Dr. Steve Mackay is the founder of the Engineering Institute of Technology. He firmly believes in Nelson Mandela’s mantra that, “Education is the most powerful weapon which we can use to change the world.” His leadership has inspired EIT’s unique and distinctive approach to engineering education.

Since 2008 three core objectives define the essence of the institute:

Collaborating comprehensively with industry to ensure graduates are job-ready.
Employing platforms of learning to facilitate student accessibility and engagement.
Keeping the business of education student-centric.

Dr. Mackay has enjoyed a varied career in engineering, having worked in automation, data acquisition, instrumentation, data communications, and process control throughout Australia, Europe, Africa, and North America over the past 35 years. He has successfully pioneered the application of new technologies in Australia and overseas, installing industrial data communication systems and implementing live online education, (including remote laboratories), for engineering students worldwide. Dr. Mackay has been involved in a range of industries, including power stations, mining, mineral processing, oil/gas/petrochemical plants, and platforms. He has presented courses on industrial data communications, data acquisition, instrumentation, and process control to over 30,000 engineers and technicians worldwide for clients such as NASA, Rolls Royce, and BP. He has also co-authored and edited 25 engineering books that have been published across the world. Dr. Mackay is a Fellow of Engineers Australia with a license to practice as a Chemical, Mechanical, and Electrical Chartered Professional Engineer. As Dean of the Engineering Institute of Technology, Dr. Mackay leads the institute in providing microcredentials and engineering qualifications to over 2000 students per year from 140 countries. He has an unswerving focus on student outcomes and on excellence in education.

Mixed-reality to bring about engineering future

April 2, 2019 11:50 am
At the Mobile World Congress 2019, Microsoft came out swinging. They announced the second iteration of their mixed-reality headset, the Microsoft HoloLens. It is aptly named the HoloLens 2. The new headset will cost US $3,500 but will only be available to companies - and not consumers - for now....Read More

And now for the weather…from an unmanned submarine

April 2, 2019 11:37 am
Chinese scientists have developed an unmanned vessel upon which weather rockets will be launched. It is called rocketsonde and was launched from the semi-submersible vehicle (USSV) network built by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics. It is reportedly expected to generate ‘long-term, continuous and real-time marine meteorological measurements, including atmospheric sounding...Read More

20 years of service: The ladies who run EIT in the UK

April 2, 2019 8:11 am
Carol Moverley and Alison Brown have been at the helm of the Engineering Institute of Technology’s (EIT) branch in the United Kingdom for the last twenty years. Their story not only details how technology has impacted on education and training over the years, but how the company itself has adapted...Read More

As Engineering Professionals Lying Simply Ain’t Cool

April 1, 2019 2:29 pm
The Art of Support: EIT’s Learning Support Officers InformationCategory Education10 September 2020Written by: Quintus Potgieter The Engineering Institute of Technology (EIT) is a unique global institute, delivering online engineering short courses, diplomas, and degrees. Students around the world log into EIT’s synchronous online virtual campus to network with other... Read...Read More

Internet of Things, alive and well?

April 1, 2019 2:17 pm
It seems engineering terms are becoming buzzwords within the industry. For example, words like The Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, the Blockchain — and more — are all misused in quickly rattled off articles and political speeches. In fact, it seems that the people peddling these...Read More

South Africa’s ‘darkest hours’ could be an opportunity for engineers in-training

March 29, 2019 3:13 pm
A decade of corruption, mismanagement, sabotage, poor power station designs, and a recent natural disaster has led to the implementation of more rolling blackouts in South Africa's energy sector. At the end of 2018, Eskom admitted that they were unsure when the next break in transmission was going to be....Read More

NASA cancels all-women spacewalk over suit sizing issue

March 29, 2019 9:57 am
It was close to being the first giant leap for womankind but is now a very public stumble for one of the world's leading space agencies. NASA announced on Monday that the first all-female spacewalk in history would be cancelled due to a somewhat confounding mistake from the same agency...Read More

A university and all TVET colleges in crisis in South Africa

March 25, 2019 3:51 pm
Students at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) and at the Technical Vocational Educational and Training (TVET) institutions in South Africa are facing a horror situation at the beginning of their academic year. At DUT some of the students are responsible. Their protests have been followed by vigorous retaliation from...Read More

New remote invigilation innovation to legitimize online education

March 25, 2019 11:40 am
Remote invigilation - otherwise known as online proctoring - might just be the critical factor when measuring the success of online higher education. Online education without digital supervision would naturally be a sticking point for education accreditation boards across the globe. It is not surprising, therefore, that online proctoring solutions...Read More

Are engineering graduates actually getting jobs in engineering?

March 25, 2019 11:03 am
Twenty-five percent of engineering graduates are jobless in India, according to a study published by the All India Professionals Congress. Whereas a study published 1,618 miles away, in the United Arab Emirates, indicates that there are not enough graduates to go around. This is in a region where engineers are...Read More