The curriculum & pedagogy of Engineering Education has been changing over many years. Of course, the core engineering remain intact. But in tune with the requirement of the new world, new specializations are emerging. One has to keep updating his knowledge in order to survive in the new emerging world.
Let us delve into a few new areas in the engineering fields which seem promising. Of course the traditional fields viz, Civil, Mechanical & Electrical are still in demand. But most dynamic specializations are in the IT field & automation. In my previous blog post, I have dealt with AI & automation field.
AI – Artificial Intelligence
Today AI is the buzzword everywhere. My new diabetic treatment uses AI!! 1 or 2 years, back, this word was not familiar to many. Not only Silicon Valley but all countries including India, are gearing up for the next big thing, i.e, AI. It holds big promises & job opportunities in engineering. AI may result in an IT Revolution again. Maybe we should call this AI revolution. Already the Indian IT sector is fully geared up to jump into the foray.
IOT – Internet of Things
It is estimated that the globe would offer nearly 150 M new technology-oriented jobs, in the next 5 years. IoT is an integral part of technology innovations. With Covid 19, the use of gadgets has increased much fold around the world. That shows the significance of technology to connect and integrate the world. Its demand is particularly felt in the automotive sector. Hence, it is estimated that this IoT market is poised to grow more than 21% this year over 2019.
IoT is a vast area and there are many divisions & specializations. Product designing, computer architecture, internet gateway interfacing, control systems will create more avenues for job creation, innovation, and revenue generation.
Renewable Energy
A complete rethink of power consumption is necessary nowadays in view of climate change and pollution. The conventional power systems like thermal and/or hydel power are the past. Alternative & renewable source of energy is necessitated with dwindling coal reserves, and concern over pollution. Electrical, mechanical & even architectural engineering fields are re-molding to equip the new generation with new skill sets in the renewable and non-conventional energy sector.
Data Science and Machine Learning
All private sectors and Governments collect data and do analysis for various reasons. Data science involves the collection and sorting of big data which are taken from a plethora of sectors like e-commerce, financial, health and medical tourism, automobile. It involves statistics and software engineering. ML has emerged from data science and is used to predict the future based on data collected from the past. It involves complex algorithms to process data. So, it involves thorough knowledge of coding mathematics and other associated software. This field is highly technical and requires good skill sets.
Robotics and Automation Engineering
In a bid to better efficiency & cutting the cost, a major revolution has happened in the field of Robotics & Automation Engineering. Of course, this branch is in a nascent stage and is witnessing integration with other fields like AI, Electronics & Mechanical Engineering. A lot of job opportunities are being forecasted in this field. The present industrial sectors will see a sea change with more automation and robotics interventions.
Revival of Civil Engineering
The times are fast changing. So is civil engineering. Once a traditional field restricted to the construction sector only, civil engineering is also changing and adopting a rebirth. The rise of several MNCs, the penchant for new designs, integration of modern technologies, different construction materials has given a new lease of life to this field. This field will be an integral part of any country’s growth story.
These are the new avenues in the engineering field. Those who want to get into engineering should opt for any of these new avenues in order to have a bright future. All the best.
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