Engineering Initiatives for The Future
March 22nd, 2023
Like all sectors, engineering is striking that balance of pursuing its full reopening while embracing new methodologies and markets made necessary by the global impact of Covid-19 and the trickledown effects of war in Europe.
INTERVIEW
Eng. Dr. Chris Maharaj
President
Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago (APETT)
Like all sectors, engineering is striking that balance of pursuing its full reopening while embracing new methodologies and markets made necessary by the global impact of Covid-19 and the trickledown effects of war in Europe.
President of the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago (APETT) Eng. Dr. Chris Maharaj alluded to the trials of coping with the global issues affecting local sectors. “In this post-Covid-19 period along with the Russo-Ukrainian War, challenges still exist such as supply chain concerns leading to shortages with concomitant price increases. The hope is that existing businesses will adapt to these changes to maintain their customer base. During trying times such as these, I also expect to see innovation in businesses and the creation of new products and services in response to the aforementioned challenges.”
This crucial pillar of society has not been immune to the loss of contracts and jobs during the pandemic, but there is scope to help expedite recovery for the sector – and by extension, recovery for the wider economy – by collaboration with all stakeholders and ably tapping into financial resources that still exist despite the trying times. Maharaj confirms this, “I would recommend that business, industry, academia, and Government work together to determine the ways forward that the business community, having the liquidity, can invest sustainably in the country. Policies are needed to achieve this.”
Indeed, APETT has taken the initiative of this philosophy by partnering with the National Institute of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (NIHERST) to conduct a series of webinars designed to identify the areas in a post-lockdown society that present opportunities for engineering and expand them to the wider regional market. The webinars will actively explore areas such as recycling and renewable energy, that have not been made a priority in the past but are now of greater global concern and can be addressed through the overall engineering ethos of problem-solving. The joint brainstorming exercise echoes this with its stated intention: ‘Engineering challenges exist in the world because the solutions are difficult and often arise through an innovation-oriented approach.’
One of APETT’s first roles here was to identify local requirements and shortfalls post-pandemic, within the engineering parameters of maintenance, management, mitigation, standards, and development. Through surveys of the experts (i.e. APETT members) the aim is to bolster local engineering with a view to exporting T&T’s chemical, civil, mechanical and electrical expertise to the Caribbean. In addition to job creation, it will also satisfy the ongoing quest of generating foreign exchange earnings.
Maharaj’s outlook for the industry in the coming year is embedded in this type of cohesion between public and private entities. “The most significant initiatives and projects to be undertaken are those to manage a post-Covid world along with supply chain price increases. For governments, it will be the ability to manage the limited resources and redistribute some of the resources intelligently to low-income communities. I remain optimistic that the country and our people are resilient.”
by Sheldon Waithe
