Assessment of Biomedical Engineering Education Curriculum and Laboratory Facilities at Nigerian Federal Universities

The quality of biomedical engineering education in Nigerian federal universities is a determinant of the technical capacity of the country's future clinical engineering workforce, yet a systematic assessment of curriculum content and laboratory facility adequacy across institutions has not been conducted. This study assesses the biomedical engineering curriculum structure and laboratory facilities at five federal universities offering biomedical engineering degree programmes, covering institutions in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Sokoto, and Kano. Curriculum assessment used a structured matrix comparing course content against the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology biomedical engineering curriculum guidelines as a reference standard, supplemented by interviews with programme coordinators. Laboratory facility assessment employed a standardized checklist evaluating the availability of key equipment categories including patient simulators, signal acquisition equipment, biomedical workshop tools, imaging phantoms, and biomechanical testing apparatus. Findings indicate significant variation across institutions in curriculum coverage of clinical engineering, biomaterials, and medical imaging modalities. Four of five institutions showed substantive gaps in imaging technology and clinical systems engineering courses relative to international benchmarks. Laboratory equipment was rated adequate in basic electronics and signal processing categories at three institutions, but all five showed critical shortfalls in patient simulator availability and clinical engineering practice equipment. Industry collaboration arrangements for student clinical placement were formally established at only two institutions. The study recommends development of a national biomedical engineering curriculum framework, targeted laboratory equipment investment, and structured industry partnership agreements. Keywords: biomedical engineering education, curriculum assessment, laboratory facilities, Nigerian universities, clinical engineering.