Learning the importance of engineers’ work in daily life

“THE part that I enjoyed the most about the talk was of course the humour of the speaker, he had interesting and funny jokes, and his vibrant personality as well as his enthusiasm and passion radiated throughout his talk,” said Hasnayn Hamid.

Hasnayn, 15 and in Grade 10, attends St Henry’s Marist College, Durban, and was one of the pupils amazed by the South African Institute of Civil Engineers (Saice) during their visit recently. As part of the school’s science, technology, engineering, and maths (Stem) programme, Saice visited the school in celebration of World Engineering Day. This is celebrated on March 4 annually, and is seen as a chance to celebrate the contribution of the world’s engineers for a better, sustainable world.

Hasnayn continued, “I learnt

about the issues that civil engineers help us with in our day-to-day lives.

“Growing up I was always used to hearing about engineering but not the specifics of the work. After the talk, I was enlightened with new knowledge and had a great appreciation for our civil engineers as they have contributed very widely in our lives. Infrastructure such as bridges and roads is used in our day-to-day lives – learning about engineering is important as it can promote the continuation of those in the field to the younger generations. Engineers specialise in sociology and ecology on a daily basis, something of which I was also unaware of,” she said.

Physical science educator, Shaneil Maraj, said the visit by Professor Philip Everitt of the UKZN School of Engineering was really special.

“In our 95th year as a school we were fortunate to have Professor Everitt share his link with the school. He is the nephew of the late Philip Everitt, a St Henry’s old boy who died in service during World War II. Professor Everitt’s talk was dynamic and gave students a better understanding of what the various fields of engineering do in the real world. He shared in more detail how they improve the living conditions of people. He shared videos and pictures of various projects around KZN that students could relate to, which made his talk even more impactful,”he said.

PROFESSOR Philip Everitt, of the University of KwaZuluNatal School of Engineering, speaks to the pupils of St Henry’s Marist College in celebration of World Engineering Day. | SUPPLIED

ST HENRY’S Marist College principal Dr Stephen Leech, Professor Philip Everitt and educator Shaneil Maraj.