olu awoyin lecture 2013

7/28/2019 Olu Awoyin Lecture 2013

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THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY OF

ENGINEERS,IKEJABRANCH

2013, Olu Awoyinfa Distinguished Annual Lecture


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ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS

PANACEA TO NIGERIAN ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT

Engr. Ayo Fanimokun, FNSE, FNIMechE

National Chairman, Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers



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DEFINITIONEntrepreneurship involves the nexusof two phenomena: Presence of

lucrative opportunities and presence

of enterprising individual. It can be

defined as an activity that involves

the discovery, evaluation, and

exploitation of opportunities tointroduce new goods and services;

ways of organising, market, process

and raw materials through

organising efforts that previously notexisted. (A. A. Refaat, 2009)



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The Entrepreneur is the Originatoror Creator of a profit seeking organ

of the Society or Economic

Organization established for the

purpose of providing goods and

services for the consumption of the

Society, in which such organization

is located. The Entrepreneur is oftenreferred to as the agent of Economic,

Technological and Social systems



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ENGINEERING

The term Engineering derives from the

word Engineer used in the 1300s for aperson who operated a military engine or

machine such as a catapult or, later, a

cannon. The word Engine in turn derivesfrom the Latin ingenium for ingenuity or

cleverness and invention.



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ENGINEERING

Engineering is the field or discipline,

practice, profession and art that relates to

the development, acquisition andapplication of Technical, Scientific and

Mathematical knowledge about the

understanding, design, development,invention, innovation and use of

materials, machines, structures, systems

and processes for specific purposes. (Tony

Marjoram and Yixin Zhong, )



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THE ENGINEERS.

People who are qualified in or practiceEngineering are described as Engineers.

The Engineering Profession, as with other

Professions, is a vocation or occupation based

upon specialized education and training, asproviders of Professional advice and services.

Other features that define occupations as

Professions are the establishment of training andUniversities, Schools and Departments, National

and International Organizations, Accreditation

and Licensing, Ethics and Codes of Professional

practice.



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WHAT ENGINEERS CAN DO OR ARE

DOING?

The Engineer track is typically aimed at those

who will:

use a combination of general and specialist

Engineering knowledge and understanding to

optimize the application of existing and

emerging Technology;

apply appropriate theoretical and practical

methods to the analysis and solution ofEngineering problems;



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WHAT ENGINEERS CAN DO OR ARE

DOING?

The Engineer track is typically aimed at those

who will:

provide Technical, Commercial and

Managerial leadership;

undertake the management of high levels of

risk associated with Engineering processes,

Systems, Equipment, and Infrastructure; and

perform activities that are essentiallyintellectual in nature,



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DEFINITION OF ECONOMICS

Scottish philosopher Adam Smith (1776) definedwhat was then called Political Economy as "aninquiry into the nature and causes of the wealthof nations"

Alfred Marshall provides a still widely cited

definition in his textbook Principles of Economics(1890) that extends analysis beyond wealth andfrom the societal to the microeconomic level:

Economics is a study of man in the ordinary

business of life. It enquires how he gets hisincome and how he uses it. Thus, it is on the oneside, the study of wealth and on the other andmore important side, a part of the study of man.



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THREE ASPECTS OF ECONOMICACTIVITIES



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1.

Profession

This is an occupation carried on by specializedindividuals and groups e.g. Engineers,

Lawyers, Pharmacists, Accountants, etc. They

provide services in return for fees. Often

Professionals go through certain path, througheducation, trainings, accreditations etc




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2.

EmploymentThis is a type of occupation by which an

individual offers his services, either mentally

or physically in exchange for wages or salaries.




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ENGINEERS AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

In the beginning, Engineers are mainly

identified with Agriculture, Constructions,Industrial Revolution, Mechanization,

Urbanization, etc. However, Engineers of

the 21st

century have more responsibilityas their works found great uses in

medicines, communication, energy,

environment, water supply, etc



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According to a UNESCO report, the tasks

confronting Engineers of the twenty-first centuryare:

1. Engineering the world to avert an environmental

crisis caused in part by earlier generations in terms

of energy use, greenhouse gas emissions and theircontribution to climate change, and

2. Engineering the large proportion of the worlds

increasing population out of poverty, and the

associated problems encapsulated by the UNMillennium Development Goals.




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We are faced with two prong challenges of

contributing our skills to global development aswell as contributing to global poverty reduction.

The Engineer of 21st century therefore must bear

in mind that his services as well as his

entrepreneurial skill is needed by the society toenjoy robust economic development.




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SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES WHERE

ENGINEERS ARE VERY ACTIVE

Energy Supply

Poverty reduction

Manufacturing

Environmental protection

Water and Irrigation

Agriculture



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MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL AND

VISION 20:2020

The United Nations proposed these prong actions

toward tackling global challenges which are Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Achieve Universal Primary Education

Promote Gender Equality and empower women Reduce Child Mortality

Improve Maternal health

Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases Ensure Environmental sustainability



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As if taking a cue, the Nigerian Government on

its part formulated an ambitious Vision 20:2020

in which is hinged on transforming Nigerian into

the group of Top 20 economies in the world by theyear 2020?

