An industrial expo organised by the Society for Automation, Instrumentation, Measurement and Control (SAIMC) at UKZN’s School of Engineering attracted students, lecturers and SAIMC regional and committee members, among others.

The expo, which involved collaboration between the School of Engineering and SAIMC, included a variety of industries which displayed state-of-the-art products and processes.

‘The aim of the event was to enable Engineering students from all disciplines to experience industry processes that involve automation, measurement, instrumentation and control,’ said Academic Leader Research and Higher Degrees in the School, Professor Akshay Saha. ‘This provided students with a real experience of the processes and equipment they would be using in real life applications for their own organisation and their clients as well. Most importantly, the expo displayed state-of-the-art processes and instrumentations related to industrial revolution 4.0.’

Saha and Mr John Owen-Ellis, who both opened proceedings and welcomed everyone to the event, encouraged students to network and interact with industry vendors, examine the vast array of products at close quarters and generally experience the industry first-hand. There was a lot of interest at the exhibition tables as regional members had displayed high-tech products and gave freely of their time and expertise.

Mr Paul Sikhakhane told students all about SAIMC, followed by a brief presentation by Owen-Ellis on the transition to employment and what kind of options opened up after graduation.

Saha said the Engineering School leadership was very impressed with the expo and planned to include the industry experts on the Industry Advisory Board of the School.

•    SAIMC’s Durban branch thanks the following regional members for their presence and contribution to the day’s success: Technews Publishing, ICA, Krohne, Swagelok, Metso, Loadtech, PSA, Pulse, IFM, Elonics and Mzukulu.

Words: Zolile Duma

Photographs: Nathan Sibanda