Engineers have canvassed mentorship and knowledge sharing to enhance capacity development in the field of engineering.

They spoke at a virtual public lecture organized by the Nigerian Academy of Engineering in Lagos.

An Emeritus professor of Engineering at the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, United States of America, Augustine Esogbue, advised practising engineers in Nigeria to prioritise mentorship for young practitioners and collaborate for knowledge sharing in the profession.

He stressed that optimum operation of machines and systems must be of interest to engender development in the country.

Esogbue said such education would promote knowledge in developing multi-purpose machines and systems that would not only solve problems but also manage existing resources in the best possible way.

Esogbue who was the Director of Intelligent Systems and Controls Laboratory at the institute, said, “There should be the teaching of system science in theory and application. At every point in time, you must monitor and maintain systems designed to solve problems. Irrespective of predictions, Nigeria is going to survive but we don’t just want it to survive, we want it to excel.

“Engineering still has a lot to do to transform the country. Engineers in addition to building hardware must look for ways to complement them with the software aspect, which is more like policies and the use of machines to do things so that life can be better, more comfortable and the environment will be more beneficial.

“We need to train engineers who are culturally sensitive to their environment, able to build machines and elevate the quality of life. The field of work now feels like the field of play through the mechanisation of labour and engineering”

In his address at the forum which attracted fellows of the academy, the President, Nigerian Academy of Engineering, Alex Ogedegbe, said the lecture was organised to project decades of excellence in the engineering profession.

He said the event was also meant to show how science and technology could contribute towards societal and socio-economic development and growth.

The forum featured a presentation of appreciation plaque to Esogbue for his contributions to engineering development.