Engineering Reloaded

Jul 18, 2012 Editorial

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Among the three components of growth, namely, human, natural and physical capitals, the greatest contribution is by human capital, to the tune of up to a staggering sixty-four per cent. In comparison, to quote the World Bank, natural and physical capitals contribute 20% and 16%, respectively.
Indeed, the development of human capital is the primary factor for establishing the direction and pace of national progress and prosperity. Though rich in human resources, compared to many other colonies at the time of independence, Guyana remains under-developed to a great extent. The efforts made to augment our human resources in the mid-seventies through the introduction of the “free education” initiative were significant, but soon foundered, not necessarily because of weaknesses in the programme itself, but rather in the collapse of the national economy.
With the change of government in 1992, welcome efforts have been made to revive the development of this most valuable resource, and the government’s expenditure on education has risen significantly. But the hard reality is that we still need to strive to generate a vision for developing human resources in the fast globalizing world in which we are enmeshed.
A case in point is the low base of engineers available at national and international level, in quantitative as well as in qualitative terms. Just consider the Supenaam Stelling fiasco. For many reasons, there appears to be a lack of will and commitment, which has resulted in declining interest in science in general, and engineering studies in particular at the University of Guyana – our sole tertiary institution. It would be interesting to learn what percentage of our student body is enrolled for engineering degrees.
In our times of changing trends, an engineer’s role is not confined anymore to that of an inventor or creator, but has been extended to that of a contractor, consultant, teacher, manager and other technical professionals. Similarly, the erstwhile traditional branches of civil engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, mining and geological engineering, metallurgical engineering, industrial and manufacturing engineering or agricultural engineering have diversified further.
In fact, the quality of our engineers directly affects the quality of our daily lives — from defence to infrastructure to telecommunications to consumer goods. The recent advancements have thus re-defined the branches of engineering, which now cover all spheres of life and every aspect of society.
In short, an engineer skilfully and optimally manages the resources of human, finance, materials, machines and energy into completed processes, and is also responsible for management planning and business development. Likewise, professional work is no more limited to its design, analysis and/or construction or development of a product. The engineer employs knowledge, expertise and experience to evaluating and solving problems of national economic planning, given the opportunity and resources.
Like the past and the present, the future too belongs to the engineers. The country is faced with new and serious challenges of globalisation and competition, water and power deficiencies, fostering industrialisation, and the need for rapid infrastructure development, thus creating a demand for more highly qualified engineers on par with the newly industrialised and developed countries.
There is a need therefore to address the issues of quality engineering education seriously, ideally through joint efforts of the government policymakers, educational institutions and employers, primarily from industry. To cope with the challenges of the new millennium, with a view to taking the nation higher on the path of progress and prosperity, it is imperative to strengthen and supervise the present system of engineering education.
Since UG does appear otherwise occupied, it is proposed the government establish another organisation, exclusively for extending support to the engineers for continuing their engineering education and creating an effective industry-university linkage. This will provide a forum to the engineers for expanding knowledge and skills in respective disciplines, assimilation of new technologies and advancement of careers, through exchange of ideas and viewpoints with the government, educational institutions, industry and media.
The proposed organisation can also encourage the promotion and dissemination of scholarly research work and keep abreast with the global advancements in engineering practices, technology and engineering education.

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