploma	Diploma Degree	Bachelor’s Technical Degree	Higher Diploma	Other
TTU	New	Existing (Improve)			Mec.Eng. Automobile (Bachelor)
BAU	New	Existing (Improve)	Existing (Improve)
ASPU	Existing (Improve)
JUST	New				NA*
UJ	Existing (Improve)			New
MU	New			Existing (Improve)
ZUJ	Existing (Improve)
HTU	New	Existing (Improve)

* NA: Not available.

below shows a summary of the exiting and required programs for each partner.

3.2.2. Contents of Program and Its Relevance to the Needs of the Partner University

The values depicted in Figure 4 represent the percentage of partners who responded with a “YES” to questions 4 through 8. The majority of the partners agreed that the courses teach the necessary practical skills and that most of the course content is useful for building a strong program. The courses that will be offered for each program are listed in Appendix A. Partners who answered “NO” suggested adding/removing courses from the different programs as listed in

Table 4. List of courses to be added or removed based on the partner’s answers.

Program	Suggested Courses to Be Added	Suggested Courses to Be Removed
Vocational diploma	Electrical machines (Motors)
Diploma degree	Electrical machines
Higher diploma	Autopilot system, Engineering drawing, Internal combustion, Circuit, Sensors, CAN, Vehicle assemblies
Bachelor’s technical degree	Basic courses in mechanical and electrical engineering	Thermodynamic 2

.

Figure 5 shows the percentage of partners who answered “YES” to the questions related to the different programs. As shown, the majority of the partners agreed to the suggestions about courses, duration, and practical training duration. Partners who answered “NO” suggested the following modifications:

• Vocational training duration should be one year plus six months of training.
• A higher diploma should have at least three months of practical training.

3.2.3. Role of the Graduates of Planned Programs in Fulfilling the Future Needs

Table 5. Partner responses to the questions about the role of the program graduates.

Statements	Program	Fully Agree	Partially Agree	None
Build the practical skills of engineers in this field to meet the needs of expanding EV and HEV market in Jordan	Vocational Diploma	83.3%	16.7%	0.0%
	Diploma (2 years)	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%
	Higher Diploma	87.5%	12.5%	0.0%
	Bachelor’s Technical Degree	87.5%	12.5%	0.0%
Increase the employability of graduates in local and international markets	Vocational Diploma	83.3%	16.7%	0.0%
	Diploma (2 years)	57.1%	42.9%	0.0%
	Higher Diploma	75.0%	25.0%	0.0%
	Bachelor’s Technical Degree	62.5%	37.5%	0.0%
Through this program, students will obtain the needed skills to maintain, operate, and repair electric and hybrid vehicles with appropriate knowledge in the fields of transportation and logistics	Vocational Diploma	66.7%	33.3%	0.0%
	Diploma (2 years)	85.7%	14.3%	0.0%
	Higher Diploma	50.0%	50.0%	0.0%
	Bachelor’s Technical Degree	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Improve the level of provided services for maintaining, operating, and repairing electric and hybrid vehicles in Jordanian enterprises.	Vocational Diploma	66.7%	33.3%	0.0%
	Diploma (2 years)	85.7%	14.3%	0.0%
	Higher Diploma	87.5%	12.5%	0.0%
	Bachelor’s Technical Degree	75.0%	25.0%	0.0%
Helping to move Jordan forward to become a host for electrical and hybrid vehicles industry in future	Vocational Diploma	66.7%	33.3%	0.0%
	Diploma (2 years)	57.1%	42.9%	0.0%
	Higher diploma	75.0%	25.0%	0.0%
	Bachelor’s Technical Degree	75.0%	25.0%	0.0%

shows that the majority of the partners agreed to the role that the program graduates will play in meeting the expanding market needs in the future; the program is a vocational diploma, diploma (2 years), higher diploma, or Bachelor’s technical degree. Graduates will obtain the needed skills to maintain, operate, and repair EV/HEVs with appropriate knowledge in the fields of transportation and logistics. The graduates will have the practical skills needed for expanding the EV/HEV market, which increases their employability in local and international enterprises. In addition, the majority of the partners mentioned that the program will help move Jordan forward to become a host for the EV/HEV industry in the future.

