Teaching and training operations research in Jordanian Universities: an empirical study

This study evaluates the current status of the teaching and training of operations research (OR) in Jordan. The aim is to explore the objectives, topics covered and methods employed in teaching OR courses. It assesses the suitability of the courses to the needs of decision makers and the difficulties encountered in delivering the courses. Two questionnaires were employed. The first was directed to all educators teaching OR courses within all relevant Jordanian Universities during the summer semester 2003. The second was presented to 168 students who were studying OR courses in a random sample of six Universities. It is concluded that OR education in Jordan does not satisfy the needs of decision makers. Some of the problems identified in OR education is the relevance of the curriculum, lack of local teaching materials and specialised personnel, lack of training programmes and computer usage.