In the form of a society, a group of young aspiring engineers are on a quest to help fellow students earn the recognition which students studying at the Faculty of Engineering and Technology (FET), now known as the Botswana College of Engineering and Technology (BCET), should be getting from companies and organizations in the engineering industry.
In the past, former students had tried to form societies of such nature but could not succeed, however the University of Botswana Engineers Society (UBES) has been in existence for well over a year with the blessing of their dean, Alfred Ngowi, whom they refer to as a father figure who constantly advises them on which paths to take.
The society was recently in Cape Town, at Stellenbosch University and Cape Peninsula, where they bench-marked on how engineering associations within other universities dealt with introducing their students to the corporate world.
The trip also helped them learn and observe advanced infrastructure that was bought to South-Africa by the 2010 World Cup.
“Our main aim is to breech the gap between the students and the industry, we are trying by all means to avoid situations whereby graduates have no idea where to start looking for jobs and who to approach for help, this can only be done through networking, and that is how our society operates,” said Swereki.
The trip to Cape Town was facilitated through the help of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Science and Technology. The society has approached some companies and organizations that are linked to engineering for support and acknowledgement of its presence. They are appealing to interested organizations or companies that might want to help them or work with them in future to reach out to them as well as believe that the arrangement could benefit both.
“Here we are talking in terms of workshops and conferences that we might be allowed to attend to increase our knowledge about engineering on the ground, and we are also talking about setting a criterion for giving recommendations of graduates who could work for particular interested companies after completion of school,” said Swereki.
The students can be reached at their office on campus at 2038/3 or on their cellphone at 75078859. They can also be emailed at [email protected] for more information.
