Page 69 - EducationWorld January 2021

Teacher-2-Teacher

Imminent demand surge for

engineers

D. SRIKANTH RAO

HE GLOBAL COVID-19 PANDEMIC WHICH The popular perception is that national
has taken a toll of more than 1.79 million lives demand for engineering graduates is
worldwide and has shutdown academia for over
Teight months, has confronted every domain of waning. Yet the on-the-ground reality
engineering with unprecedented challenges. Academics is quite the opposite. For competent
and corporates the world over are exploring how these
challenges will impact traditional jobs in the new age of engineers with strong foundations, best
digital transaction, Internet of things, artificial intelligence, days are yet to come
augmented and virtual reality and cloud data storage.
Simultaneously, e-commerce corporations and platforms
such as Amazon, Flipkart, MakeMyTrip, Uber, Swiggy have
precipitated a services revolution by directly connecting cars, 5G and 6G technology, fibre to home to OTT platforms
producers and service providers with end-users. These new are set to generate massive demand for electronics, media,
age corporations are continuously innovating processes animation and data science engineers.
to reduce the time gap between order and delivery, and Even the neglected agriculture sector is being rapidly
delivering the right product to the right customer at the modernised with machines replacing humans for soil
right time. For engineers, a plethora of new challenges and analysis, crop monitoring, optimising water and fertilizer
opportunities have arisen out of these new business models. usage and weather forecasts, market prediction, cold storage
With profit margins being squeezed, manufacturers and for connecting farmers directly with consumers through
can no longer afford high inventory and storage costs. tech interventions. Young graduates with specialisation in
Therefore, they are relying on engineers to develop biomedical, biotechnology, instrumentation, electronics,
machines augmented with wireless connectivity and data science and chemical engineering are likely to find new
sensors, connected to systems that can visualise the entire opportunities in agriculture and allied activities.
production process and make decisions on their own. n the defence sector as well, career opportunities for
Automobile showrooms are going virtual. Consequently, Iengineering graduates are multiplying. Drones are
instead of holding huge inventories, factories can initiate predominant in areas such as battlefields, emergency
production as soon as a customer places an online order. drugs supply, human and goods transport, food supply etc.
These are the manufacturing processes being increasingly Through its Udan programme, the Union government is
demanded. Moreover in additive manufacturing and developing several dozen new airports which will require
construction, 3-D printing is becoming pervasive. Recently, qualified engineers to manage them. Ditto with India
a Hyderabad-based startup named Skyroot Aerospace won emerging as an outer space power and regularly launching
the 2020 Startup Award, for designing launch vehicles with micro and nano satellites, manned missions to the moon,
fully 3D printed upper stage liquid engines, which slashed Mars and other planets, the demand for engineers is certain
manufacturing cost by 40 percent. to surge.
Although currently these breakthroughs in digital Huge opportunities are also opening up in the
technologies are happening in developed OECD countries, e-commerce and online shopping sector — perishable
and ominously in neighbouring China, India is also to non-perishable, medicine to electronics goods — for
heading for unprecedented change in the next ten-20 years, engineers. With customers switching to online shopping in
especially in infrastructure development. With assets value a big way, job opportunities in printing, packaging, drones,
diminishing in importance, the country is transforming robots, data science, eco-friendly packaging, conductive
from an assets creation to a knowledge-development ink and connected electronics technology to inform
economy. With assembled and 3-D printed buildings, customers about expiry dates and speedy home delivery,
architects innovating construction designs are challenging are multiplying.
civil engineers. Moreover, digital programmes are radically The popular perception is that national demand for
transforming the civil engineer’s vocation. Soon he/she will engineering and technology graduates is waning. The media
be able to monitor the progress of construction projects routinely reports that engineering colleges are shutting
without leaving office and multiply the number of project down and the number of unemployed engineers is rising.
contracts. Yet the on-the-ground reality is quite the opposite. For
In the medical sector as well, engineers are likely to competent engineers with strong foundations in theory and
outnumber doctors as technology is developed for wearable practice, best days are yet to come.
devices, artificial intelligence and machine learning, and AR
& VR technologies become ubiquitous. Likewise, self-driven (Dr. D. Srikanth Rao is director of the Manipal Institute of Technology)

JANUARY 2021 EDUCATIONWORLD 69