IIE MSA is pleased to announce the launch of its IIE Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering degree as a new third option alongside its existing and highly popular Engineering qualifications: IIE Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and IIE Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering.
IIE MSA is a brand of The Independent Institute of Education (The IIE) and is one of a few private higher education campuses in South Africa to offer IIE engineering degrees. Civil engineering is one of the most in demand jobs in the world. There are numerous areas of specialisation within civil engineering which makes it a highly sought-after and international career. Civil engineers design, build and manage construction projects wherever they are in the world, including roads, buildings, bridges, water systems and airports – and neither South Africa nor the world at large can produce enough of them.
Domestically, civil engineering is the solution to many of South Africa’s many problems – and the only solution to crippling challenges such as power and water shortages. That these twin challenges are daily front-page news is testament to the need for good science and engineering professionals to address them. Globally too, civil engineers will play a vital role in meeting the challenges laid out by the internationally adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Their skills, and those of engineering technologists and other built environment professionals, are critical for water management (goal 6), access to energy (goal 7) and the creation of strong, lasting infrastructure (goal 9) and cities (goal 11). A number of other SDGs are also directly or indirectly impacted by engineering and related fields.
Head of School for Engineering, Science & Health at IIE MSA, Neil Manson, notes that there is a long road ahead for engineering in Africa and the continent, which must dramatically raise the number of people firstly who qualify to study civil engineering, and secondly who make it from the first year of an engineering degree through to graduation. This is where The IIE plays an important role through its three high-tech labs fitted with 2022-era digital technology. Engineering students are required to design, analyse, and test their creations and IIE MSA engineering students can do so with the latest technology.
With these labs, students are well prepared to enter the workforce upon graduating. Unlike many traditional engineering programmes, the IIE Bachelor of Engineering programmes expose them to the role of engineering in the real world as early as their first year.
Other dynamics of the courses include small classes and attention to students – teaching techniques designed to give engineering students every opportunity of graduating on schedule.
The IIE is adding ever more engineering programmes to its course selection in recognition that they are in high demand – primarily because of the discipline’s employability. “As the world becomes ever more automated, engineers are constantly in high demand. With the skills learned and developed from studying an engineering degree, we are sure the IIE 2023 pool of graduates will be highly employable with plentiful local and international work opportunities,” adds Manson.
To stimulate this interest, IIE MSA is hosting an unusual and highly interactive Engineering Open Day on Saturday, 13 August to enable curious scholars to “experience the power of engineering through the various workshops” held throughout the day. These remarkable workshops commence at 9:00 sharp and learners will be moving from experiment to experiment, experiencing everything from unique 3D printing, a LEGO session to building your MultiSim simulation flashlight, chemical composition of popular products, using the high tech software in the IT lab and experiencing a physics projectile motion showcase by the Engineering Student Society; says Manson. Find out more about studying engineering, request a consultation with one of our student advisers.
“Ultimately engineers are creative problem solvers and like to explore how things work every day. Indeed, these are the attributes that will be reinforced while studying engineering through our emphasis on laboratory study. This reliance on labs in study is a feature in modern engineering curricula and teaching methods. It means academic institutions require the latest labs with equipment that cannot be outdated by the standards of today’s fast-paced and innovative technologies,” Manson concludes.
