TUCSIN Alumni

2013

It’s hot, you’re tired and you need

an ice cold cool drink urgently… So ,

you crab it from the fridge, crack it

open, drink it and drop the empty

can into the waste bin...Ahh .. re-

freshed and ready to tackle the

world. Bet you’re wondering ,

“What was drinking a cool drink got

to do with engineering?” Well, let’s

just think about it for a moment…

First of all, the container is made of

metal, which means a Mining Engi-

neer made a contribution, The fac-

tory that made the can needed Me-

chanical Engineering for the equip-

ment an Electrical Engineering to get

the electricity to the factory in order

to operate all the equipment. All the

computer—controlled equipment

needed Electronic Engineering to

keep it going. The water for the

factory, and the roads to get materi-

als to it and products distributed to

the shop where you bought the cool

drink , all needed Civil Engineering.

Some of the products in the cool

drink may even be natural, which

points to the participation of an Agri-

cultural Engineer. Of course the fac-

tory needed an Industrial Engineer

to bring it all together and all that

packaging means there must have

been a Chemical Engineer involved

somewhere!

ARE YOU GETTING THE PICTURE ?

Without engineering, there would be no

plastic, no metal, no roads, no water, no

electricity, no food, no electrical equip-

ment, no hospital, no infrastructure , no

cities, no harbours, no trade and certainly

no CD’s, DVDs or cool drinks! Basically

the world wouldn’t be much of a place

without engineering!

Lets’ look at all the possibilities that are

out there for you to become an Engi-

neer !

Inside this issue:

What is Engineering 1

Civil & Chemical Engineering

Education and Career Paths 2

Mechanical & Electrical Engi-

neering Education and

Career Paths

3

Metallurgy Engineering Edu-

cation and Career Paths 4

TUCSIN AA: ENGINEERING

Professionals : 5

Where to study Engineering 6

TUCSIN AA Contact

information 6

“ The engineering industry has an enormous impact on the economy of any country. In Namibia its impact is equally enormous. It takes centre stage in its economic growth and development—especially sustainable development. As such, the engineering industry is intrinsically linked to nation wide efforts of creating a better future for all Namibians. “ -Who’s Who of Engineering Namibia

Career Focus -

ENGINEERING

05 April 2013 Volume1, Issue 4

What is Engineering ?

A good scientist is a person with original

ideas. A good engi-neer is a person who

makes a design that works with as few

original ideas as possi-ble. There are no

prima donnas in engi-

neering.

Freeman Dyson

Gary is a Civil engineer who builds big buildings. He

tells us, “Civil engineers build

structures, dams, roads,

bridges and large environ-

mental projects. I’m a civil

engineer who builds build-

ings. During school, I thought I would like to

focus my career on being a structural engi-

neer, the person who takes the architect’s

designs and converts them into building plans

that account for design strengths and materi-

als. But later I realized, I like to be involved in

the construction aspect of the building. In

other words, I wanted to be the one on-site

who figures out how all the pieces of materi-

als come together in a particular sequence

and then make that happen.” “A city is a place

where people live, work, learn and play. Civil

engineers like me affect a city by building the

buildings we live and work in, the schools and

arts centers we learn in, the sports stadiums

we play in, and the roads and bridges we use

to travel on. We get involved in all of these

projects and really help create the fabric of

the city.”

Requirements A civil engineer should:

- have an aptitude for science and mathemat-

ics;

- be able to visualise objects three dimension-

ally;

- be creative and have initiative;

- be accurate and persistent;

- be able to make decisions;

- show good judgement;

- work well with others;

- express ideas clearly;

- have good health and stamina

- have managerial qualities

- be able to manage and organize projects

School Subjects National Senior Certificate meeting degree

requirements for a degree course

National Senior Certificate meeting diploma

requirements for a diploma course

Each institution will have its own minimum

entry requirements.

Compulsory Subjects: Mathematics, Physi-

cal Sciences

Recommended Subjects: Information

Technology, Geography, Engineering and

Technology

Note: The Engineering Faculties of some uni-

versities offer a support programme to help

students to become self-sufficient and capa-

ble of completing the very demanding engi-

neering course. The programme is aimed at

students from communities which lack proper

education facilities.

Training

Degree: Civil Engineering is offered at many

universities, eg. UCT, UP, UNISA, US, UKZN,

Wits. The engineering degree requires a mini-

mum of 4 years of study at a recognised uni-

versity.