3.2.4. Summary

This report presents the partner universities’ responses to the “Partner Survey”. Eight universities are surveyed: Al-Hussein Bin Abdullah II Technical University (HTU), Al-Zaytoonah University of Jordan (ZUJ), Applied Science Private University (ASU), Jordan University of Science and Tech (JUST), Mutah university (MU), Tafila Technical University (TTU), and University of Jordan (UJ). Seven partners prefer to have a “vocational diploma” while the University of Jordan (UJ) prefers to have a “higher diploma”. The majority of the partners agreed to the suggestions about the content and duration of the four programs. In addition, the majority of the partners agreed to the suggested roles that the program’s graduates might play in enhancing the technical services related to EV/HEV. All participants agreed that the programs will play a role in building good practical skills.

3.3. Survey B: Faculty Member Survey

This survey targeted academic (faculty) members in partner universities to evaluate their competencies and their needs related to teaching and training on EV/HEVs. Also, it surveys their opinions about the courses offered by the suggested programs. The participants were also asked to add or remove courses.

3.3.1. The Capability and Responsibility of the Faculty Members

The faculty members within the partner universities were surveyed. The information about the participants is summarized blow; also shown in Figure 6:

• All partner universities participated in the survey.
• A total of 40% of faculty members are between 30 and 45 years old.
• About 50 of them are either assistants or associate professors.
• More than 70% have more than 5 years of teaching experience.
• About 57.9% used EV/HEV technology during teaching.
• More than 50% are Mechanical Engineers and 24% are Electrical Engineers. Some of them are from different fields, such as, Energy and Mechatronics Engineering.

Figure 7 presents the responses to question 7 listed in Survey B. More than 60% of the staff either are planning to teach or are already teaching courses related to HEV/EVs. Only 10.7% of the faculty members are currently teaching a course utilizing best practices in EV/HEV, and only 12.1% have done this in the past. Figure 8 shows that 82.1% of faculty have attended specialized HEV/HV training sessions, while 17.9% did not.

3.3.2. Contents of Program and Its Relevance to the Needs of the University

Figure 8 shows the responses of faculty members to questions related to courses they are teaching. Only 48% of the surveyed faculty mentioned that their curriculum has courses related to vehicle technology. Those courses are mainly the internal combustion engine and/or autotronics courses. When they were asked about courses that deal with EV/HEV technology, 66% of faculty answered “NO”. Those who answered “YES”, mentioned that the curriculum includes general introductory courses that are usually not mandatory (optional) courses about Hybrid Vehicles Technology or Electric Vehicle Engineering. Thus, the new program must include EV/HEV courses that can be used by those faculty members to teach students about up-to-date technology. In addition, Figure 8 shows that there is a minimal number of labs in the partner universities. Thus, there is an urgent need to equip those universities with specialized laboratories (so that they have up-to-date equipment) to enable both the faculty and students to gain practical experience.

Figure 9 shows that 73.6% of the surveyed faculty members mentioned that there are no professors specializing in EV/HEVs, based on the answers to Question 12. Most of the faculty mentioned that if there are EV/HEV labs, they will be of great help in teaching/research/learning and curriculum design engagement, based on the answers to Question 13. Thus, establishing those programs is very important to help professors build a specialty in EV/HEVs and to prepare the labs for researchers, teachers, students, and the community as well. This will also enable hands on teaching/learning opportunities by creating cooperation between faculty members, students, and EV/HEV enterprises, as currently there is only a 33.6% chance of cooperation between partner universities and HV/HEV enterprises, based on the answers to Question 14.

Table 6. Faculty votes about the course content for different programs.

