The webinar on ’Mechanical engineering in the digital era’ organised by Dayananda Sagar institutions and The Hindu held recently, had experts discuss and encourage the audience to look at mechanical engineering from a different perspective.
“The industry has grown to be interdisciplinary. The boundaries separating mechanical engineering and other types of engineering such as electrical, civil and biomedical are blurring fast,” said Dinakaran, Head, Department of Mechatronics, Hindustan Institute of Tech and Science while walking the audience through what mechanical engineering looks like in today’s world.
A fast-changing industry calls for innovations in the way the subject is taught to students, said M.R. Haseebuddin, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering. He further spoke about the inclusion of interdisciplinary courses and how hands-on engineering experience is the best way to equip students for the marketplace.
The most-asked question from the audience, who tuned into the webinar, was about the job opportunities available at present for mechanical engineering graduates.
Anand Badiger, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering, Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering addressed this with a comprehensive walkthrough of government departments, research organisations and companies that require mechanical engineering talent. He reiterated that the opportunities for meaningful engineering work are plentiful, and that almost every industry requires a mechanical engineering backbone. “You just have to know where to look”, he added.
The panellists further quelled concerns and fears that mechanical engineering jobs were disappearing. They spoke about how in the age of automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicles (EV), mechanical engineering skills remain coveted in all kinds of companies.
