123 First-year engineering students recently engaged with several industries on a tour in the coastal towns of Swakopmund, Henties Bay and Walvis Bay in the Erongo region. The aim of the tour was to engage various engineering industries in an effort to create exposure to how engineering multidisciplinary professions work together to deliver products and services offered by respective industries. Students were further exposed to various engineering facilities, presentations by industrial experts and discovery of current technologies applied across industries in the profession.
The trip also gave students an opportunity to link theoretical knowledge to real work in the field, network with key role players in the field of engineering and build on prospects with potential future employers, providers of industrial attachments opportunities and bursaries, amongst others.
Some of the key UNAM strategic industry partners engaged with include: Swakop Uranium, Swakopmund Municipality wastewater treatment plant, Walvis Bay Municipality, Namport, Namdock, Namwater, Belmet 3C Metal, Erongo Desalination, Walvis Bay Salt Company as well as the UNAM Sam Nujoma Campus.
The students, who represented various areas of specialisation in engineering spanning across Civil, Computer and Electronics, Electrical, Mechanical, Metallurgical and Mining Engineering, expressed their gratitude and described the tour as an eye opener to the field of engineering and the potential it has to offer. The academic staff who accompanied the students, also used this opportunity to strengthen existing relationships with these industries and expand on current and future collaborations aimed at enhancing the quality of learning and teaching.