Program	17. Does the Program Fulfil the Practical Skills Needed?	18. Are the Concepts and Principles Relevant to Future Needs?	19. Do the Suggested Course Contents Help to Build a Strong Program?	20. Does the Suggested Courses Contents Cover All Relevant Subjects/Topics?	21. Are the Subjects Relevant
Vocational Diploma (9 months, 300 h)	66.7%	69.7%	75.8%	90.1%	90.9%
Diploma (2 years after high school)	62.1%	71.2%	75.8%	78.8%	89.4%
Higher Diploma (for Mechanical, Electrical, and Mechatronics engineers), 30 credit hours	73.2%	73.2%	73.2%	80.5%	81.7%
Bachelor’s Technical Degree (4 years)	70.5%	70.5%	71.2%	77.7%	88.5%

shows the votes of the faculty members about the courses that will be offered by the different programs. The majority of the faculty members agreed that the content covers the needed practical skills. Also, most of the course content is relevant to the program, which helps build a strong program. They suggested increasing the lab work and to add the courses listed in

Table 7. Suggested courses to be added to the different programs.

Program	Suggested Courses
Diploma (2 years after high school)	Maintenance of HEV Autopilot Battery replacement/remanufacturing and end-of-life strategies Electrical machines Braking system, Steering system
Higher Diploma (for Mechanical, Electrical and Mechatronics engineers), 30 credit hours	HEV maintenance Battery end-life strategies Electrical machines Charger stations
Bachelor’s Technical Degree (4 years)	Battery production/ remanufacturing, end of life, waste, and battery cost, and battery charging station related decision making Automotive electric and electronic systems, automotive steering, and braking systems

.

3.3.3. Contents of Program and Its Relevance to the Needs of the Market

The majority of the surveyed faculty agreed on the role that the graduates will play in meeting the expanding market needs in the future as shown in

Table 8. Role of the graduates of planned program in fulfilling the future needs.

	Strongly Agree		Agree		Neutral		Disagree		Strongly Disagree
Statements	Faculty	Students	Faculty	Students	Faculty	Students	Faculty	Students	Faculty	Students
Build the practical skills of engineers to meet the needs of expanding EV and HEV market in Jordan	56.3%	51.4%	35.3%	37.1%	6.7%	9.4%	0.8%	1.4%	0.8%	0.7%
Increase the employability of graduates in local and international markets	51.3%	50.2%	38.7%	35.5%	8.4%	10.6%	0.8%	3.0%	0.8%	0.7%
Improve the level of provided services for maintaining, operating, and repairing electric and hybrid vehicles.	52.1%	43.6%	39.5%	42.5%	6.7%	10.8%	0.8%	2.6%	0.8%	0.5%
Helping to move Jordan forward to become a host for electrical and hybrid vehicles industry in future	43.7%	44.9%	45.4%	35.5%	9.2%	14.6%	0.8%	3.8%	0.8%	1.0%
Fulfill roles of vehicle engineering tasks, like improvement and operation, taking into account safety, environment, and energy management.	45.4%	46.2%	47.1%	40.1%	6.7%	10.6%	0.0%	2.6%	0.8%	0.5%

. The graduates will have the practical skills needed for maintaining, operating, and repairing EV/HEVs while taking into account safety, environment, and energy management, which increases their employability. In addition, the program will help Jordan to be involved in the EV/HEV industry.

3.3.4. Summary

In summary, based on the faculty survey, the following needs must be addressed when introducing the new programs:

• Improve the curriculum structure and design of EV/HEV courses that can be used by faculty members to teach the students about up-to-date technology. In addition, there is a minimal number of labs in the partner universities, thus there is an urgent need to prepare those universities with specialized laboratories to enable both the faculty and students to gain practical experience.
• Have specialized training courses that will enhance the practical training of the faculty members.
• Help faculty members to build specialty in EV/HEVs and to prepare the labs for researchers, teachers, students, and the community as well. This will also enable hands-on teaching/learning opportunities by creating cooperation between faculty members, students, and EV/HEV enterprises.
• The graduates will have the practical skills needed for maintaining, operating, and repairing EV/HEVs while taking into account safety, environment, and energy management, which increases their employability.

3.4. Survey C: Student Survey

3.4.1. Profile and Level of Students Who Responded to the Survey

Figure 10 shows that the surveyed students come from different educational backgrounds. The majority of them have a Bachelor’s degree. Figure 11 shows that they come from different partner universities.