BTech degrees and Diploma Courses in Civil

Engineering are also offered at CPUT, CUT,

TUT, DUT and SW Gauteng FET. A person who

has obtained a recognised BSc (Eng) or BEng

degree is then eligible for registration as an

Candidate Engineer. After gaining at least 3

years of appropriate practical experience, a

civil engineer may register as a Professional

Engineer under the auspices of the Engineer-

ing Council of Namibia.

Shellie is a Chemical engineer who special-

izes in food products for

the pet industry. As the

engineer on a product

development team, she is

the link between the

products consumers want and the scientists

who design those products. It is a matter of

defining a need and determining the technical

feasibility of addressing that need. She calls it,

"linking the consumer to technology."

As a pet food product design specialist, Shellie

works with a variety of other technical spe-

cialists such as lab scientists, marketing execu-

tives, process and packaging engineers, con-

sumer advocates, animal behaviorists, and

financial executives. She also acquires direct

consumer input through surveys, one-on-one

interviews, and focus groups. According to

Shellie, teamwork and problem solving are

both important in any engineering project.

Civil & Chemical Engineering fields: Education and Career Paths

Page 2 Newsletter Title

She believes that the group effort brings to a problem so many different perspectives that are beneficial in so many ways. She says, "the value of other people's input to solve problems is what makes you successful." She further believes that in high school and university , it is vital that an aspiring engineer learn to think about problems in different ways in order to respond to the many unexpected things that can happen during a product design project.

Requirements

A chemical engineer should: - be curious, alert and open-minded - have an aptitude for Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics - be able to communicate ideas clearly in speech and in writing - enjoy working as part of a team - get along well with others - be responsible - have managerial and organizational skills

School Subjects

National Senior Certificate meeting degree requirements for a degree course National Senior Certificate meeting diploma requirements for a diploma course Each institution will have its own minimum entry requirements.

Compulsory Subjects: Mathematics, Physical

Sciences Recommended Subjects: Information Technol-ogy, Engineering and Technology

Training Degree: The B. degree in Chemical Engineering is offered at the following universities: UCT, UKZN, NWU, UP, US, UNISA, UJ and Wits.

Inside Story Headline

Volume1, Issue 4 Page 3

Mechanical & Electrical Engineering fields: Education and Career Paths

Design, build and test machines, engines and

other mechanical devices as a mechanical engi-

neer. Whenever you buy or use almost any

product, you can be sure that a mechanical

engineer was involved in

making it.

Tom is a Systems / Mechanical engineer.

His degree is in

mechanical engineering, but he

has taken that base knowledge and expanded it

to bring other areas of engineering into his

world. “As Systems engineers, we combine

many engineering disciplines to develop some

kind of new gizmo that does something that

has never been done before to suit a specific

need or functionality.” Working in a team ori-

ented environment, each project comes with

new and different challenges. Working with

creative people and having the resources to

solve those challenges is part of what excites

Tom about his job. “Everything excites me

about my job. The fact that I get to come to

work and build micro-air vehicles and morphing

aircraft with really cool functionalities that

didn’t exist before, now that’s exciting.” Tom’s educational experience included a co-op working arrangement. In his case, he went to school for four months, then went to work for four months to use what he’d learned in his classes. That cycle repeated throughout his college experience. “The really great part about the co-op program was that I could apply what I just learned to real-world problems.”

Requirements

A mechanical engineer should: - have an aptitude and preference for experi-menting, planning and research; - enjoy detailed work; - enjoy solving problems - have above average intelligence and an ana-lytical mind; - be meticulously accurate in calculations and drawings; - have mathematical and mechanical aptitude; - ability to visualize objects three-dimensionally and interpret 3D drawings; - be a good decision-maker; - prepared to accept responsibility - defects in designs can affect lives - be creative;

School Subjects

National Senior Certificate meeting degree

requirements for a degree course

National Senior Certificate meeting diploma

requirements for a diploma course

Each institution will have its own minimum

entry requirements.

Compulsory Subjects: Mathematics, Physi-

cal Sciences

Recommended Subjects: Information Tech-

nology, Technical Drawing, Mechanical

Technology

Note: the Engineering Faculties of some

universities offer a support programme to

help students to become self-sufficient and

capable of completing the very demanding

engineering course. The programme is

aimed at students with good grades, from

communities which lack proper education

facilities.

Training

Degree: A BSc in Mechanical Engineering

can be followed at UCT, UKZN, NWU,

NMMU, UP, UJ, US, UNISA and Wits.

Afterwards, a period of 2 years practical

training is required before a person may

register as a professional engineer with the

Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA).

