Dr. Steve Mackay is the founder of the Engineering Institute of Technology. He firmly believes in Nelson Mandela’s mantra that, “Education is the most powerful weapon which we can use to change the world.” His leadership has inspired EIT’s unique and distinctive approach to engineering education.

Since 2008 three core objectives define the essence of the institute:

Collaborating comprehensively with industry to ensure graduates are job-ready.
Employing platforms of learning to facilitate student accessibility and engagement.
Keeping the business of education student-centric.

Dr. Mackay has enjoyed a varied career in engineering, having worked in automation, data acquisition, instrumentation, data communications, and process control throughout Australia, Europe, Africa, and North America over the past 35 years. He has successfully pioneered the application of new technologies in Australia and overseas, installing industrial data communication systems and implementing live online education, (including remote laboratories), for engineering students worldwide. Dr. Mackay has been involved in a range of industries, including power stations, mining, mineral processing, oil/gas/petrochemical plants, and platforms. He has presented courses on industrial data communications, data acquisition, instrumentation, and process control to over 30,000 engineers and technicians worldwide for clients such as NASA, Rolls Royce, and BP. He has also co-authored and edited 25 engineering books that have been published across the world. Dr. Mackay is a Fellow of Engineers Australia with a license to practice as a Chemical, Mechanical, and Electrical Chartered Professional Engineer. As Dean of the Engineering Institute of Technology, Dr. Mackay leads the institute in providing microcredentials and engineering qualifications to over 2000 students per year from 140 countries. He has an unswerving focus on student outcomes and on excellence in education.

Master Student Projects Benefitting Industry

March 20, 2017 10:07 am
      The Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) is very proud to present a glimpse into the quite remarkable work being undertaken by our students completing the Master of Engineering in Industrial Automation.   These students, who are studying alongside their work in industry, are deep into the research...Read More

Five Life Skills which will Supercharge your Engineering Career and Life

March 17, 2017 12:40 pm
The Art of Support: EIT’s Learning Support Officers InformationCategory Education10 September 2020Written by: Quintus Potgieter The Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) is a unique global institute, delivering online engineering short courses, diplomas, and degrees. Students around the world log into EIT’s synchronous online virtual campus to network with other... Read...Read More

Education and attitudes under the spot light for a changing world

March 17, 2017 11:14 am
Is the world finally ready to embrace the significance of technical and vocational skills and in doing so bump higher education qualifications off their pedestals and out of their ivory towers?   The government of the United Kingdom is certainly addressing this traditional imbalance.   They are introducing a new...Read More

Attrition rates: classroom versus online learning and compulsory maths

March 17, 2017 11:02 am
In 2013, Nicolene Murdoch, the executive director for teaching and quality at Monash South Africa - a higher education institution - said that historically only 15 to 20% of South African students at universities end up graduating.   More recently, in 2015, the Council of Higher Education calculated the dropout...Read More

How to Write a Great Business Plan for your Next Technology Start up

March 14, 2017 1:52 pm
The Art of Support: EIT’s Learning Support Officers InformationCategory Education10 September 2020Written by: Quintus Potgieter The Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) is a unique global institute, delivering online engineering short courses, diplomas, and degrees. Students around the world log into EIT’s synchronous online virtual campus to network with other... Read...Read More

The radioactive robots that rest in peace

March 13, 2017 9:57 am
Calling all Mechanical Engineers! We need tougher robots.   A clean-up and decommissioning of three of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors, that fell victim to meltdowns after a powerful earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 2011, is underway. The clean-up will cost the equivalent of USD$190 billion.   The first step...Read More

Lest we forget the engineers

March 13, 2017 9:45 am
The prosperity of many industries hinges on the sucess of engineering innovation and endeavor.   Unfortunately engineers are often only remembered once their well oiled machines, that thrust society forward, stop working. And sometimes they don’t get the recognition they deserve. The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering has tried to...Read More

Baby it’s cold inside: the modern dilemma of the air conditioning unit

March 13, 2017 9:06 am
Chances are, if you work in an office environment, you’re faced with the temperature dilemma: you are either too hot or too cold. This is exacerbated in an open plan office space; an environment where the aircon’s remote becomes a highly disputed weapon. And it’s all thanks to engineers!  ...Read More

Six Quick Ways to Project Confidence When Presenting to your Engineering Peers

March 7, 2017 12:28 pm
The Art of Support: EIT’s Learning Support Officers InformationCategory Education10 September 2020Written by: Quintus Potgieter The Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) is a unique global institute, delivering online engineering short courses, diplomas, and degrees. Students around the world log into EIT’s synchronous online virtual campus to network with other... Read...Read More

The road to safe guardrail design

March 3, 2017 1:48 pm
Strides are continually being made in road safety engineering. Making roads safer and more efficient is the work of civil engineers across the globe. The safest option would be automating all cars around the world. Ford, Google, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla and Uber are looking at their implementation in the United States...Read More

Engineers encouraged to speak up, say experts

March 3, 2017 1:36 pm
Engineers and scientists have a profound impact on society. The businesses that utilize STEM careers are the tools that build the gross domestic product of a country. Their inventions and innovations change the way the world does things all the time.   However, in the modern day blur of news...Read More

Reality check: Is Vegas powered by 100% renewable energy?

March 3, 2017 1:20 pm
Sin City just became ‘holier than thou’. The gambling capital of the world, Las Vegas, is now completely powered by renewable energy. Or is it? It seems that Las Vegas’ plans to move toward 100% renewable energy has produced some misinformation. Popular Mechanics, a well known engineering news magazine, posted...Read More

2016 Award for Excellence in Teaching and Professional Training

March 3, 2017 10:27 am
At EIT we are blessed with an international group of extremely professional, experienced , knowledgeable lecturers who set us apart from other institutions. In a bid to recognise and reward excellence in teaching and professional training by recognising the top three lecturers who go above and beyond the standard requirements...Read More

Before you Quit your Job – try jumping off the Treadmill for a short while

February 28, 2017 12:30 pm
Dear Colleagues There are some frightening statistics about the number of people who would like to leave their jobs…some figures quote up to 70% of workers. Obviously, a huge number of unhappy people out there. Particularly in engineering with its hard drive, unrelenting need for precision, production and peak work...Read More

How Telecommunication Engineering Affects Education

February 27, 2017 3:26 pm
In 2016, the United Nations declared that the internet was to be considered a human right, like running water.   The U.N. has enduringly struggled to enforce international law so for this issue the ruling was met with some criticism. Widespread access to the internet is further complicated in certain...Read More

Philanthropic engineering: Does it do more bad than good?

February 27, 2017 2:11 pm
When natural disaster strikes, infrastructure suffers: buildings, roads, power supplies, water, lighting.... In the aftermath, the helping hand of others is sometimes the only thing that can soften the blow. But in some cases, in the long term, it can do more harm than good.     Foreign aid has...Read More

The Internet of Things’ – the implications for industrial safety with mobile robots

February 27, 2017 1:55 pm
Automated systems are changing our world daily. New technologies make their way into workplaces annually, changing the way a company operates and changing the face of its workforce. Sometimes, automated software crunches the numbers. But, increasingly, in engineering applications, the changing face is a robot.   Robots are the 24/7...Read More

Graphene applications on the rise

February 27, 2017 1:42 pm
Graphene, a carbon compound discovered in 2004, is now known as one the strongest materials in the world. At only one atom think it is also one of the most lightweight.   Impressively, it has further benefits; it conducts electricity and is water-repellent too. These qualities make it very attractive...Read More

Engineering in the time of Syria

February 27, 2017 1:30 pm
The Syrian War has reached its fifth year with the death of an estimated 400,000 people. It is also responsible for the biggest refugee crisis in documented history. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), 4.8 million Syrian refugees have fled to neighboring countries, with another 6.6 million displaced in...Read More

Will China’s big engineering gambles pay off?

February 27, 2017 12:23 pm
Creating infrastructure on a large scale for a vast country with a growing population has, by necessity, been China’s focus. And they are very good at it. Many nations struggle to keep pace with the needs of their citizens and China is no different. It has, however, made some brave,...Read More

Californian lake spillways stump engineers amid flood evacuations

February 27, 2017 12:09 pm
A primary and emergency spillway at Lake Oroville, California, have eroded to the point where repair is immediately required. Water levels have risen to historic levels resulting in worried authorities evacuating more than 190,000 people from the valleys below; they fear that the dam won’t hold.   The reservoir is...Read More

Bermuda’s 400 year old water engineering secret

February 27, 2017 11:53 am
Here’s a question you’ve (likely) never asked anyone before: Where does Bermuda get its drinking water from?   A rudimentary question, at best. However, a closer investigation into the topic, a legacy is revealed. A legacy of water engineering and management that the world could learn from.   Bermuda is...Read More

New Australian energy storage could leave batteries out in the cold

February 27, 2017 11:06 am
A solar storm has been brewing in Australia. The country’s homeowners and business owners have lent themselves to renewable energy technologies. More specifically, they are investing in solar photovoltaic energy generation technologies.   Energy Minister, Josh Frydenberg, speaking on Q&A on March 22, 2106, stated that, “Nearly 15% of Australian...Read More

Attracting and retaining women in STEM industries

February 27, 2017 10:52 am
Altering leave days, with both men and women employees in mind, may help companies retain women in their jobs, particularly those with positions in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).   PAE is an American engineering firm that designs “high-performing environments” that are designed with a focus on nature, but...Read More

Design Engineering Meetings that Your Team Will Want To Attend

February 21, 2017 12:32 pm
Dear Colleagues You will all sigh knowingly when you think of engineering meetings. Often a huge waste of time where the boss holds forth and gives everyone a lecture and participation is rather fractured. Personally I try and avoid them as I have had such bad experiences over the years...Read More

Remember Your Very First Project - Engineering Professionals Make all the Difference

February 14, 2017 12:33 pm
The Art of Support: EIT’s Learning Support Officers InformationCategory Education10 September 2020Written by: Quintus Potgieter The Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) is a unique global institute, delivering online engineering short courses, diplomas, and degrees. Students around the world log into EIT’s synchronous online virtual campus to network with other... Read...Read More

Staying up to date with mining automation

February 14, 2017 9:29 am
Endeavour Mining’s Karma mine in Burkina Faso, West Africa, is an open-pit mine that produces an estimated 190,000 ounces of gold annually. The mine started construction operations in April 2016, and is expected to run over a 10-year mine life. The Former CEO of Endeavour, Neil Woodyer, before the operation...Read More

Boost your Engineering Career with Innovation-based and Problem Solving Maths Education

February 11, 2017 11:02 am
Dear Colleagues, The current evidence clearly relates better maths results for students to a country’s higher GDP and incomes. Thus a key question relates to the best way to teach maths (or ‘math’ as our North American cousins refer to it). Further to this, a vital question is how to...Read More

Visit us at Career Indaba, South Africa’s Premiere Education and Career Guidance Event

February 10, 2017 9:25 am
EIT will be exhibiting at Career Indaba, South Africa’s premier further education and career guidance exhibition.  The event  attracts approximately 60,000 visitors annually and will feature over 60 local and international exhibitors. If you have been considering an EIT program or have questions about our course options, who not come...Read More

Michael James Ingham - EIT Student

February 8, 2017 1:36 pm
Michael James Ingham is a Mechanical Inspector for the QA Team on the Ichthys LNG Downstream Project in Darwin, Australia. He recently graduated from the Engineering Institute of Technology, obtaining his qualification in the Diploma of Leadership and Management. In 1995, when Michael Ingham finished school he started his apprenticeship...Read More