3.4.2. Contents of Program and Its Relevance to the Needs of Students

Figure 12 shows that nearly 44% of surveyed students prefer the higher diploma and 33% prefer the vocational training diploma. Figure 13 shows that nearly 70% of surveyed students have a high interest or a somewhat high interest in the proposed programs. And there is a high probability that they will submit an application to study this program when it is launched. On the other hand, Figure 14 shows that 60% of the students searched for similar programs in Jordan and abroad. In addition, Figure 14 shows that the majority of the surveyed students believe that the program graduates will have more employment opportunities, and they would recommend others to enroll in the program. Thus, opening the new programs and/or creating training courses that target EV/HEVs would increase employment opportunities.

Figure 15 shows that 52% of the students prefer to have a campus-based (face-to-face) lecturing mode. This is true mainly because of the practical and experimental work required to study EV/HEVs, either through laboratories or through training. Thus, opening the programs will force the establishment of labs with equipment that has up-to-date technology. In addition, the project will open opportunities for students and lecturers to have practical training in local enterprises. On the other hand, 36% of students prefer to have a blended lecturing mode to save them time and effort since they reside in distant locations. Thus, creating an online platform will enable the students to access the course material and study courses online.

Figure 16 shows that 60% of the students assured that there should be mixed learning modes to increase the interest of students in the proposed program. In addition, factors such as providing funding, reasonable price per credit hour, and flexible enrolment schedules affect their interest in the program.

3.4.3. Summary

In summary, based on the student survey, the following needs must be addressed when introducing the new programs:

• Fulfill students’ needs by increasing employment opportunities when launching the programs and creating training courses that target EV/HEVs.
• In addition, there is a minimal number of labs in the partner universities, thus there is an urgent need to prepare those universities with specialized laboratories to enable both the faculty and students to gain practical experience.
• Provide opportunities for students and lecturers to have practical training in local enterprises.
• Create an online platform to enable students to access the course material and study courses online.
• Design EV/HEV courses that can be used by faculty members to teach the students about up-to-date technology.

4. Discussion

4.1. Current Capabilities Analysis

In order to evaluate the gap between the requirements and needs resulted from Surveys A, B and C a screening of the as is situation is presented. The already existing study structure as well as the existing teaching and lab infrastructure are studied. By direct comparison between partner universities, existing and/or required courses and laboratories can be identified.

4.1.1. Structure of the University

First, a scan of the location of the partner universities is shown in

Table 9. Location and capacity of partner universities.

	ASU	BAU	HTU	JUST	MU	TTU	UJ	ZUJ
Location	Amman	AL-Salt	Amman	Irbid	Karak	Tafila	Amman	Amman
Number of students registered at the university	5001–10,000	>30,000	<3000	20,001–30,000	20,001–30,000	5001–10,000	>30,000	5001–10,000
Number of faculty members appointed at the university	211–420	>630	<60	>630	420–630	211–420	>630	211–420
Number of students registered at the faculty of Engineering	500–1000	>2500	<500	>2500	>2500	2000–2500	>2500	500–1000
Number of faculty members appointed at the faculty of engineering	>15	>15	11–15	>15	>15	>15	>15	>15

. The partner universities cover the north, middle, and south of Jordan, which will guarantee that the established programs’ benefit will spread across the country.

In addition, Table 9 shows the number of students and faculty members. It is clear that the faculty of engineering constitutes nearly 10% of the university. Thus, there will be enough capability to achieve the benefits from the new programs.

4.1.2. Existing Courses

Table 10. List of existing/non-existing courses in the different partner universities.

	Legend		ASU	BAU	HTU	JUST	MU	TTU	UJ	ZUJ
		Currently Offered
		Currently Not Offered, but Planned
		Not Offered and Not Planned
B1	COURSE
B1.1	Fundamental knowledge in mechanical, electrical and mechatronics science
	Basic electrical and electronics
	Principles of thermal engineering
	Fluid and hydraulic machines
	Measurements and instrumentations
	Thermodynamics
	Hydraulic and pneumatic controls
	Power electronics
	Energy storage
	Automotive engineering
	Internal combustion engines
	Automobile electrical and electronic systems
	Other:
B1.2	Fundamental technical knowledge in EV/HEVs
	Hybrid and electric vehicle basics
	EV and HEV technology and hazardous material
	Automobile systems and subsystems
	Well to wheel LCA calculations
	Construction of vehicle manufacturing systems
	Electrical power transmission system
	Other:
B1.3	Applied technical knowledge in EV/HEVs
	Battery technology, charging safety, and recharging infrastructure
	Electric and hybrid vehicles diagnosis for maintenance and repair
	Automotive climate control systems and vehicle lighting system
	Low-voltage system and modern electronic ignition systems.
	Automotive diagnostics and repair faults electric hybrid vehicles
	Other:

