More engineers needed

By ADAM GIFFORD

Massey University has been forced to shelve plans to offer three new engineering courses at its Albany campus because of poor enrolments.

The four-year degrees, in manufacturing systems engineering, manufacturing and industrial technology, and product development, will continue to be taught at Palmerston North.

Professor Gavin Wall, the head of technology and engineering at Massey, says the university believes the product development course, at least, should be successful in the Auckland market and it will work towards starting it next year.

He says while computer sciences courses are booming, industrial technology is struggling.

"Our graduates are keenly sought after, but we struggle to get entrants.

"We had 20 manufacturing and industrial technology graduates last year, and the market could have taken 50. This year we've got five first-year students in that degree [at Palmerston North].

"We've had electronics companies come to the campus and say they'll pay $55,000 for a graduate, and they couldn't hire one because the supply doesn't match the demand."

Professor Wall says intending students seem to see engineering and industrial technology as a "last century" thing, "but our degrees have a lot to do with supply-chain planning and management, inventory management - things which are the basis for e-commerce.

"Whether you're manufacturing a widget or selling a textbook through Amazon.com, what's important is the underlying philosophy."

One course which has started at the Albany campus is a degree in mechatronics, embedding intelligence in physical objects.

"The Smart Drive washing Machine was first-generation mechatronics. A lot of machines today have some sort of on-board intelligence," Professor Wall says.

He says it is important Massey gets the marketing of its courses right.

"Government and leading commentators are saying we need to be a value-added, knowledge economy. To do that, the country is relying on the graduates we are producing.

"The dairy industry, for example, is a major user of our graduates."

Alan Wright, a senior lecturer in the manufacturing and industrial technology degree, who is taking a 12-month sabbatical to work in consulting firm Mi Services' Melbourne office, says the degrees create multi-disciplinary people who understand not only engineering but business.

"It's a very successful formula. People like Mi Services take people with a technology degree straight into a consultancy role, because they can comprehend the whole system."

He says students may be put off by a false perception New Zealand manufacturing is on its last legs.

"We have to educate people there are good careers out there. Manufacturing is rationalising and there are some real winners, not just Fisher and Paykel but smaller manufacturers getting out and expanding.

"I recently heard from a Wairarapa coffin manufacturer whose aim is to bury the world - he has trouble finding people who can help grow his business."

Mr Wright says schools need to get students to appreciate how a background in physics, maths and other sciences can give good career prospects in interesting and challenging areas.

Professor Wall says even though the university starts this week, Massey can cope with late enrolments at Palmerston North.

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