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.

Shedding light on the fully automated dark warehouse

June 29, 2016 7:36 am
What is a dark warehouse? It's not a warehouse with its lights off if that's what you're wondering. No, the dark warehouse, or otherwise known as the "lights-out facility", is a factory that runs completely through automated means without any human intervention. Warehouses are opting in for self-driving forklifts, robots equipped...Read More

Experts deliver cautionary tales of managing team conflicts in engineering organizations

June 29, 2016 4:39 am
Engineers have to work in teams. It's seldom that an engineer won't have to face a team dynamic at some point. The problem some people have is behaving accordingly when working with a team. You either do well at teamwork or you don't. The issue is, sometimes it is unavoidable....Read More

The US, Australia and Brexit-ed Britain's energy policy developments

June 29, 2016 3:56 am
Australia, The United States, and Britain. Who is winning the renewable energy race? Who is doing more to secure green energy in their country? The answer is Germany. They have installed and are achieving 38301 MWp (Mega Watt peak) with photovoltaic devices. They have strategies in place to ensure that...Read More

Global demand for lithium continues to grow

June 29, 2016 2:16 am
We know it's going to play a big part in our future, but how big are we talking here? Lithium seems to be on everyone's lips these days due to being in the driver's seat in the push for renewable energy. Needless to say, it powers most home electronics as...Read More

Global demand for lithium continues to grow

June 29, 2016 2:16 am
We know it's going to play a big part in our future, but how big are we talking here? Lithium seems to be on everyone's lips these days due to being in the driver's seat in the push for renewable energy. Needless to say, it powers most home electronics as...Read More

What the US government is doing to protect their power grid

June 28, 2016 7:10 pm
A cyber-takedown of the Ukranian electricity grid in December of 2015 has sent the cybersecurity industry spiralling. Since then, governments across the globe have been equipping themselves with cybersecurity firms that will try to ensure a takedown of a similar nature doesn't occur. What is apparent is that governments need some...Read More

Engineering failures in Africa are an ethics issue

June 28, 2016 5:36 pm
Engineering failures continue to plague African countries. Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana have been under heavy scrutiny by both its people and its governments due to unsafe civil engineering practices that have left many dead in the last few years. In Nigeria, the lack of a structural engineer was one of...Read More

IoT communications gets standardisation with NarowBand-IoT

June 28, 2016 7:22 am
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project is a collaboration that involves multiple telecommunications companies who were behind the expansion of third-generation (3G) mobile phone system technology. The collaboration now wants to focus its efforts on Industrie 4.0 and focus on communication for the Internet of Things. This involves working on fifth...Read More

MOOCs could jump-start your engineering career

June 28, 2016 1:33 am
The world is moving at a fast pace in the twenty-first century. It's easy to have mastered the skills necessary to do a job, just to find yourself years down the road with a whole set of new skills you have to learn to remain employable to a company. It...Read More

FAA drone laws halt automated drone systems in the US

June 27, 2016 9:39 pm
The civil engineering industry is desperately wanting to use automated drone technology in the United States. Current unmanned vehicle laws from the Federal Aviation Administration have limited some of the automated operations that could be run on construction sites, which would perform site monitoring, mapping, and inspection. Now, they are...Read More

FAA drone laws halt automated drone systems in the US

June 27, 2016 9:39 pm
The civil engineering industry is desperately wanting to use automated drone technology in the United States. Current unmanned vehicle laws from the Federal Aviation Administration have limited some of the automated operations that could be run on construction sites, which would perform site monitoring, mapping, and inspection. Now, they are...Read More

Brexit engineering fallout continues

June 27, 2016 8:18 pm
Heartbreak, dismay, disappointment. Just some of the words that academics are using to express themselves with after the British public decided that the United Kingdom would not remain in the Europe Union. Universities are now saying they anticipate considerable changes in the future of studies in engineering and science.  When...Read More

Robot Revolution: EU proposal makes case for "electronic persons"

June 27, 2016 6:56 pm
The European Union has been reading some Isaac Asimov novels, it seems. The expansion of industrial robotics has made the EU question whether or not to finally give robots the "electronic persons" classification. We are seeing robots in factories around the world furthering the fourth industrial revolution and slowly making...Read More

Engineering apprenticeships see development, gender imbalance

June 27, 2016 5:55 pm
The engineering world wants hard-earned academic qualifications. It's no lie. A degree from a well-known, respected university can get you a job. However, do you have experience? This is where engineering apprenticeships come in. A student studying towards their Masters Engineering levels could see themselves taking part in an apprenticeship...Read More

Lightning avoidance: Wind turbine and data communications grounding applauded

June 24, 2016 9:19 pm
I can sometimes be seen on a rod but I'm not a fish. I can be forked but I'm not a tongue. I'm bright but I'm not the sun. I'm electric but I don't have any wires. I'm seen during a storm but I'm not a cloud. What am I?...Read More