The Nigerian Vision 20:2020 received variouscontributions from all sectors of the economy

including Engineering.



VISION 20:2020


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So far, it is clear to all that the Nation can only truly

join the great economies when it develop its

technology base and also ensure strong local economy.

The UN have released another document A New

Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform

Economies through Sustainable Development which

contain new and far reaching proposal for completely

ending extreme poverty by 2030. The paper calls for

ambitious and universal agenda to build on the

success of the MDGs and promotes sustainabledevelopment.



VISION 20:2020


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DEVELOPMENT INDEX

Development are measured in many ways stable governance structures

functioning civil society,

Freedom from persecution, conflict andcorruption.

Wealth and prosperity.



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However, a nation with all of these without

improved standard of living of its people is

deemed to have failed. Technology acquisition

also plays a huge role in determining the level of

development of a nation; mostly measured in

positive ways. Most importantly the localbusiness sector must be active.


DEVELOPMENT INDEX


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TWO TYPES OF ENGINEERS

There are two types of Engineers in today economy

What-do-do Engineers

How-to-do- Engineers



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While most Engineers have their core

competency, which is the areas of their

specializations, not all of them can translate this

into economic activities on their own. They

perform creditably in any Engineering activity

they undertake but cannot function properly asEntrepreneurs.


TWO TYPES OF ENGINEERS


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ENTREPRENEURIAL ENGINEERING

Entrepreneurial Engineering can be defined as

the set of functions required to fill the front end

of the design-produce-service pipeline with

innovative technologies and technology-based

products and services capable of providing

significant growth, profitability, and sustainable

competitive advantage. (Mark Polczynski, and

Stanley Jaskolski, 2005)



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Entrepreneurial Engineering can be considered a

subset of the more general field of

Entrepreneurship. While including the basicskills and knowledge required for successful

Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurial Engineering

focuses primarily on generating technology-based

opportunities and the particular challenges of

effectively identifying, acquiring, developing, and

transferring Technology into viable new products

and services.



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How-to-do Engineers employ their professional

skills to create enterprising ventures when

opportunities arise. They mobilize their resources

and skills toward profitable ventures.




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ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURS

CASE STUDY: STEVEN L. REID

Steven L. Reid founded Industrial EnvironmentalSystems in Marietta, Georgia, in 2001. After a

20-year career with an Engineering firm inAtlanta, serving as Engineering Manager and

Chief Operating Officer, Reid still felt unfulfilledbecause he was not in a position to make

important, strategic decisions for the company.As a result, he followed his entrepreneurial

yearning to start his own companya contractmanufacturer of stacks, ductwork, pollution

control, and noise control systemswhere he(happily) calls all the shots every day.



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During an interview with Mark Crawford who is anindependent writer, he was asked Does being

Entrepreneurial make you a better Engineer?He replied:

Key aspects to being Entrepreneurial are vision andopportunity. Being Entrepreneurial allows an

Engineer to be more strategic in a project or in anorganization. This means he or she can wear differenthats and contribute in multiple ways. Being involved

at multiple, cross-disciplinary levels can give anEngineer a broader perspective on the end result of theproject, sometimes resulting in Engineering insights

and decisions that improve the final product.





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Although an Entrepreneur is generally defined as

an individual, a group or an organization can

also be Entrepreneurial. Just as an individual

can add other disciplines to his/her technical

base, groups can do the same. When individuals

of different skills come together and collaborate topursue a common goal, the team can be

Entrepreneurial.





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This is also a good time to be an Entrepreneur.

With the globalization of business and the

uncertain economy, there are plenty of

opportunities to evaluate and pursue. So, the

global economy, with its chaos and disarray, is

actually a target-rich environment forTechnology-based Entrepreneurs. Recognizing

and vetting these opportunities, often within

constrained timeframes, are challenges more

easily handled by Entrepreneurial Engineers.





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OPPORTUNITIES IN ENGINEERING

Renewable energy

Aviation

Environmental Engineering

Chemical and Petrochemical Constructions and infrastructure delivery

Manufacturing

Research and Development

Automotive and Automobile industries Computers and Software

Oil and Gas

Education

Advocacy and Policy Recycling Business



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ARE ENGINEERS SUITABLE FOR

ENTREPRENEURSHIP?

Being a good Engineer does not make you

automatically good for business.

Successful Business Executives and

Entrepreneurs are not the same thing as most

people think.

There are people who worked with Corporations

and Establishments and rose to the top but fallflat when they venture into entrepreneurial

world.



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ARE ENGINEERS SUITABLE FOR

ENTREPRENEURSHIP?

And there are people who have to resign from

their lowly paid job as Company Executives to

make massive success when they venture into

the world of entrepreneurship.

Therefore, Engineers must not make the mistake

of assuming that all they need to become

successful in entrepreneurial ventures is theirskills or position at their paid job.



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LEONARDO DAVINCI

Consider probably one of the most creative

Engineers in history: Leonardo Da Vinci; A man

who conceived of solar power, crank mechanisms,

steam cannon, the double hull, calculators and somuch more. He was someone who brought

Engineering alongside emotional insight,

technique and creativity to his paintings.



