Engineering sciences

Arnold Schoonwinkel

Engineering provides an excellent career for people with creative thinking and good judgement who are willing to focus not only on the technological and business aspects, but also on people’s needs. Engineers get job satisfaction from applying the natural sciences to create something useful for humanity. So if you are someone who wants to do something new every day and like to see how your ideas develop into something concrete and useful to people, then you will find engineering a very rewarding career.

Engineers create job opportunities and are therefore valued by their employers because they stand at the beginning of innovative processes and products which is the central to the success of any profit-maximising firm. This is why engineers often become entrepreneurs who establish and manage their own firms. The reason for this is because of the fact that they are systematic thinkers who can see the bigger picture and also have strong mathematical skills which are required to make accurate financial decisions.

Personality and characteristics of an engineer

Many young people already know from an early age whether they are cut out for engineering. Others have certain characteristics and talents which indicate that they are eligible for a career in engineering.

It is interesting to look at the origin of the word “engineer” as explained in the internet dictionary Wikipedia: “The words ‘engine’ and ‘engineer’ (as well as ‘ingenious’) developed in parallel from the Latin root ingeniosus, meaning ‘skilled’. An engineer is thus implied to be a clever, practical, designer”.

The characteristics of engineers and young people with a strong potential for engineering are among others the following:

• Creative thinking

• Aimed at problem-solving

• Aptitude for mathematics and science

• A fascination with technology

• The ability to visualise objects

• A strong sense of responsibility to let their products and ideas work successfully for the benefit of people

• A preference to work in groups to do tasks

• Like challenges and are prepared to work hard to achieve their ideals.

Engineering typically doesn’t only entail work in the small backrooms of a laboratory, but also involves the engineers working with a variety of people and in a variety of technological work terrains. Consequently this is a career for men and women who want to experience a technical as well as a social dimension in their work life.

Studying engineering in South Africa

In South Africa Engineering is a four year Bachelors degree programme (BEng, also known as BScEng) which equips students with a broad knowledge base. During the first two years a firm foundation is laid with mathematics and natural and engineering sciences. A lot of attention is also given to the basic engineering techniques which are frequently used in the analysis (understanding) of engineering systems. The first-year programmes of the different engineering disciplines have a variety of modules in common and at most universities students can switch from one engineering discipline to another at the end of the first year without having to catch up on too many modules. During the third and fourth year you learn to apply your knowledge (design and synthesis) in order to discover technical and business opportunities. With the broad knowledge base of a BEng degree you can work in a number of positions – within the field of engineering as well as outside is.

Under the Washington Accord, programmes accredited by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) are recognised in several countries in the world, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong. The South African engineering faculties therefore design all their programmes in order to be accredited by ECSA. It places a stamp of quality on the engineering programmes and ensures that graduate engineers can register as professional engineers after working for a few years.

Professional registration gives the engineering profession a certain status. It empowers you to deliver services as a professional consultant, and to occupy positions of trust in companies. It also gives your clients the assurance that you will act correctly and ethically in your provision of a service, because you submit to the high requirements of ECSA’s professional code of ethics.

Admission requirements

Since engineering studies make use of a lot of mathematics and natural sciences and require further modules in these subjects, it is expected of learners to be well prepared with mathematics and science at higher grade level. Typically, engineering faculties will require of a matriculant to achieve at least 60% in mathematics as well as science in order to be accepted for studies at a faculty where professional engineers are trained.

Admission usually requires a certain aggragate mark in the final matric exam as admission criteria, and even requires minimum command of language. Interestingly enough, most engineering faculties do not require of learners to have had any subjects such as technical drawings or technology modules at school. The reason for this is that although that background is useful, all engineering programmes have one or more modules on technical drawing which edifies the techiniques necessary for the different fields right from the start.

Learners are strongly advised to consult engineering faculties on their different admission requirements. That way the correct school subjects can be followed and learners can prepare themselves for sufficient achievement at school in order to gain admission to engineering studies. Students can, however, be assured that admission requirements have been determined accurately so that a learner who has been admitted according to these requirements and works hard will achieve his or her engineering degree.

Career opportunities

South African universities have a few basic engineering fields that can be studied, plus quite a few varieties and combinations of these programmes. In the following sections the most common engineering fields are discussed.

Industrial engineering

Industrial engineering focuses on people and technological systems with the aim of making enterprises efficient and thus more competitive. Graduates are responsible for the optimal design, implementation, operation, improvement and management of systems. These systems usually comprise people, equipment, information, capital, processes and procedures and industrial engineers improve the quality, productivity and cost-efficiency of these elements through optimisation. The industrial engineer is equipped for this by studying, among other subjects, mathematics, operations research, engineering economics, manufacturing processes and systems, ergonomics and production management. Apart from this technical content, industrial engineers are also involved with the people in the transformation process. These are the people that must realise and execute the activities and exercise control over the developed plans. Knowledge management is also important, because people and information are the most important resources in any enterprise.

