In India in the 1970s and 1980s, the best students opted for mostly mechanical and electrical engineering. Computer science and electronics were then nascent streams. The system took a u-turn in the following decades. With the boom in the outsourcing industry, most students preferred to be trained as computer engineers.
While this trend continues, Sarit Das, director at IIT-Ropar and professor in the mechanical engineering department at IITMadras, believes a lot of jobs in the modern industry will depend on mechanical engineers. “Sectors such as electric vehicles, smart and connected devices, bio-engineering, 3D printing, and renewable energy are some of those where the demand will be very high,” he says.
Mechanical engineering is often broken down into three subsidiary subjects – manufacturing, design and thermal. An engineer trained in thermal engineering has a good chance to excel in the electric vehicle industry, where the battery management system is extremely critical. Some electric vehicle manufacturers in the country have already started designing the circuit board of the battery, looking into the thermal management – how the heat is spread uniformly over the cells and also focusing on electrical safety.
Das says the demand for mechanical engineers also stems from the concept of Industry 4.0, where computers and mechanical systems are connected to and communicate with one another to make decisions without human involvement. A combination of cyber-physical systems, the internet-of-things, and the internet-of-systems make the possibility of a smart factory a reality.
“In the past, mechanical engineering was known as physical engineering, while computer science was about controlling the business through systems. Now you need to connect both and mechanical engineers have an upper hand,” Das says. He, however, says the branch needs a blend of IT controls, understanding of databases and data analytics to deal better with changing times.
Das is trying to attract faculty who may have done their undergraduate degree in mechanical but higher studies in computer science to provide a better perspective to students of mechanical engineering.
Courtesy: The Times of India