lists the existing/non-existing courses in the different partner universities. Cells marked in yellow show the existing courses at the University. Cells marked in blue show that those courses are planned to be offered. Cells marked in red show that the courses are not offered and are not planned to be offered.

Courses in the fundamental knowledge in mechanical, electrical, and mechatronics science are already well established in the different universities. The main shortage in courses are those related to the field of fundamental technical knowledge in EV/HEVs and applied technical knowledge in EV/HEVs. Nevertheless, such courses are offered in some of the participating universities; exchange of information and exchange of knowledge between them maybe possible.

Table 11. List of software labs.

B2	Software Lab	ASU	BAU	HTU	JUST	MU	TTU	UJ	ZUJ
	Automotive database software lab.
	Programming and simulation
	Modelling (Mat lab, Simulink, …)
	Control (SPS, LabVIEW, …)
	Thermal simulation (TRNSYS,
	E Plus, solar systems, PV, …)
	Building physics and moisture simulations (Comsol, Delphin …)
	Computational fluid dynamics
	Structural analysis (FEM, …)
	CAD (Katia, ProEngineer, Solid Works …)
	Project management and controlling
	Technical English
	Scientific work
	Quality management (ISO 9001) [32]
	Environmental management (ISO 14001) [33]
	Waste management
	Other:

shows the existing software labs infrastructure and the required software labs for each partner that may be needed. The technical experience required for those labs can be exchanged between partner universities.

Most universities have many laboratories specified for engineering students. But they lack laboratories for EV/HEVs as shown in

Table 12. Laboratories infrastructure.

B3	Laboratories Used for EV/HEV.	ASU	BAU	HTU	JUST	MU	TTU	UJ	ZUJ
	Hybrid vehicles workshop
	Electrical vehicles workshop
	Automobile systems and subsystems lab
	Other:

. Nevertheless, there is space within universities to establish the labs, as shown in Figure 17.

5. Conclusions

The current work has revealed the specific needs for EV/HEV education in Jordan taking into account the contribution of academic levels filling in the survey. The results of this study are considered key aspects to establish programs in the EV/HEV field according to the ministry of higher education regulations. The web-based surveys were developed to determine the incentives and barriers in the EV/HEV field and to enrich Jordan higher education with updated course curriculum. The target population for this study consisted of partners, faculty members, and students from different disciplines and educational levels. The number of responses was sufficient to perform data analysis and to select required programs.

The following conclusions could be drawn from the current investigation based on the data collected from the three surveys:

• It is concluded from Survey A that seven partners prefer to have a vocational diploma program while the University of Jordan (UJ) prefers to have a higher diploma program. Furthermore, the analysis showed that the majority of the partners accepted the contents and duration of the four proposed programs.
• It is important to create and/or improve the EV/HEV course curriculum to enable faculty members to use new technology in teaching and training. This conclusion was drawn from Survey B.
• The students in Survey C felt that the establishment of the new programs will satisfy their technological needs and will increase their employment opportunities. This is true when courses and training that target EV/HEV field are provided. Moreover, it is required to equip the laboratories with up-to-date instruments that contain new technologies in the EV/HEV training, maintenance and diagnoses fields.

Additionally, the current study highlights the need to gain more information from other groups, such as enterprises, training centers, and companies. In fact, the participation of these sectors will enrich the research results and can provide reliable information on the future of EV/HEV employment in Jordan. Thus, it is recommended to expand the population groups in future works.

This work used self-reported data that was collected using a web-based survey. Thus, future research should involve triangulation techniques, which use follow-up studies with a selected sample of the original respondents using qualitative data collection methods, in order to validate the collected data.