The Institution of Engineers, Pakistan, Rawalpindi-Islamabad Centre (IEP-RIC) on Wednesday marked the UNESCO World Engineering Day for sustainable development in various areas, including renewable energy technologies.
A special event was arranged on the occasion here at the IEP-RIC office to highlight the significance of the day and apprise the young engineers as how to keep high the prescribed standards of the quality work in the field of engineering.
This was the follow-up of the UNESCO 40th general conference held in November 2019 which had adopted a resolution to celebrate the day.
The March 4, 1968, was the founding day of World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) and it had proposed in 2018 to declare March 4 as World Engineering Day.
Those who addressed the event included Chairman IEP-RIC Engr Hafiz Ehsan-ul-Haq Qazi and Secretary Group Captain (r) Engr Najamuddin, besides guest speakers Engr Ahad Nazir, Engr Frida Javed and Engr Saadat Ali
In their speeches, they said the World Engineering Day is a befitting opportunity to celebrate the important contributions of engineering practitioners and engineering to sustainable development and modern life. The celebration, they added, is also aimed at promoting engineering as a career of choice and to acquaint the young generation as how engineering changes the world for the better of all.
The speakers emphasized that a great deal of engineering solutions is required to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in developing countries. For instance, to ensure that everyone has access to clean water, sanitation, reliable energy, and other basic human needs, engineering professionals have to come to the party.
They underlined the need promoting awareness about the impacts of climate change, environmental issues, our growing cities, the challenges of new technologies and artificial intelligence. There are many opportunities the World Engineering Day can be used to engage with young people and declare “If you want to change the world for the better, become an engineer.”
It was noted that engineering professionals are essential for sustainable economic development as they are needed to support the growth and development of essential infrastructures such as roads, railways bridges, dams, waste management, water supply and sanitation.
