The Growing Engineering Challenges for Knowledge Era

Jitendra Deka

(The author is an M Tech student of Assam Engineering College.

He can be reached at jitend.dek93@gmail.com))

National Engineer’s Day Today

As the twenty-first century trespasses the membrane between labour economy and knowledge economy- there has been recent progresses in the eyes of the citizens of the country be it any of the fields- technological, cultural, socio-economic etc. with innovative ideas and development of thinking process in the unique ways, evolution of the 21st century’s skills etc. One of those change-makers in the in the country’s overall scenario is the sector of science- more precisely, its application, the sector of engineering and Engineering and technology being the application of science To cope up with the challenges what the human civilization has faced for the last couple of centuries is one of the country’s most revered fields as it veers the country in the right direction with lots of economic growth and prosperity. The practitioners of this field, known as engineers or technocrats, thus, have a greater responsibility as well role in stirring the growth graph of the country in the right direction. The National Engineer’s Day- celebrated across the country on 15th of September every year, thus, commemorates the engineers’ effort and put a push of enthusiasm and support to the deeds they have performed throughout their lives.

But, what’s the glory of the day? Let us go back to the nineteenth century when India was under British rule and the educational scenario of the country just found its pave to walk through. Amidst challenges and hurdles, 1861 born (on 15th September), Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya made his way in his own- first, a graduate in arts and later, a graduate in civil engineering. And the country achieved a hero in the colonial era. Later the man performed with utmost dedication- be it in public works department, water resources department, department of the planning of Government of India or otherwise. And, his contributions marked the beginning of a new era in Indian history- for which he was offered with the Knighthood by British Empire and Bharat Ratna by Government of India in 1955. Till date, he is the one and only Bharat Ratna in the field of Engineering. Today, let his love and dedication for the country- be it through the construction of dams, sluice gates, structures related to water resources so as to save the city of Hyderabad from the devastating flood claiming the lives more than 15,000 in late 1920’s and other country making agendas such as economic planning or otherwise. He is commemorated for giving a new dimension in this field.

This year’s celebration of Engineer’s Day comes with the theme – “Engineering Challenges for the Knowledge Era”- which is purely a perfect fit for the times we are living today. Every year, around 20 lakh engineers are being produced by the nation- mostly seen bifurcating their ways in a different profession. A day has so reached that almost every third person in a group is an engineer, at least one person in an organization is an engaged engineer etc, showing the abundance of the humans involved in this noble profession. In India, although the revival of economy and infrastructural sector with respect to time has led to the engagement of the engineers in their services, a good number is still fighting hard to prove their existence. As a result, their ways have reshaped in the form of other professions- businessman, sportsman, writer, cultural icons, entrepreneurs and whatnot. Thus, engineering not only has confined the Indians in the laboratory of stone and brick or electric apparatus, rather has given a wing to fly in your destined path- sometimes for granted and sometimes by choice.

Whatever be the scenario of job industry of the engineers, the very common thing the engineering sectors of the country has to face is the uplift of country’s growth prospect in the right direction, so comes the challenges. A country like India in which around 68.84% (833 million of the 1.21 billion Indians) people belong to the rustic background should be the focus of the engineering sectors now. There was a time, where urban livelihood was the first beneficiary of the engineering marvels- be it an electronic appliance, sophisticated pavement and well-furnished drainage systems of the country or anything else. And, so was left untouched in the rural livelihood. Time has come for the engineering fields to smoothen the rural lives through transport strategy, public health engineering applications, penetration of information technology in the rural lives. Only then, the country’s growth graph will show some sign of pleasure.

“Engineering challenges for the Knowledge era”- this magnificent theme has once again revived the concerns the sectors of engineering and technology have tried to make. In India, another major challenge being faced by the engineering field is the “public interaction” through engineering applications. This has quite evidently been observed in the field of public health engineering sector, information technology sector, ecology and environment sectors etc, of the country today. In the ambitious plans like Swachh Bharat Mission, Make in India, Digital India campaigns etc, the more concern the respective departments are paying in the field of “public relations” compared to the technical stuffs. So, a new dimension called “social engineering” has evolved under the umbrella of engineering, which should seriously be considered by the sectors, academics, administrators and researchers now.

Engineering challenges in the State of Assam mainly come in the field of livelihood and sustainability concerns. One of the major challenges the engineering sector in the State of Assam is facing is in the infrastructural projects like dam construction, bridge construction, IT sectors etc. Subansiri- the ambitious project of the government thus has lagged behind the required pace, so as with- Bogibeel bridge as well as the ropeway construction. Political issues, mass protestations etc, have also contributed in the challenging environment of the engineering fields.

Moreover, with respect to public health engineering department, the state is facing lots of hurdles and challenges in its Open Defecation Free (ODF) movement due to the slow pace of IEC (Information, Education and Communication). In the educational scenario, the ITE (Integration of Technology in Education) projects are still lacking sufficient teacher interaction.

Another major challenge faced by the State of Assam is its rural livelihood in the sectors of roads and water resources, where flood and erosion have tilted the growth of the country to a dark shadow. A lot more we need to achieve, be it a metro railway project or the interlinking of the rivers and tributaries- but challenges are many. Another major breakthrough being faced by the engineering sector is the corruption aided activity - an international concern now.

For the civilization’s growth, let the hearts of the nation be engineered with lots of positivity, brought awareness about progressive trends of human life and set a benchmark of the progress of the nation. For that, the engineers and the public should cooperate, information should be exchanged, and ideas should be evolved, researches should be socially rooted- as engineering’s deal does not only confined to the technological innovation- rather it’s deep-rooted concerns always touch human’s prosperity and sustainability of the world. Only then, the knowledge era will meet the requisite growth and progressive liberty.