Diploma: universities of technology now

offer a degree in Mechanical Engineering in

collaboration with universities. The course

is a minimum of 4 years’ study and is pre-

sented by the following: CUT, CPUT, DUT,

TUT, VUT, Polytechnic of Namibia and

UNISA.

An Electrical engineer researches,

designs, installs, and tests electrical and elec-tronic equipment and supervises its manufac-ture. Their work involves the generation, distribution and management of all appli-ances and installations that generate or use electrical energy.

Power generation involves the generation of electrical power from a variety of sources: hydro-electrical, thermal coal power, nuclear, as well as renewable sources of power such as solar and wind power. Distribution involves transmission lines and sub-stations that are used to distribute electrical energy for power, heating, lighting and other uses.

Requirements

An electrical engineer should: - be an independent thinker and able to visualize abstract concepts - have above average mathematical and scientific aptitude - show originality and initiative - be able to make fast and correct deci-sions during times of crisis - function well with other people - be able to manage projects - have an inquiring, analytical mind - have good health and physical stamina - keenness to learn, combined with logical reasoning - have good problem-solving skills

School Subjects

National Senior Certificate meeting degree requirements for a degree course National Senior Certificate meeting di-ploma requirements for a diploma course Each institution will have its own mini-mum entry requirements.

Compulsory Subjects: Mathematics, Physical Sciences Recommended Subjects: Information Technology, Electrical Technology

Training Degree: The 4-year BEng degree in Electri-cal Engineering can be followed at the UP, Wits, UKZN, US, UCT, UJ, NMMU, UNISA and NWU. Theoretical lectures are supple-mented by tutorial classes and practical sessions that mostly take place in the laboratory. Diploma: The 3-year N.Dip. Electrical Engi-neering can be obtained at a university of technology and is presented by the TUT, DUT, CUT and CPUT. These universities of technology now offer a degree in Engi-neering in collaboration with universities. The course is a minimum of 4 years’ study.

Metallurgy Engineering : Education and Career Paths

Page 4 Newsletter Title

Metallurgy is the art of extracting metals

from ore and forms an essential part of the mining effort. Metallurgical engineers play an important role in the development of metal-liferous minerals used daily in many products such as alarms, kettles, cars, etc. The metallurgical engineer is trained in the processes and methods for the reclamation and processing of ore and mineral resources. After the process of purification, the metal-lurgical engineer combines science, mathe-matical and engineering principles to extract various kinds of metal from the ore. The optimally correct metal for each application must be created. Apart from producing metal products the metallurgical engineer must also be able to determine the cause of defects in metals and prescribe possible solu-tions. Metallurgical engineering can be divided into two complementary fields: Extraction metallurgy or minerals process-ing: This is the science and technology of refining and processing minerals to useful metals by way of production and manufac-turing processes. First, the preparation of reclaimed ore for the extraction process is handled and secondly the reclamation of metal from the prepared ore is taken care of. After the ore has been prepared, it under-goes a further extraction process through which metal is obtained from the concen-trate. Material engineering or physical metallurgy: This field is concerned with original raw ma-terials that are alloyed, formed into useful components and treated with heat to achieve the required characteristics. This includes combining different metals to form alloys which give products with specific quali-ties, such as sheets, wire and bars.

Requirements

A metallurgist should: - have mathematical and scientific ability; - have a thorough knowledge of scientific methods; - able to think logically and analytically; - have good judgement and common sense - be creative, innovative and have a receptive attitude towards change

-have good interpersonal relations and leader-ship ability - be computer literate - be self-driven, motivated and some interest in finance .

School Subjects

National Senior Certificate meeting degree re-quirements for a degree course Each institution will have its own minimum entry requirements.

Compulsory Subjects: Mathematics, Physical Science Recommended Subjects: Life Sciences, Engineer-ing and Technology

Training

Degree: Metallurgical Engineering is offered at UP, UJ, Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering - Wits, Chemical and Minerals Engineering - NWU. VUT also presents the National Diploma, BTech, MTech and DTech qualifications in Metallurgical Engineering, Those with these degrees are eligible for regis-tration as Engineers in Training. After gaining at least 3 years of appropriate practical experience, metallurgical engineers may register as Profes-sional Engineers under the auspices of the Engi-neering Council of Namibia.

Grant Kloppers holds a BTECH Degree in Mechanical Engineering from CPUT, South Af-

rica. He is currently a consultant at BICON NAMBIA with 7 years professional experience

as a Consultant Engineer and also the owner of JK Consulting Engineers. His experience

includes design, supervision and commissioning of mechanical building services, including

air conditioning , ventilation, lifts , water reticulation, fire protection and kitchen equip-

ment. Grant also have 3 years experience as Laboratory Manager at the Polytechnic of

Namibia. His duties included the development of Laboratory facilities, staff and Machinery.

