We have just celebrated our annual Networking and Gala Dinner which was a resounding success. This event is branded as ‘The Premier C&I event of the Year’ and we will build on this solid foundation in the future. We really appreciate the support we received from the industry, our Patron members and partners such IIG, SACAC and ECSA. This event would have not been possible without the support of our volunteers in the Public Relations committee at the SAIMC, our Secretariat and our events partner, élan Communications. Heartfelt thanks from me and the SAIMC Council to all of you for your fantastic work!
Council continues to engage with the ECSA Thought Leadership Forum with the SAIMC playing a coordinating role for the Electrical Engineering Task Team which submitted its preliminary report on the 31 October. This report has our short, medium and long-term goals along with communication strategies etc.
Other exciting news relating to ECSA is that the SAIMC had a very positive meeting with them regarding two issues:
1. Enabling SAIMC members to sit on the interview panel for professional registration with ECSA.
2. The recognition of Control and Instrumentation as the 10th engineering discipline by ECSA.
Our vice president, Oratile Sematle, was instrumental in arranging this meeting and in the compilation of the subsequent proposals that the ECSA team requested. Our proposals have to go through the various committees at ECSA and eventually ECSA council will make a decision on our recognition as the 10th discipline. In this regard we asked our members to vote on what this discipline should be called: Measurement & Control, Control & Instrumentation, Automation & Control etc. We will announce the discipline name once ECSA gives us feedback on the proposal.
We were also asked to nominate two representatives to serve on the ECSA Professional Advisory Committee on Electrical Engineering. The SAIMC will get these seats subject to vacancies becoming available. This will greatly assist our members who complain about being interviewed by non C&I people who do not fully appreciate their presentation for professional registration. In future, once the Identification of Engineering Work laws (IoEW) is passed, this will be critical as all C&I professionals will need to register if they want to be able to sign off their own work.
These are two HUGE steps in ensuring that Control and Instrumentation gets the recognition it deserves. Thank you Oratile for leading this for the SAIMC!
And if that was not enough good news, there is more. SAIMC council has taken the bold decision to support two worthy causes:
1. The renovation of the University of Pretoria electrical engineering laboratory. This sponsorship will enable us to show-case C&I to the electrical and electronic engineering students for the foreseeable future.
2. The First Technology Challenge (FTC) in SA. The FTC is the big brother to the First Lego League (FLL) that the SAIMC has been supporting with a trailer over the past number of years. The FTC is the natural progression of the FLL kids as it is designed for learners in grades 7-12 to compete head to head, using a sports model. Teams are responsible for designing, building, and programming their robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. The robot kit is reusable from year-to-year and is programmed using a variety of languages. Teams, including coaches, mentors and volunteers, are required to develop strategy and build robots based on sound engineering principles. Awards are given for the competition as well as for community outreach, design, and other real-world accomplishments. For more information go to http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/ftc
I am sure our members will appreciate this investment of their funds in such worthy causes. You will find the official press release on our website www.saimc.co.za
Please e-mail me on [email protected] with your constructive feedback.
Working together, achieving more,
Vinesh Maharaj, President
| Tel: | +27 11 312 2445 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.saimc.co.za |
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