Author Archives for Steve Mackay
About Steve Mackay
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.
February 10, 2020 2:47 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
Lucinda Krige is a South African inspiration. She is a qualified Marine Engineer Officer who, since 2003, has been working for renowned seafood processing company Sea Harvest. She currently works as a HR Business Partner in Learning and Development at Sea Harvest. She was the first woman to qualify as a Chief Engineer in the [...]
February 6, 2020 9:36 am
Published by Steve Mackay
While the Engineering Institute of Technology has campuses in Perth, Western Australia, and Melbourne, Victoria, we predominantly run as an online institute that sees thousands of students logging in and out every day. For students who are part of our online learning cohort, internet connectivity is imperative. We are proud to have students from all [...]
February 5, 2020 8:35 am
Published by Steve Mackay
South Africa needs more medium-skilled workers. The youth graduate unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2019, according to Stats South Africa, was 31 percent. The hope is that the first quarter of 2020 may see improvement. The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Blade Nzimande, is encouraging matriculants who just received their results [...]
February 4, 2020 2:29 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
Australia’s fire season has been the most damaging in living memory. The skies have been tinged red by the earth-scorching fires that have burned up about 12 million acres of land in Australia. The bushfires, which are usually observed between October to March, have been raging since September 2019. They are the worst in the [...]
January 28, 2020 2:17 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
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 more
January 24, 2020 3:14 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
Autonomous and efficient data-collecting systems will continue to revolutionize engineering industries throughout 2020. The development of these cyber-physical systems is what is enabling the data and sensor-driven efficiency of the fourth industrial revolution forward. The most cutting-edge of industrial setups in the world are combining cyber-physical systems with large amounts of data, paired with machine [...]
January 10, 2020 8:10 am
Published by Steve Mackay
Tesla has officially announced that its lithium-ion home batteries, named the Powerwall, will be available in South Africa in 2020. They have sent surveys to prospective South African customers inquiring about their home energy usage. The questions the company put to the eager respondents were: Do you have a Solar PV system currently installed at [...]
January 8, 2020 9:52 am
Published by Steve Mackay
Air travel is a major contributor to CO2 emissions and is attracting the ire of environmentalist movements who are campaigning for the industry to look to alternative methods of powering aircraft. Airbus is looking to nature for inspiration to minimize the carbon footprint their planes create around the world. They are suggesting that planes could [...]
January 7, 2020 3:26 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
It is no exaggeration to say that technology has taken a giant leap forward in the last decade. In this decade, Uber revolutionized taxi industries around the globe, 4G networks brought fast internet to the masses, and Whatsapp and Instagram appeared on the world stage. Who do we have to thank for these incredible contributions [...]
December 17, 2019 3:40 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
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 more
December 12, 2019 2:44 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
The Fourth Industrial Revolution has had a significant impact on the worlds of education and work. The advent of the internet and its subsequent development over the last three decades has led to immense changes and has produced incredible technological leaps. The interconnectivity of internet-connected technologies has dually given rise to the Internet of Things. [...]
December 12, 2019 1:44 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
Starting from 2020, 4 March will now be the World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development as designated by the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO). Previously known as ‘Engineer’s Day’, the celebration was formerly observed in several counties on various dates throughout the year. The announcement was made on November 20th at the 2019 World [...]
December 12, 2019 9:12 am
Published by Steve Mackay
Just after returning from presenting a round of seminars in Asia (in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka), Steve Mackay landed in Melbourne on the evening of the 26th November, with three colleagues, for the TEQSA Conference. The theme at the conference this year was Partnerships driving Quality – a topic close to our hearts: in [...]
December 12, 2019 9:01 am
Published by Steve Mackay
Engineers at the University of Rochester in New York are working to develop “unsinkable” materials. Once perfected, these metals could be used to build unsinkable ships, create puncture-proof life jackets, and protect electronics from water damage. The work is being conducted in the Femtosecond Laser Laboratory at the university. The researchers have been making metals [...]
December 12, 2019 8:36 am
Published by Steve Mackay
Imagineer. Verb. Gerund or present participle: Imagineering Devise and implement a new or highly imaginative concept or technology. How do engineers instill a feeling of magic in people’s minds? Some have spent the last 70-years creating innovations that stir up a sense of awe and wonder in anyone who experiences Disney – its theme park [...]
December 12, 2019 8:29 am
Published by Steve Mackay
Engineering companies in the United Kingdom are ensuring the engineers of the future engage with engineering through collaboration and innovation. To achieve this, the Royal Academy of Engineering has developed a day to celebrate engineers and their contribution to the world. The day is aptly named: This Is Engineering Day, and it took place on [...]