Mr Kloppers received a DAAD scholarship through the auspices of TUCSIN in 2001 - 2002

Steven Hochobeb holds a BSc degree in Civil Construction Engineering Technology from Temple University, USA; MBA (Industrial Management and Management Information Sys-tems)- Marywood College, USA; Certificate Project Management -University of Pretoria

His reasons for choosing Engineering as his career : “At the time (before 1985), I knew of no one (black or white) who studied Engineering. When I went to the States, I decided that I would study in the field (after my first year of study as an Economics student). I chose Civil Engineering (specifically roads) because one could actually SEE the outcome of one’s work and I wanted to contribute in that field when returning to Namibia. However, I decided to study for an MBA and graduated with two concentrations—Industrial Manage-ment and Management Information Systems. At that time, my motivation was to enter the management field and to be well versed with information systems.”

Steven currently works as a Project Manager for Land Delivery (since 2008) at the City of Windhoek. His work entails the management of the entire process from planning, engineer-ing, construction right through to sale of serviced land.

Mr Hochobeb was one of the first 8 TUCSIN CC students in 1984 !

The following proud alumni are examples of Engineering Science

Mr Steven Hochobeb

CC –1984 Student

Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 5

TUCSIN AA Engineering professionals

Engelhard Haihambo— Engineer at RCC

Konrad Friederich— Elec Engineer

Hartmut Jagau—Elec Engineer

Bezuidenhout David—Eng Technician

Bogalechi Alfons—Eng Consultant

Haitha Obed—Engineer at Telecom

Heyman Elton— Eng Technician

Linda Perny—Eng Technician City of Whk

Armando Perny - Eng Telecom

Mbuere Berthold - Eng Namwater

Moeller Werner— Eng Consultant

Dietmar Otto— MSc Chem Eng

Lameka Amunyela—Engineer—Telecom

Muyungano Broderick - Eng Rossing Uranium

Muteka Gabes—Eng Consultant

Nel Wouter - Electrical Technician

Olivier Michello - Electrical Eng Rio Tinto

Shikesho Andreas—Eng Rio Tinto

Tromp Nico - Eng Consultant

Kahiva Donald—Eng CIS

Berry Paul— Comp Engineer

Grace Tshipo - City of Whk

Alex Gawanab— Chem Eng De Beers

Group

Mr Grant Kloppers

2001-2002

DAAD Grantee

I think of it as a good opportunity to let, in par-

ticular, school kids know that this job and other in-

teresting jobs in science and engineering are open to

anyone who works hard in school and gets a good

education and studies math and

science. And that it's not just for a select group

of people.

Ellen Ochoa

TUCSIN Alumni 2013

Phone: 061 224840

Fax: 061 222544

E-mail: tucsinalumni@mweb.com.na or wle@iway.na

We’re on the web:

Www.tucsin.org and Facebook

Other Institutions

University of Pretoria : www.up.ac.za

University of the Witwatersrand : www.wits.ac.za

University of Stellenbosch : www.sun.ac.za

Central University of Technology : ww.cut.ac.za

Tshwane University Of Technology : www.tut.ac.za

Durban University Of Technology : www.dut.ac.za

Cape Peninsula University of Technology : www.cput.ac.za

References : http://www.unam.na

http://www.acen.com

http://www.pacecareers.com

POLYTECHNIC OF NAMIBIA The Engineering School consists of six departments:

Architecture, Civil Engineering; Electrical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering;

Mining; and Technical Vocational Education and Training .

Where to study Engineering

UNIVERSITY OF NAMIBIA The following courses are offered:

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATION

ENGINEERING

MECHANICAL AND INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

MINING ENGINEERING AND METALLURGICAL

ENGINEERING

The First Year of Engineering is common to all engineer-ing disciplines and is the entry point for students who completed secondary school and obtained the National Senior Secondary Certificate (NSSC) at NSSC-H level (HIGCSE level) and obtained grades 1 or 2 in Mathemat-ics and Physical Science and grade 3 or better in English.

Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology University of Namibia Ongwediva Campus P. O. Box 3624 Ongwediva Namibia Telephone: (+264 65) 232 4004 Fax: (+264 65) 2324069 E-mail: pnshivute@unam.na

Tel: (+264 -61) 207 2024

Fax: (+264-61) 207 2142

email: engineering at polytechnic.edu.na