Opinion piece written by Engineers Australia’s South Australia President, Niki Robinson MIEAust.
Over the past month in Adelaide it was an interesting coincidence to see two intrinsically connected events fall on the same day; the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) event ‘The race to be a future city’ and ‘Ingenuity’ hosted by The University of Adelaide.
Focusing on the City of Adelaide’s 2016-2020 Strategic Plan, the CEDA event highlighted the four key themes: Smart, Green, Liveable and Creative. Speakers discussed setting a plan to enrich Adelaide’s lifestyle and boost its growth by becoming one of the world’s smartest cities with a globally-connected and opportunity-rich economy.
Secondly, ‘Ingenuity’, was a showcase of The University of Adelaide’s student projects exploring the dynamic world and applications of engineering, computer and mathematic sciences. As tomorrow’s game changers these students were celebrated as the men and women who will shape the world’s technical, social and commercial future.
Although this appears to be a positive coincidence, the reality is there is a critical risk to success.
Currently, South Australia is seeing an overall decline in the number of students studying engineering. The data and anecdotal evidence is telling us that high school leavers are heading interstate to study engineering with the hope that they will have a more prosperous career and future. This is not the outcome that we want to see, but what is the solution?
One solution is to start connecting our industry with our education system.
We need to promote the possibilities that this State has to offer students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), especially engineering.
South Australia has a mature and diverse engineering industry, from energy to mining to advanced manufacturing. However, our industry’s diversity and possibilities aren’t as well known to the broader community.
It is for this reason, Engineers Australia’s South Australia Division Committee is turning its focus to the Future Workforce and communicating the message that engineers are, and will continue to be critical in: effecting change to existing products and services; how products and services are created and delivered; changes to the context in which products and services are introduced; and changes in underlying models and technologies.
It is the current and next generation of engineers that will achieve the successful future of South Australia.
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