December 12, 2019 8:24 am
Published by Steve Mackay
“With global developments characterized by higher demand for transportation, increasingly congested roads, and major environmental challenges, the industry needs to provide transport solutions that are safer, have a lower environmental impact, and are more efficient.” Those were the words of the Volvo Group, the Swedish multinational manufacturing company, in their recent media statement. Volvo busies [...]
November 7, 2019 9:42 am
Published by Steve Mackay
Technology is rapidly transforming the world of work. Traditional curricula in tertiary education institutions must change with the times to better prepare graduates for the technologies they will need to utilize once they enter the workforce. Likewise, students are wondering what roles they might have post-graduation, as the job landscape is continually evolving with automation. [...]
November 7, 2019 9:22 am
Published by Steve Mackay
On a Tuesday morning in late October, Danish engineers engaged in a risky and costly rescue operation to move one of Denmark’s most beloved landmarks. The Rubjerg Knude Fyr lighthouse was first lit in 1900 and is the Danish north coast’s jewel and a national treasure. However, due to coastal erosion, engineers have said the [...]
November 7, 2019 9:13 am
Published by Steve Mackay
Could climate change prediction models and regional data collected by cities help ensure the safety of infrastructure in the future? Securing infrastructure like bridges and making them weatherproof is pretty important work. However, with more extreme weather events predicted for the future, how can engineers be sure their bridges will stay standing? Engineers have life-cycle [...]
November 6, 2019 3:46 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
Engineers are the driving force behind the digital revolution. In just the last decade, there has been a rise in automation technologies that have turned menial tasks at almost every level of society into an automated process. Emerson, a global technology and engineering leader, is designing automation solutions for engineers that they believe could propel [...]
November 6, 2019 3:35 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
It was the curse of the commentator. Deloitte Risk Advisory Africa had just released a report on the lack of organizations’ preparedness for cybersecurity attacks in Africa. Soon after, hackers attacked the government of the City of Johannesburg in South Africa. On the 25th of October 2019, employees of the City of Johannesburg found the [...]
November 6, 2019 3:28 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
Could the used coffee grounds from your morning coffee have a second life? Melbournian engineers think so — they have found the perfect use for coffee waste. In the future, houses and roads may have traces of coffee in them. Concrete contains up to 80% sand, which is one of the planet’s most used resources. [...]
November 6, 2019 3:20 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
Snowy Hydro is an energy company that provides electricity to one million homes in Australia. They are the fourth-largest retailer in the energy market in Australia. Their crown achievement is the Snowy Mountains Scheme. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was the most significant public works engineering scheme ever undertaken in Australian history. It was a quintessentially [...]
October 31, 2019 11:17 am
Published by Steve Mackay
Volkswagen Group South Africa intends to take its manufacturing plant in Uitenhage, a town in the Eastern Cape Province, off the national electricity grid. It is not surprising that companies are looking at more sustainable (and renewable) means of powering their facilities in South Africa. The country’s state-owned electricity utility has been plagued with problems [...]
October 30, 2019 3:29 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
Australian and American engineers are working on a series of space missions that could ultimately culminate in putting humans on Mars. The first mission, named Artemis, will involve getting humans back on the moon in 2024. It is expected to see the first woman walk on the lunar surface. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited [...]
October 30, 2019 2:41 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
“Engineers can be a part of the solution. We all need to get together as a planet and do it collectively.” Those were the words of engineer and sustainability consultant at BuroHappold Engineering, Trevor Keeling. He was taking part in the Global Climate Strike along with 1,799 other employees of BuroHappold Engineering worldwide who stopped [...]
October 29, 2019 4:22 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
During the Great Recession of 2008, in the United States engineering companies began closing down. General Motors in Dayton, Ohio, was one such company that had to shut its doors due to the economic downturn. This meant a factory was left empty and ready for a new tenant, and 2,000 workers were out of jobs. [...]
October 29, 2019 3:54 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
Turning waste into a source of power is a big opportunity in the modern age. With the amount of plastic that is produced every day, building a cyclical ecosystem that can reuse plastic quickly is one way to reduce waste. Emerging technologies invented by collections of scientists and engineers are springing up to assist with [...]
October 29, 2019 3:04 pm
Published by Steve Mackay
Globally, the fast-food industry generates revenue of more than US$570 billion, an amount higher than the economic value of many countries. With no signs of slowing down, fast food is an unbeatable global leader amongst industry, and they are now looking to automation to make their food even faster. McDonald’s, the largest fast-food chain in [...]