September 15 is observed as Engineers’ Day every year — the birthday of Bharat Ratna Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, a great Indian engineer.
Almost all institutes of engineering and technology celebrate Engineers’ Day. How meaningfully is it celebrated? Has this commemoration become a ritual, or does it really motivate the Indian engineering community to discuss the theme and work towards achieving something new? How significant is the day for engineers and students of engineering?
It is unfortunate that many engineering students have not heard of M. Visvesvaraya (MV) and many engineering educators do not know about his achievements in and contributions to the field.
Sir MV’s life is an inspirational story for anyone who aspires to become an engineer. He is more relevant today than ever before. He is recognised for his brilliance and creativity in harnessing water resources, designing and constructing dams and bridges, and revolutionising the irrigation system in India. He was the brain behind the construction of the Krishna Raja Sagara Dam in Mysuru and the design of the flood protection system in Hyderabad. He was also a great scholar and statesman. He was honoured with ‘Bharat Ratna’ by the Government of India in 1955 and the British Knighthood by King George V. It is no wonder that Sir MV, who lived for more than a century (102 years) and was committed to his mission, said, “Hard work performed in a disciplined manner will, in most cases, keep the worker fit and also prolong his life.”
Greater role
How to celebrate the day in a meaningful way? By recalling the achievements of Sir MV in the field of engineering and his contributions to the nation as an engineer and statesman and taking steps to translate his vision into a mission, we can pay a fitting tribute to the great engineer.
“Engineering For Change” is this year’s theme. For me, the word “change” implies transformation, restructuring, new thinking and innovation. It also implies the need for restructuring the engineering education which focuses on new thinking and innovation.
In this context, it is good to know about an organisation that is committed to the cause of solving global development problems. Engineering for Change (E4C), founded by American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and Engineers Without Borders, the U.S., is an online platform and international community of engineers, scientists, NGOs, local community advocates and other innovators working to solve global development problems.
Besides discussing the theme of this year’s Engineers’ Day, many other concrete steps should be taken by the engineering community and educators to make the commemoration significant. Now, at a time when engineering is portrayed by the media as if it has lost its relevance and glory, it is the responsibility of educators and the government to create awareness among the general public and students at the secondary level about the relevance and importance of engineering, and attract brilliant minds to engineering and technology courses.
If engineering educators in the country commit themselves to guiding students to translate Sir MV’s formula — “Work performed with higher knowledge or skill, capacity or ambition usually brings a correspondingly higher reward” — into action, Engineers’ Day celebrations can be truly meaningful.
The writer is academic, columnist and freelance writer. rayanal@yahoo.co.uk
