Thami Mpala on World Engineering Day: “build back wiser – engineering the future”

By Engineer Thami Mpala

The Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers (ZIE) joins the rest of the world in the commemoration of the world engineering week under the theme “build back wiser – engineering the future”.

This global celebration was renamed World Engineering Day as a joint venture with the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO) to highlight the achievements of engineers, technicians, scientists and technologists around the world and improve the public understanding of the importance of engineering and technology.

Engineers and the engineering practice are crucial to the economic development of the country, whilst also taking into consideration the risks of climate change to ensure sustainable development.

Engineers and engineering is celebrated every calendar year, with commemorations beginning on the 4th of March of every year. The World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development (WED) is an official International day proclaimed in 2019 by UNESCO following a proposal that was submitted by the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO).

In this respect, I am delighted that Zimbabwe is participating in this year’s activities to commemorate WED and celebrate the works of Zimbabwean engineers across the country and even beyond our borders who have shone and worked tirelessly by contributing to the rehabilitation and development of new infrastructure.

In the same vein, I would like to thank our Government for their drive and commitment to the country infrastructure agenda where significant progress is being made in the energy, transport, road, water, housing and information technology sectors.

As engineers, this brings a lot of delight to us, and we begin to see the country slowly but surely work its way towards modern infrastructural development with first class standards.

The Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers is a multi-disciplinary institution covering all aspects of engineering and whose operations and membership are regulated by a Private Act of Parliament.

ZIE aims to set and maintain appropriate standards of practice of engineering for engineers, technologists and technicians, whilst promoting the advancement of engineering and technology transfer.

This year, ZIE has partnered with the UNESCO regional office in Harare and a number of other stakeholders in industry and academia to celebrate engineers and engineering on the 4th of March and the week commencing Monday the 7th of March.

There will be a host of activities and events lined up across the country as we commemorate the engineers and engineering work being done. One of the highlights of these evets will be the inaugural Graduate Engineers Career Indaba that will be held at the University of Zimbabwe on the 11th of March.

The aim of this event is to include our youth (graduate engineers) in our planning and strategic outlook and aim to bridge the gap between those thousands of engineers who graduate every year from academic institutions against the uptake of the very same into industry and the corporate world.

Engineering calls for a continuous revolving conveyor belt of engineering expertise and knowledge so that we maintain and sustain our infrastructure.

By doing this we help to ensure there are no generational gaps in engineering knowledge and application and at the same time assist in the process of continuity in engineering standards for many years to come.

As a nation we must be cognisant of the fact that, any country that pays great attention to promoting the engineering profession will inevitably achieve greater success and realize improved economic performance.

To commemorate the engineering week, ZIE will broadcast on its social media platforms all the activities and events across the country and the region. We urge you to join in and participate in the activities and I wish you a very happy and informative world-engineering week.

More details for specific world engineering day activities and events can be found by contacting the ZIE office.

Thami Mpala is a Professional Civil Engineer, Managing Director of Hydro-Utilities (Pvt) Ltd Consulting Engineers and President of the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineers.