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.

How viable is President Trump’s Wall?

February 8, 2017 1:24 pm
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has signed an executive order which stipulates that a wall along the US-Mexico border is to be constructed. The initial promise was that it would be 50-foot high and 2,000 miles long. The President is determined that a wall will be built,...Read More

Filters - the Great Liars in Industrial Control and Indeed Life

February 7, 2017 12:35 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

Choosing the Right Engineering Discipline For Your Future Career – Part 2

January 30, 2017 2:05 pm
Industrial engineering and IIoT expansion Experts have been wondering if 2017 is indeed the year where the complete worldwide movement toward smart factories begins. The Internet of Things is slowly making its way into the factory, interconnecting everything inside of it, and producing large swathes of performance and operational data...Read More

Are Engineers Killing Jobs with Automation Technology?

January 30, 2017 12:12 pm
Should we be afraid of the oncoming deluge of automation technologies that are being engineered in the world? These technologies are certainly having a massive impact already; what do they augur for the future of employment?   The White House released a report in December 2016 entitled: Artificial Intelligence (AI),...Read More

As Engineers we have to Communicate like absolute Demons to be Successful

January 24, 2017 12:39 pm
Dear Colleagues I believe engineering professionals have a fundamental contradiction in their careers. They have to be obsessed with being absolutely meticulous, precise and have an enthusiasm for detail in their engineering work. However, in order to be successful – they have to communicate with absolute brilliance and passion summarising...Read More

Fighting Infrastructure Hacking with Cybersecurity

January 19, 2017 1:41 pm
Cybersecurity has become one of the most important topics of conversation for business, governments and the general population, all those striving for the security and privacy of their data, some of which is stored in the cloud.   There are measures that can be taken to protect data, but the...Read More

Can your Engineering Qualification reach such Heights?

January 18, 2017 5:08 pm
The pile of text books for the Vocational Graduate Diploma of Project Management in Industrial Automation is taller than Sammy, this very patient lab! Just before his final exam Helmut Schütte sent this photograph to his Online Learning coordinator and included the conversation he had had with his wife, “I...Read More

How to Create A Brilliant Engineering Executive Summary

January 18, 2017 1:53 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 Learning Lever

January 18, 2017 10:28 am
Chris De Lange is our 2014 EIT Graduate of the Year and an inspiring citizen of the world. As a young man, Chris graduated in 1979 as an electro-mechanical technician. He then worked in the steel industry, underground in black coal mines, as a foreman in an 8000 loaves an...Read More

Engineer, 70 Years Young, Attends Classes Online

January 18, 2017 10:06 am
Efficiency and cost considerations mean that more and more people are turning to web-based course work, and this now includes 70 year old engineer Edwin Wakefield from South Africa.   Edwin has just successfully completed a three month part-time course in PLC’s and SCADA Systems, one of a range of...Read More

Hazardous Areas Only in Africa

January 18, 2017 10:02 am
A student on our recent Hazardous Areas course was kind enough to share some photos with us of a recent potentially hazardous encounter at a mine in Phalaborwa. The mine is almost entirely occupied by wild life. Game farms and Nature reserves overlap, so the animals migrate over vast areas...Read More

Will That Advanced Diploma Program Really Boost My Career?

January 18, 2017 9:59 am
In a recent phone discussion with the EIT’s Ric Harrison, a Senior Course Advisor, the student made some very valid comments for people who are contemplating the value of adding a recognised qualification to their CV’s.   This student completed his Advanced Diploma of Industrial Automation in 2010, and is...Read More

Further Feedback! Advanced Diploma of Industrial Automation

January 18, 2017 9:54 am
Here is what some of our graduating students from the Advanced Diploma of Industrial Automation had to say about the course:   It was a great course, excellent revision for the topics that I am familiar with. Gained greater in depth understanding for the topics that I am not so...Read More

Tales from the Trenches – Online Learning with the EIT – How to Stay Alive and Flourish

January 18, 2017 9:45 am
Positive feedback from students is humbling and amazing, but it is particularly extraordinary when it comes with gratitude for what is a fairly gruelling process. Those of you who have undertaken the EIT’s online courses (3 month certificate courses through to eighteen month advanced diplomas) will agree that the going...Read More

Tales from the Trenches – Don’t Mind the Gap! Fill It!

January 18, 2017 9:39 am
Hazel Woodhall, an enormously capable and determined student, graduated from the Advanced Diploma of Industrial Data Communications, Networking and IT, in the latter part of 2013. She praises the course for filling her knowledge gaps.   In 2008 she joined Alstom UK (a French multinational company which holds interests in...Read More

Tales from the Trenches – Online Learning with the EIT – Steeliness, Support and Success

January 18, 2017 9:36 am
Another student tale; from another part of the world and another field of engineering - and one that will clarify the alliteration used above – words that have been selected very carefully, as you will discover. Paula Palmer graduated from the EIT’s Advanced Diploma of Applied Electrical Engineering (DEE) in...Read More

Studying EIT's Advanced Diploma of Mechanical Engineering Technology

January 18, 2017 9:34 am
Past student Peter Bramall talking about his experiences with EIT studying the Advanced Diploma of Mechanical Engineering Technology. He explains how the program fits nicely around his work and family commitments and how beneficial the degree has proven so far in his professional advancement. Hear for yourself!      ...Read More

Tales From The Trenches: It Is Possible to Teach An Old Dog New Tricks

January 18, 2017 9:29 am
Well done to EIT graduate, Steve Schober, from Ergon Energy. Recently Steve sent us a note of thanks - not terribly remarkable on its own, but the words were particularly heart-warming. He expresses a justified pride in himself. Without the confidence of youth and the time available at that stage...Read More

Reflections and Review

January 18, 2017 9:28 am
When EIT launched its inaugural course – the Advanced Diploma of Industrial Automation – we believed fervently that the content was good. The live, Online Learning teaching methodology, however, was very new and it was embarked upon with some trepidation. In an effort to gather feedback from our initial foray...Read More

International Engineering and the Study Challenge

January 18, 2017 9:03 am
More than ever engineers cross and re-cross borders to tackle projects. Engineers Without Borders is a not-for-profit organization even named for its international work. It is, however, not alone. Many engineering companies employ teams who, by necessity, become seasonal (and unseasonal) travelers in order to work on assignments around the...Read More

Cobus du Toit - Runner-Up of the 2016 EIT Outstanding Student Award

January 18, 2017 8:47 am
Born and raised in a small farming community close to the border of South Africa and Botswana I would have never thought that I will end up living in the city and work in the Chemical Industry. I am married to a beautiful wife and a busy 2 year old...Read More

Engineers Striving to Produce Zero-Noise Results

January 17, 2017 2:10 pm
An environmental engineer would surely agree that when it comes to public health, noise pollution is a dangerous threat to a person's wellbeing. It has been well researched and proven that citizens of a country who live near airports have higher blood pressures than those who live elsewhere. People's health...Read More

Choosing the Right Engineering Discipline For Your Future Career – Part 1

January 17, 2017 1:48 pm
Our buzzword for your engineering career this year is INVESTMENT. The modern world of business centers on the principles of investment. You put something in, and hopefully (with copious amounts of elbow grease) get something out.  When someone looks to invest their hard-earned money, the most important factor they consider is growth potential....Read More

The Engineering Career Ladder is Dead – the Lattice is In

January 17, 2017 12:40 pm
Dear Colleagues As a young engineer I used to sometimes ponder on the long torturous career (ladder) path one could follow in ‘the firm’ – no matter whether you were an electrician, technician or engineer.  I worked for a huge company (De Beers) mining and selling gem diamonds with billions...Read More

The Smart City Condundrum

January 15, 2017 2:35 pm
Smart cities are much more than solar-powered street lights triggered when pedestrians walk beneath them.   Smart cities refer to cities that use the latest in technological innovation in infrastructure and IT systems, and the Internet of Things, interspersed with environmentally-friendly nature-inspired elements.    However, to design a smart city,...Read More

Higher Education and the Brain Drain

January 12, 2017 9:09 am
Higher education is changing because governments are changing. The benefit from higher education, for the individual and the country, where the qualification is put to work, is invaluable. Building toward a brighter future for oneself, whilst growing an economy, makes higher education the main vehicle that drives up the potential...Read More

Direct Current Making a Feisty Comeback against Alternating Current

January 3, 2017 2:56 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

Engineering Amazing Possibilities Driven by Lower Surface Tension

December 27, 2016 2:59 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

Engineer Success by Continual Failure

December 20, 2016 3:01 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

Neurosurgeons and Engineers to eliminate brain disease together

December 13, 2016 3:31 pm
A recent article (detailed below) in Engineering.com titled Engineering Implantable Devices for the Brain, caught our eye. It looks at the collaboration of a Paediatric Neurosurgeon and an Electrical Engineer determined to help eliminate brain disease by building brain implants. Biomedical engineering is in growing demand with shortages of both...Read More