The 6th SA-UNESCO Engineering and Technology Conference opened with a clear call for delegates to move beyond discussion and produce a concrete action plan. Speaking at the official opening on Thursday, 26 September 2019, Mr Christopher Tsatsawane, Executive at the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA), set the tone for the two-day gathering.

“We need an action plan, or without one we will continually have one conference after the other without any results to show for it”.

Decolonising the fourth industrial revolution

Speaking to the conference theme, “Decolonizing the 4th Industrial Revolution in support of the Sustainable Development Goals”, Mr Tsatsawane emphasised that the conference should not be a talk show but should map a plan for how South Africa and the world can embrace and adapt to technological change. He said, South Africa needs to harness the technological change presented by the fourth industrial revolution to serve the development aspirations of South Africa.

Leaders echo the call

Mr Tsatsawane spoke alongside the Director General of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), Dr Phil Mjwara, and the Premier of the North West Province, Professor Job Morogo, who reiterated the same sentiments and called for the conference to be different and cognisant of the needs of the country as it manoeuvres through the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution.

A national collaboration

The main conference took place over two days from 26 to 27 September 2019 and was hosted by North-West University’s (NWU’s) Mahikeng campus. It was a collaboration between UNESCO, the DSI, ECSA and the National Research Foundation (NRF). The conference sought to bring together role players from various engineering fields to discuss opportunities and challenges and to propose strategies South Africa can adopt to develop relevant and future-oriented capacity and capabilities. Discussions included youth in engineering in the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), infrastructure for the 4IR, advanced manufacturing, and sustainable engineering and energy.

Original Press Release

About ECSA

The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) is the statutory body established under the Engineering Profession Act, 46 of 2000, mandated to regulate the engineering profession in South Africa. ECSA is responsible for the accreditation of engineering programmes, the registration of engineering practitioners, and upholding professional and ethical standards across the profession.

Issued by the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA).

ECSA Media Contact

Sybil Dlamini, Manager: Marketing and Communication
Email: sybil@ecsa.co.za | Tel: 073 623 8275
Website: www.ecsa.co.za

This article is based on an official ECSA press release. Read the original statement.