Cheaper collaborative robots give hope to companies who desire automation

June 24, 2016 6:57 pm
Robots are expensive. Some companies can overlook the fact that installing industrial robots would be an expensive endeavor because they have the funds available. But, what about start-up companies that can't exactly put down a lot of money for industrial robotics? The International Federation of Robotics has said that by 2018,...Read More

What effects Brexit will have on engineering industries

June 24, 2016 6:00 pm
The results are in. The British public has decided that they want to leave the European Union. The vote to leave the EU won by 51.9%, compared to the 48.1% who voted to 'remain'. The result will now ensure that the opinions of those who warned that engineering and science industries...Read More

Biomedical engineered bio-ink uses stem cells to print living tissue

June 24, 2016 5:36 am
Getting your professional certificate in 3D printing and design could take you many places. After all, additive manufacturing is becoming an important part of a lot of industrial endeavours in the world of engineering today. However, the biomedical field is always an interesting one when it works in tandem with...Read More

Energy Storage Wars: BMW joins the fight

June 24, 2016 5:09 am
BMW have finally revealed that they intend to get into the energy storage system market and compete against manufacturers like Tesla, Daimler (Mercedes Benz) and Nissan. BMW will be repurposing their i3 model batteries for home storage systems once the batteries have served their purpose inside the car. Once an...Read More

Energy Storage Wars: BMW joins the fight

June 24, 2016 5:09 am
BMW have finally revealed that they intend to get into the energy storage system market and compete against manufacturers like Tesla, Daimler (Mercedes Benz) and Nissan. BMW will be repurposing their i3 model batteries for home storage systems once the batteries have served their purpose inside the car. Once an...Read More

Lack of ICS security information sharing leads to frustration

June 23, 2016 11:13 pm
Industrial control systems need to be protected in a world where automation opens avenues for criminals to exploit them. Air gapped SCADA systems will become more and more difficult to stick to in the era where the Internet of Things is striving to connect and automate industrial control systems. There is...Read More

Researchers make flexible sensor data displaying software to further Internet of Things

June 23, 2016 9:36 pm
The Internet of Things is growing at an exponential rate, faster than some companies can keep up. The Internet of Things also emphasizes the need for faster internet connections. The impending future interconnectivity of 50 billion devices around the world has inspired a slew of 5G network tests in the...Read More

The figures are in: Industrial robotics sales for 2015

June 23, 2016 8:06 pm
Industrial robot sales have skyrocketed in the last two years. In 2015, 248,00 robots were sold globally. That number was 12 percent up from the previous year and made it a record year for industrial robotic purchases. By 2018, 2.3 million industrial robots will be employed in the world. These figures...Read More

Further development in fusing engineering and entrepreneurship

June 23, 2016 7:27 pm
When getting your qualifications in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, it is easy to lose track of skills that could be easily attainable that might assist your job hunt in the future. There are a number of engineering experts that are warning students to further explore entrepreneurial and business skills...Read More

Further development in fusing engineering and entrepreneurship

June 23, 2016 7:27 pm
When getting your qualifications in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, it is easy to lose track of skills that could be easily attainable that might assist your job hunt in the future. There are a number of engineering experts that are warning students to further explore entrepreneurial and business skills...Read More

Energy Storage Wars: Solar panel output efficiency increased through new device

June 23, 2016 8:09 am
Photovoltaic cells are not reaching their full potential. Recently, we reported on a method that could lead to more efficient photovoltaic cells from the University of Utah. The revelations included subjecting semiconductors to light sources before the manufacturing process. This reportedly, allowed semiconductors to work more efficiently, especially for applications in solar...Read More

Energy Storage Wars: Solar panel output efficiency increased through new device

June 23, 2016 8:09 am
Photovoltaic cells are not reaching their full potential. Recently, we reported on a method that could lead to more efficient photovoltaic cells from the University of Utah. The revelations included subjecting semiconductors to light sources before the manufacturing process. This reportedly, allowed semiconductors to work more efficiently, especially for applications in solar...Read More

Engineers develop processor for faster industrial robots

June 23, 2016 1:11 am
We've all seen them. A video that is sped up by about 2 times its normal rate, showing an industrial robot performing some sort of complicated task. The main issue is the speed at which the robot is actually operating at. Industrial robotics can't be fully implemented if what we're...Read More

Engineers develop processor for faster industrial robots

June 23, 2016 1:11 am
We've all seen them. A video that is sped up by about 2 times its normal rate, showing an industrial robot performing some sort of complicated task. The main issue is the speed at which the robot is actually operating at. Industrial robotics can't be fully implemented if what we're...Read More

Top engineering universities ranked

June 22, 2016 11:25 pm
A company named ShanghaiRanking Consultancy has conducted a study, singling out the best universities for different kinds of engineering. As expected, American universities posted high results, however, other countries were found to be climbing the ladder. The report's name was the Global Raking of Academic Subjects for 2016. The study evaluated more than 350...Read More