Massive engineering conference on the cards

ZIMBABWE is next month set to host a massive engineering forum in Victoria Falls to explore ways to grow the field globally and define the role of innovative infrastructure development in the country and the African region.

According to the event organisers, the 2022 Africa Asia Pacific Accord International Capacity Building in Engineering Education Forum and Zimbabwe Institution of Engineering Biennial Conference, which is slated for August 16-20, will see engineers from across the globe meeting at Elephant Hills Hotel in the resort city.

The event is being organised by the Zimbabwe Institution of Engineering (ZIE), the Engineering Council of Zimbabwe (ECZ), the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO-CECB), the Federation of African Engineering Organisations (FAEO) and the Federation of Engineering Institutions of Asia and Pacific (FEIAP).

“The United Nations has unanimously adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and an associated development agenda to address the grand challenges of development — this conference is premised on developing sustainable engineering capacity to achieve these goals and revisit the development agenda.
“According to the 2nd United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) engineering report, there is both a shortage in the number and quality of engineers to address the SDGs, which has been driven by an increasing technological world and an aging profession in some global regions,” the organisers said.

They said Africa’s growth was being slowed down by the lack of adequate qualified professional engineering practitioners and effective policies in the field.
The conference will therefore touch on a number of SDGs, which include inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of lifelong learning opportunities for all, taking urgent action to combat climate change and ensuring peace, justice and strong institutions.

The event, which is set to bring professional bodies, universities, policy makers, industry and governments, among other participants together, will also bring in partners such ECZ, Unesco, the Zimbabwean government, the FAEO and the FEAIP.

“This event will celebrate and leverage on several capacity initiatives of organisations working together in the past decade in Africa and beyond, from the recent Unesco and SADC reports, and the Africa Asia Pacific Engineering Accord.

“There will be a collaborative forum to create a unified strategy and plan for policy and practical initiatives to advance the growth of engineering capacity in Africa and beyond,” the organisers said.

Jester Media Services, owners of 3Ktv, the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe, which publishes the Daily News and the Daily News on Sunday, as well as Modus Media, which publishes The Financial Gazette, are the media partners for the event, which is running under the theme: Engineering the Future Through Quality Education, Capacity Building, Partnerships and the Development of Innovative Infrastructure.
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