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.

Australia’s drones deliver vaccines to those who need it most

March 25, 2019 10:52 am
Conflict and war are commonplace around the world and civilians are inevitably trapped in the midst of them. It is gratifying to report that engineering skill, in conjunction with technology, are working to alleviate some of the fall-out for the people caught up in these situations. This doughty combination of...Read More

The Western Cape’s big find is good news for engineers

March 14, 2019 3:02 pm
South Africa is a country with 27% of its population without work. Spirits have not been high for at least a decade; a struggling economy has been limping around entrenched and widespread governmental corruption. Thanks to a recent discovery, however, followed by an announcement by integrated oil and gas company...Read More

Engineering under the microscope after new aircraft disasters

March 14, 2019 2:35 pm
It is never pleasant to focus on engineering industry shortcomings. However, when new aircraft fall out of the sky, with multiple fatalities the result, the ugly business of discovering the faults commences. On Sunday, 10 March 2019, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 (flight ET302) belonging to Ethiopian Airlines crashed just...Read More

The company that launched the largest fleet of satellites in human history

March 13, 2019 11:27 am
Planet Labs has launched 146 satellites into space — officially it's the largest fleet of satellites in human history. The company began engineering the satellites with the intention of making each one roughly the size of a loaf of bread. They each weigh 12 pounds (5 kg). The satellites are...Read More

New surf park will be a civil engineering marvel

March 12, 2019 4:35 pm
Surely civil engineers who get to work on the world's largest and most up-and-coming vacation spots are the envy of their profession! South Korean (and Spanish) civil engineers will be hard at work on the world’s largest man-made surf park in Turtle Island, South Korea very soon. Spanish wave pool...Read More

The robot that might withstand a radioactive wasteland

March 12, 2019 4:03 pm
Toshiba Corp and General Electric have unveiled the robot that will again try to achieve what no robot has been able to accomplish before it; locating and removing the spent, melted nuclear fuel of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor number three. The cleanup and decommissioning of the three nuclear reactors...Read More

South Africa’s energy utility a failure of electrical engineering

March 12, 2019 3:41 pm
South Africa's energy utility is in dire straits. On the 11th of February 2019, the utility's engineers implemented Stage 4 load shedding on South Africa's main energy grid. Stage 4 load shedding indicated that the country was short 4,000MW of the peak capacity requirement of 27,000 MW due to what...Read More
Indumathi V -Deputy dean

Happy International Women’s Day, engineers! There’s work to do

March 8, 2019 11:12 am
Today is International Women's Day. EIT is celebrating the women who are currently filling positions in the engineering industry across the globe. However, most experts are cognizant that more needs to be done to encourage women to enter the engineering industry. The World Economic Forum reports that women account for...Read More

How to engineer around a polar vortex?

March 8, 2019 9:32 am
In the United States, the Midwest and Northeast have shivered their way through a winter they won't forget. They are calling it the coldest temperatures in a generation. If boiling water was thrown into the air, it would instantly freeze. The deep freeze is reminiscent of the Sci-Fi film The...Read More

Industrial automation growing manufacturing economies

March 7, 2019 1:31 pm
Industrial automation can transform the landscape of a country's workforce and economy. Countries are transitioning from mining economies, into manufacturing economies with the sometimes unseen fourth industrial revolution's slow march. Berg Insights reported that 4.6 million wireless devices were shipped globally in 2018 for the purpose of industrial automation. Industrial...Read More