Industrial engineers have a strong business focus supported by a technological basis, and can be found everywhere in the manufacturing and service industry, as well as in the business world.

Chemical engineering

Chemical engineers are concerned with the manufacture of chemicals and the extraction of minerals on an industrial scale. They design, build and manage the plants in which physical, thermal or chemical processes change raw materials into products with a higher economic value. The development of new processes involving biotechnology is becoming more important.

The programmes in chemical engineering equip students with knowledge of mathematics, physics and chemistry as well as thermodynamics, transfer phenomena, separation processes, reactor design, biotechnology, process control, engineering management and cost estimation. The programme in mineral processing shares a common core with the general programme in chemical engineering, but focuses on the extraction of minerals such as gold, diamonds, iron, platinum and coal.

Chemical engineers work in a wide range of industries. These include the petrochemical industry, metallurgical plants, and plants for manufacturing fertiliser and cement, food industries, biotechnology and research laboratories. In South Africa most of the chemical engineers work in corporate companies (e.g. Sasol, Anglo, De Beers, Eskom, etc.), but an increasing number find employment in new high technology companies, while the number of smaller companies offering employment to chemical engineers is also increasing.

Electrical and electronic engineering

Electrical engineers are in the business of generating, transmitting, and converting electrical energy; electronic engineers, using electronic systems, gather, process and distribute information.

The BEng programme in Electrical and Electronic Engineering equips students with a broad knowledge base for a variety of career opportunities. The third and final years build on the base of mathematics and engineering sciences established during the first two years, with engineering applications in the fields of electrical energy, electronics, electromagnetic systems, computer systems, control systems and signal processing.

Electrical engineers are concerned with electrical energy applications in industries, such as the generation and distribution of electricity in factories, chemical plants, mines, municipalities, railways, and harbours. Electronic engineers are found in those industries where electronic information systems such as computers and computer networks, telephones, cell phone networks, television, satellite, radar and automatic aviation systems are used.

Computer engineering

With computers increasingly becoming an integral part of electrical energy and electronic information systems, there is a need for electrical and electronic engineers with advanced capabilities in the field of computer engineering. These engineers must be able to devise and apply advanced computer and software system solutions to problems in the broad field of electrical and electronic engineering. Therefore, programmes in computer engineering include several modules on computer science and software engineering.

Mechanical engineering

Mechanical engineers study, develop, and design a diversity of machines, plants, and products. They manage the manufacturing, maintenance and reparation of machines and systems such as vehicles, aeroplanes, vessels, robots, food processing machines, power stations, agricultural machinery, and mining equipment. Sometimes a programme in mechanical engineering with special focus on aeronautical systems is presented as a separate degree programme.

Mechatronic engineering

Mechatronic engineering is a combination of mechanical and electronic engineering. Mechatronic engineers develop and construct machines by making use of mechanical and electronic components, for example machine parts, sensors and actuators. These mechanisms are controlled by computer systems to create products and systems that are useful to humanity and society. A wide range of typical mechatronic systems are now being designed and developed, which may include anything from engine control modules to ABS braking systems in motor cars, automated assembly lines and artificial hearts. 

South Africa follows international trends in the fast increasing demand for mechatronic engineers. Some mechatronic engineers work for some of the large multi-national corporations, such as De Beers, Anglo, Sasol, Denel and Eskom, but also for small consulting businesses.

Mining engineering

Mining engineering is concerned with the development and working of mines as well as the extraction of minerals from ore. After a good foundation in mathematics, physics, chemistry and engineering science has been laid in the first two years, the programme builds on this during the third and fourth year with subjects such as geotechniques (that is the characteristics of geological formations), mining techniques and mine design. A lot of attention is also given to modules such as project management, environmental engineering and engineering management. They often act as programme or project managers for big projects for example the designing and building of mine shafts.

Mining engineers do very responsible work and often reach management positions thanks to their broad training. Typical employers in South Africa are in the sectors of gold, platinum, coal and minerals both from land and the ocean floor.

Civil engineering

Civil engineers are involved in the design, construction, and maintenance of infrastructure such as water supply systems, airports, roads, bridges, harbours, tunnels, dams and structures for residential, commercial and industrial applications.

Following on the sound foundation in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and the engineering sciences that is laid in the first two years, the third and fourth years of the programme cover subjects such as water engineering, structural engineering, transportation and geotechnical engineering. The subjects environmental engineering and engineering management give the student a wide frame of reference. In informatics, the use of computers is developed as a powerful aid in solving a diversity of problems.

Civil engineers fill numerous and varied positions in the public and private sectors, from local authorities to government departments, and from consulting firms to giant international construction firms.