Engineers will always be required to design, build and maintain - everything from infrastructure to highly complex systems which run the world’s industries. But as new technologies emerge and disrupt it is critical that engineers skill themselves to remain relevant today and into the future. Many traditional educational institutions struggle to respond to market demand, but EIT has gained momentum as one of the only colleges in the world specializing in delivering industry-driven, applied engineering education. It is no wonder that in July 2019 EIT celebrated the milestone of achieving over 250,000 visitors to its website in 1 month; this represents the largest month in website traffic for the organization since its inception.
Internationally, engineers are the cornerstone of society; they facilitate commercial and industrial applications that meet societal and consumer needs. Increasingly, however, the modern engineer requires multi-disciplinary engineering skill and knowledge to secure future employment.
The World Economic Forum suggests that engineers need to be retrained for the 21st century, an era defined by a sharp rise in computing technologies resulting in automation. They say that, ‘technology has surpassed technological education’.
Miguel Milano, the President of Salesforce, writing for WEF said, “at least 133 million new roles generated as a result of the new division of labor between humans, machines and algorithms may emerge globally by 2022, according to the World Economic Forum. There will also be strong demand for technical skills like programming and app development, along with skills that computers can’t easily master such as creative thinking, problem-solving and negotiating.”
Not only are computing technologies transforming the industrial automation and data & communications industries, but new forms of powering our planet are also transforming the electrical engineering world. And this is aside from their impact on the civil & structural, energy, mining, oil and gas industries.
The Engineering Institute of Technology’s vision is to provide students - throughout the world - with measurable and significant gains in their places of work and in their careers. The college mandate is to provide cutting-edge engineering education to enable graduates to achieve success in the evolving engineering roles of today and tomorrow.
The Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) emerged in 2008 from the extensive and global foundation established by its sister company IDC Technologies. Since 1991, IDC’s portfolio of 300 industry-targeted professional development courses has been attended by over 500,000 engineering professionals worldwide, with clients such as NASA, UN, Rolls Royce, Rio Tinto and BHP. EIT built on this platform by designing accredited vocational qualifications across the engineering disciplines. Subsequently, and to provide students with seamless academic pathways, in 2014 EIT became a nationally registered Higher Education Provider.
In the higher education space, EIT offers an extensive range of engineering BSc and Master Degrees (with nested graduate diplomas). A professional doctorate, still under development, will soon be added.
In achieving the status of Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS), EIT was able to progress its strategic priority of delivering higher education engineering programs to students on campus in Australia, in 2018. In line with these priorities and market demand, the organization opened a second campus in Melbourne in February 2019.
EIT’s unique online and blended delivery methodologies enable the college to reach students worldwide, but they also assist graduates to become highly skilled practitioners. Two essential components of this approach involve human resources: EIT’s lecturers are subject-specialists, who are industry experts and globally-based, and EIT’s dedicated Learning Support Officers nurture students through to graduation.
State-of-the-art online tools and technologies further facilitate EIT’s online and blended platforms of learning. They include 24/7 access to hands-on remote and virtual laboratories, simulations, a comprehensive student Learning Management System, invigilation software, and a web and video conferencing system which supports live and interactive sessions.
EIT’s innovative online learning approach is critical to students who are working; they can acquire quality education without accessing a campus or having their studies interfere with their responsibilities at work. One of EIT’s Master graduates based in Uganda commented, “It allowed me to gain knowledge in the most flexible way possible for a busy full-time employee. I was able to study without my employer feeling my absence. My class had experienced students in the automation field who could share real work experiences.”
EIT has graduates in 141 countries, including Australia, South Africa, Nigeria, Botswana, Namibia, United Kingdom, United States, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Canada, New Zealand, Ghana, Saudi Arabia, Papua New Guinea, United Arab Emirates, and Ireland.
EIT facilitates life-long learning: there are seamless academic pathways (from diplomas through to master degrees), and for those looking to up-skill or attain skills across the engineering discipline, EIT offers targeted vocational qualifications and professional certificate courses.
In the last decade, EIT has seen immense growth and celebrated a milestone this July; it achieved over 250,000 visitors to its website in a single month. EIT Dean, Dr. Steve Mackay explains, “We are committed to staying ahead of the curve and we look forward to continuing to deliver cutting edge applied engineering education that provides our students the keys to unlocking and maintaining a successful engineering career.”
Works Cited
Garcia, Paulo, and Carleton University. “We Must Retrain Engineers for the 21st Century – Here's How.” World Economic Forum, www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/02/how-to-train-21st-century-engineers-for-tech-discoveries/.
Milano, Miguel, and Salesforce. “The Digital Skills Gap Is Widening Fast. Here's How to Bridge It.” World Economic Forum, www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/the-digital-skills-gap-is-widening-fast-heres-how-to-bridge-it/.
