My topic this month is knowledge, both factual and experiential. Factual knowledge is gained at school or university and through reading. Subjects such as mathematics and physical science are no longer compulsory in South African schools. This results in an enormous gap that adversely affects students with an aptitude for engineering. Although this needs to be addressed, the SAIMC is not the vehicle for this task.
Vivian MacFadyen
We have, however, made a commitment to the academic and skills development of our future engineers. This is reflected in the award of bursaries to students at two universities. This is a costly exercise, but we are looking at ways to roll this out to a wider group of academic and technical education facilities. The Durban branch deserves mention for its scholarship programmes at universities in KwaZulu-Natal. Other branches are aligning with technical training institutions and the Zambian branch has done sterling work in this area. These are the ways the SAIMC is trying to assist with the development of factual knowledge. However, this alone does not produce competent engineers.
Experiential knowledge is something you must discipline yourself to acquire during life. This is the knowledge that makes you valuable. To a large degree this is knowledge that graduates do not have and we strive to support those interested in this field of endeavour.
We are working on an initiative to introduce promising students, employers and sponsors to each other. There are sponsors in the industry who cannot provide training but have funds available, and then there are those who can provide training, but do not have the financial resources. The SAIMC can act as a facilitator in the alleviation of the skills shortage within South Africa. This will help students to obtain experiential training after achieving P1 and P2 levels at a technical university. While recognising the importance of academic achievements we feel that real skill is developed by hands-on experience where academic knowledge is put to practical use. Our aim is to support students wanting to enter into the instrumentation and control industry.
The key to it all is enthusiasm - this develops love for a subject and creates a positive feedback that is difficult to halt.
In closing, I would like to extend my very best wishes to members and their families over the upcoming festive season.
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