The year is coming to an end and we have just had our annual celebration gala dinner. We presented to you our successes, challenges and the manner in which we have immersed ourselves in the realities of the environment in which we operate. During the evening, I noted that over the past two years we witnessed widespread unrest of young people, increasing levels of unemployment, further collapse of our healthcare system (in need of technological advancements) and the shrinking South African economy as social and economic factors that cut across the breath of the automation industry. In response to these surfacing challenges, the SAIMC council cemented labour policy making at the heart of our organisational strategy and operational envelope. In brief, labour policy in this regard refers to reshaping the South African educational systems (higher learning institutions) to suit the demands of the current economy, while at the same time, upskilling, the current labour force in the quest to minimise obsolete jobs.
As the SAIMC leadership, we realised early in the year that we cannot ignore the landscape of our ‘context’, and have therefore deliberately, although unobtrusively, confronted our political and demographic realities.
Lastly, we also demonstrated our continued collaborative efforts established with various governmental institutions such as, Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and EWSETA. The need for increasing our stakeholder footprint, particularly cross-industry and in the public sector, has never been greater. As such, we believe that our growing and fruitful relationship with organisations such as the Manufacturing Indaba will fortify our intentions for national and global impact. We have also set out to ‘hold hands’ with organisations such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Science & Technology (DST).
For those who could not make it, see the event report in this issue. The glittering gala dinner coupled with the new ‘organisational persona’ further crystallised the vision and the invigorating strategic intent of the SAIMC. Our guest speaker, Dr Adriana Marais, was selected to heighten the dimension of ‘celebrating the unknown’ within the SAIMC. This because we realise that the allure of the unknown is far more powerful than the comfort of the known, and that these psychological orientations yield tremendous success for organisations.
To elaborate, Dr Marais, a theoretical physicist and aspiring extraterrestrial, believes that we are living at a unique point in the history of life on earth. Developments in science and technology are taking place at an unprecedented rate, and the expansion of our society beyond this planet is within reach. In her presentation she spoke about her research in quantum biology and the origins of life, the technology required to sustain terrestrial life on Mars and the various projects aiming to send crewed missions there.
She describes how the establishment and potential discovery of evidence of, life on Mars would be one of the most profound contributions of science to humanity. To this end, I would like to thank the SAIMC council, delegates from the industry, educational, governmental and engineering institutions that continue to support the SAIMC and make it what it is today. And of course, I cannot forget our members, patrons and business partners who form such a crucial part of the engine that propels the SAIMC forward.
Yours in automation,
Oratile Sematle.
| Tel: | +27 11 312 2445 |
| Email: | [email protected] |
| www: | www.saimc.co.za |
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