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.

The Engineering Institute of Technology hosts a seminar in South Africa

April 29, 2019 9:01 am
On a mild autumn day on the 26th of April 2019, the Engineering Institute of Technology hosted a seminar in Midrand, South Africa. Inquisitive, prospective engineers gathered to learn how EIT’s unique Australian qualifications, which are driven by industry, can transform engineering careers. Dr Steve Mackay, Dean of Engineering, streamed...Read More

Dare to Change your Engineering Career Midstream

April 26, 2019 3:05 pm
Dear Colleagues With the rapid technology change occurring today resulting in tremendous career opportunities, there are increasing stories of engineering professionals changing their careers. There is always a huge risk when you change – you could be currently working in a great job paying well and you decide to change...Read More

Engineering a green port

April 26, 2019 12:08 pm
The Port of Ngqura is a deep-water port located on the east coast of South Africa, 20 kilometers north east of Port Elizabeth. Not only is it South Africa’s newest port, but it is also the only port in the country with green status. The Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA),...Read More

A fire in the cathedral, a nation left heartbroken

April 18, 2019 2:01 pm
It survived the French Revolution and two world wars. The landmark is part of Paris’ soul, embodying the city’s history and partially shaping its identity through its religious and architectural significance. The Notre Dame de Paris, a jewel in the French crown, and a marvel of civil engineering, has suffered...Read More

Britam Tower in Kenya awarded best in mechanical and electrical engineering

April 16, 2019 12:28 pm
Taking a high-rise structure from concept to completion is no easy task — structural and geotechnical engineers usually face an array of design-related challenges. From vulnerability, to seismic activity, to understanding the risks of underlying soils, designing a tall building is a feat within itself. However, engineers in Kenya can...Read More

Reducing carbon emissions with electric aircraft

April 15, 2019 4:01 pm
Scientists believe if we’re going to combat climate change, we need to electrify all forms of transport. In fact, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the demand for air travel by 2050 could increase aviation sector greenhouse gases by 700 per cent compared to emissions in 2005. As it...Read More

Are flying cars the future of sustainable transport?

April 15, 2019 3:40 pm
Flying cars could be the key to lowering carbon emissions through sustainable transport in the future, according to a new study. The University of Michigan has found while flying cars — which are technically called electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or VTOLs — are not justifiable for short trips,...Read More

Women in Engineering: Remembering Judith Resnik

April 12, 2019 9:39 am
Judith Resnik never planned on being an astronaut. Her dreams were initially set on being a professional concert pianist. However, in the end, she was neither. Resnik was an American electrical engineer, software engineer, biomedical engineer, pilot, the first Jewish American in space and the fourth woman in space. Born...Read More

Scientists release the first image of a black hole

April 11, 2019 2:08 pm
Until yesterday, every image you have seen of a black hole has been digitally rendered. Despite being theorized for well over two hundred years and being common knowledge to even those outside the realm of astronomy, it has been all too easy to forget that we have never actually seen...Read More

Saying goodbye to emissions with carbon capture and biofuels?

April 9, 2019 3:10 pm
Multinational oil and gas corporation Exxon Mobil is working towards a clean energy future. They are embarking on a process of introducing technology into industrial plants that will make them more sustainable into the future. A new television advert from the company shows that their engineers and scientists are working...Read More

Australia’s transition to renewables too slow?

April 9, 2019 2:50 pm
The Paris Climate Agreement is ringing alarm bells for engineering industries around the world. The message of the agreement seems clear: transition or die. Extreme weather events, rising sea levels, smog pollution and deforestation issues are no longer something we can undermine. Australia was one of the participating nations who...Read More

Engineering legacies: Rolls-Royce

April 9, 2019 2:11 pm
Engineering legacies are all around us. They are constant reminders of the hard work done by engineers who came before us and how, against all odds, they were able to create incredible industries, build amazing marvels, and improve the world that they lived in. What kind of engineers paved the...Read More

The superhero civil engineer force fighting fatbergs

April 4, 2019 12:03 pm
World Water Day (22 March) has come and gone - blink and you would have missed it. However, an organization that didn't miss it was The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in the United Kingdom. They used this day to celebrate the civil engineers making a difference in the world...Read More

Pick-and-place robots get better at picking

April 4, 2019 11:37 am
Pick-and-place robots are predicted to fully replace factory floor workers in the future. However, before these robots take over the floor, they will have to become more flexible with the objects they can pick-and-place. It all has to do with the robot's ‘vision.' Making pick-and-place robots ‘see’ the objects they...Read More

Responsibility to protect the workforce

April 4, 2019 11:08 am
A priority of all engineering companies is the implementation of workplace safety and with the development of new safety technologies, industrial environments are closing than ever to achieving accident-free workplaces. British-Dutch oil and gas company Shell has pledged for the last five years to continually ensure impeccable safety across every...Read More

Whose fault is it anyway?

