GE, partners launch Next Engineers programme in Johannesburg

25th February 2022

By: Tasneem Bulbulia

Senior Contributing Editor Online

     

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Multinational General Electric (GE), in partnership with nonprofit organisations FHI360 and PROTEC, as well as the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE), on February 24 officially launched the Next Engineers programme in Johannesburg, aimed at increasing the diversity of young people in the engineering sector.

The programme, which will run over the course of five years, will provide more than 3 500 learners between the ages of 13 and 18 with hands-on exposure to engineering concepts and careers and, ultimately, award financial support to students pursuing engineering degrees.

Next Engineers, funded by the GE Foundation, has already been launched in Cincinnati, Ohio and Greenville, South Carolina, in the US, as well as Staffordshire, in the UK.

Johannesburg was selected as the fourth city owing to the strength of its bid, GE’s entrenched footprint here, as well as its previous success in implementing community and skills development programmes in the city, GE South Africa Nyimpini Mabunda said at the launch.

He further explained that the Johannesburg launch is taking place later than the other cities, as the group wanted to align this with the school calendar year.

This decision comes as a result of collaboration with the GDE, to ensure the programme runs seamlessly, as well as to ensure that the programme does not duplicate work already being done by the department, such as in its schools of specialisation, but rather, complements and enhances it.

Mabunda said that since Johannesburg was selected as one of the launch cities to implement Next Engineers last year, PROTEC and the GDE have ensured that they garner significant interest in the programme from high schools across Johannesburg’s five educational districts.

He acclaimed that 1 100 students have already applied to be among the first to participate in the programme’s three pillars – Engineering Discovery, Engineering Camp and Engineering Academy pillars.

Engineering Discovery builds an awareness in students of what engineers do. Engineering Camp is a week-long immersion camp to be held during the school holidays, during which students will be taken through engineering processes and work on solving real-life engineering challenges.

Engineering Academy, meanwhile, will assist students to think like engineers and prepare for studying at university.

Of the 1 100 students that applied, 550 high school learners have been selected as the first cohort of students to develop their engineering identities through the programme’s Engineering Discovery and Engineering Academy pillars.

The $2.5-million investment in the Johannesburg programme will cover funding for PROTEC to implement and grow the programme, provide financial support for up to 150 Engineering Academy participants and funding for tuition for 800 youths to attend Engineering Camp.

The Engineering Camp is expected to be held in June or July this year.

Mabunda said the aim is for at least 75% of participants who go through the programme to pursue an engineering-based study option.

As such, other entities such as the University of the Witwatersrand are also participating in the programme, providing a supportive role for the camps, providing access to labs and providing mentorship and access from engineering staff at the campus.

Mabunda said GE is aware that the issues facing the country’s engineering sector stem from the foundational phase.

Therefore, the Next Engineers programme is deliberately targeting raising awareness of engineering for students as early as age 13 (grade eight), igniting interest throughout high school (ages 14 to 18), and alleviating financial barriers to higher education through financial support.

Further to financial barriers, other issues facing the sector include a lack of diversity, both from a race and gender parity perspective.

Mabunda pointed out that only 11% of engineers in South Africa’s engineering sector are women, which reflects very poorly against the country’s demographic makeup.

Therefore, the programme aims to demonstrate that engineering is not limited to men only, and that it can be a viable career option for women, he said. He acclaimed that, of the 550 students chosen to participate in this year’s programme, 60% are women.

Also speaking at the launch was Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi, who said the programme would expose the next generation of engineers and changemakers – who would solve society’s most pressing challenges – to hands-on learning experiences.

He reiterated Mabunda’s sentiments about increasing diversity and women participation in the sector. “When you train and educate a woman, you are building a nation,” Lesufi emphasised.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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