April 4, 2019 10:50 am
India’s government is under scrutiny after a bridge collapse in Mumbai left at least six people dead and 36 people injured. This is the third foot-overbridge tragedy India has seen in just two years, placing a harsh spotlight on the shortcomings of India’s infrastructure sector who struggle to stay up...Read More

Does it stick? How nanoscale engineering helps keep everything together

April 3, 2019 3:45 pm
A private research university in Rhode Island is making substantial strides in the world of nanoscale engineering. Researchers at Brown University have figured out how things stick together at the nano level, and this discovery could help inform micro and nanoscale device manufacturers. The researchers have published their findings in...Read More

Mixed-reality to bring about engineering future

April 2, 2019 11:50 am
At the Mobile World Congress 2019, Microsoft came out swinging. They announced the second iteration of their mixed-reality headset, the Microsoft HoloLens. It is aptly named the HoloLens 2. The new headset will cost US $3,500 but will only be available to companies - and not consumers - for now....Read More

And now for the weather...from an unmanned submarine

April 2, 2019 11:37 am
Chinese scientists have developed an unmanned vessel upon which weather rockets will be launched. It is called rocketsonde and was launched from the semi-submersible vehicle (USSV) network built by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics. It is reportedly expected to generate ‘long-term, continuous and real-time marine meteorological measurements, including atmospheric sounding...Read More

20 years of service: The ladies who run EIT in the UK

April 2, 2019 8:11 am
Carol Moverley and Alison Brown have been at the helm of the Engineering Institute of Technology’s (EIT) branch in the United Kingdom for the last twenty years. Their story not only details how technology has impacted on education and training over the years, but how the company itself has adapted...Read More

As Engineering Professionals Lying Simply Ain’t Cool

April 1, 2019 2:29 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

Internet of Things, alive and well?

April 1, 2019 2:17 pm
It seems engineering terms are becoming buzzwords within the industry. For example, words like The Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, the Blockchain — and more — are all misused in quickly rattled off articles and political speeches. In fact, it seems that the people peddling these...Read More

South Africa's ‘darkest hours' could be an opportunity for engineers in-training

March 29, 2019 3:13 pm
A decade of corruption, mismanagement, sabotage, poor power station designs, and a recent natural disaster has led to the implementation of more rolling blackouts in South Africa's energy sector. At the end of 2018, Eskom admitted that they were unsure when the next break in transmission was going to be....Read More

NASA cancels all-women spacewalk over suit sizing issue

March 29, 2019 9:57 am
It was close to being the first giant leap for womankind but is now a very public stumble for one of the world's leading space agencies. NASA announced on Monday that the first all-female spacewalk in history would be cancelled due to a somewhat confounding mistake from the same agency...Read More

A university and all TVET colleges in crisis in South Africa

March 25, 2019 3:51 pm
Students at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) and at the Technical Vocational Educational and Training (TVET) institutions in South Africa are facing a horror situation at the beginning of their academic year. At DUT some of the students are responsible. Their protests have been followed by vigorous retaliation from...Read More

New remote invigilation innovation to legitimize online education

March 25, 2019 11:40 am
Remote invigilation - otherwise known as online proctoring - might just be the critical factor when measuring the success of online higher education. Online education without digital supervision would naturally be a sticking point for education accreditation boards across the globe. It is not surprising, therefore, that online proctoring solutions...Read More

Are engineering graduates actually getting jobs in engineering?

March 25, 2019 11:03 am
Twenty-five percent of engineering graduates are jobless in India, according to a study published by the All India Professionals Congress. Whereas a study published 1,618 miles away, in the United Arab Emirates, indicates that there are not enough graduates to go around. This is in a region where engineers are...Read More

Australia’s drones deliver vaccines to those who need it most

March 25, 2019 10:52 am
Conflict and war are commonplace around the world and civilians are inevitably trapped in the midst of them. It is gratifying to report that engineering skill, in conjunction with technology, are working to alleviate some of the fall-out for the people caught up in these situations. This doughty combination of...Read More

The Western Cape’s big find is good news for engineers

March 14, 2019 3:02 pm
South Africa is a country with 27% of its population without work. Spirits have not been high for at least a decade; a struggling economy has been limping around entrenched and widespread governmental corruption. Thanks to a recent discovery, however, followed by an announcement by integrated oil and gas company...Read More

Engineering under the microscope after new aircraft disasters

March 14, 2019 2:35 pm
It is never pleasant to focus on engineering industry shortcomings. However, when new aircraft fall out of the sky, with multiple fatalities the result, the ugly business of discovering the faults commences. On Sunday, 10 March 2019, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 (flight ET302) belonging to Ethiopian Airlines crashed just...Read More