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LEONARDO DAVINCI

For Da Vinci was a man for puzzles not problems.

A puzzle is something that we consider for its

own sake and the pleasure of the solution comesfrom solving it. A problem relates to state of

affairs which needs altering. Da Vinci did not

want to improve communication betweenFlorence and Rome and go ahead and create low-

cost rapid mule travel. He wondered what it

would take for man to fly.



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CHALLENGES FACING THE NATION

Challenges facing the Nation

Massive Unemployment and underemployment

Low productivity

Becoming a dumping ground for Foreign products

Increasing population

General Inclination to consume rather than

produce



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It may be that many Engineers are happier as puzzle-rather than problem-solvers.

An Entrepreneur, on the other hand, may need to be able

to put something down because it is too absorbing and geton to fix the state of affairs - or commercial and social

opportunity.

A great idea does not equal an entrepreneurialbreakthrough; companies have died on the back of greatideas that were misconceived as commercial opportunities.

There are two sorts of thinking here. Sometimes they exist inone person such as Dyson. More often they are best achieved

by creating open dialogue between the puzzler and theproblem solver.(Steve Carter is a senior partner of Apter

Development)


CHALLENGES FACING THE NATION


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LESSONS FROMASIA

In 1960s, South Korea is head to head with manyAfrican countries on economic level: The GDP of

South Korea was inferior to that Senegal or

Mozanbique. But today, the Korea is among the

top economies in the world. The country has nooil or diamond as in many Africal countries like

Nigeria. By extension, China, Taiwan, Japan,

Singapore, and even India all have gone through

growth paths from which we can draw a lot of

lessons.



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GLOBAL STATISTICS

In Japan, Factories with less than 20 employees

account for up to 87.3% of total number of factories,

20.1% of total workforce, and 12.6% of the totalnational output.

Also, the Indian economy has its greatness in the

proper attention paid to engineering

entrepreneurship

Engineering Population: Strong performingeconomies, e.g. India, China, Malaysia, Turkey and

South Korea, etc. have one thing in common, i.e. a

commitment to Engineering.



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World Development Report 2005 and 2002 OECD submittedthat a strong Science, Engineering and Technology (SET) baseis necessary for development.

The lesson that we have learnt from the Asian countries isthat effective entrepreneurial education, training anddevelopment are the only sure path to National EconomicDevelopment. Also, there is need for massive engineering andmanufacturing activities to enhance Local Direct Investment,LDI and economic growth.

Nigeria can trend this path through the collaborative andinteractive efforts of the Educational Institutions, theGovernment, Business organisations and their relevant social

institution listed above. The end results will be mass turnoutof creative agents of development- the Entrepreneurs. Theproducts of the interactive model will be Technologists,Innovators, Scientists, Engineers, Accountants, Technicianswho are Entrepreneurs in their own rights.


SKILLS NEEDED TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL


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SKILLS NEEDED TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL

ENTREPRENEUR

Learn to see the big picture

Have Hunger for success:

Courage:

Functional competency:

Prioritization and tradeoffs: Motivational skill:.

Decision makers:

Initiative



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ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS

THE WAY OUT

With the manufacturing sectors seriously

stressed and the nation producing more

graduates than its civil services and

manufacturing can absorb, the country will have

to turn to her Entrepreneur Engineers to make

things happen. Since Engineers are naturally problem solvers

and can bring something out of nothing, three

prong action steps are expected to achieve our

goal of nurturing Engineering Entrepreneurs andencouraging them to bring their ideas to life.



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Governments must create the right environment, and insome cases even intervene directly, to encourage localEngineer Entrepreneur grow.

Professional Associations must gear up toward developingtheir members. NSE and her Institutions/Divisions must allcome up with plans, CPD and activities aim at encouragingEntrepreneur Engineers nationwide.

Engineers themselves must begin to recognize their roles innation building. They must not be content at just getting thework done and moving on. They must constantly developthemselves and recognise the dynamic change in the society

and that increasing responsibilities are given to them in the21st century.



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IT IS IN THE HANDS OF ENGINEERS

Working towards the UN MDGs therefore requiresEngineers to become involved. (UNESCO reports) Thecritical role of underpinning infrastructure for development

was stated by Calestous Juma (Chair of the UN Science,Technology and Innovation Task Force):

At least three key factors contributed to the rapid economictransformation of emerging economies. First, they investedheavily in basic infrastructure, which served as afoundation for technological learning. Second, theynurtured the development of small and medium-sizedenterprises, which required the development of localoperational, repair and maintenance expertise. Third, their

Governments supported, funded and nurtured highereducational institutions, academies of engineering andtechnological sciences, professional engineering andtechnological associations, and industrial and tradeassociations.


JOHN BOYD, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL


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, ,

FEDERATION OF CONSULTING ENGINEERS

STATES

Issues of sustainable development, poverty reduction

and climate change are fundamentally engineering

issues. We have to learn to broaden our design briefbeyond the traditional objectives of schedule, cost and

conventional scope. We have to learn to include

broader societal necessities such as minimizing water,

energy and materials use, respecting human andcultural rights, and looking out for health and safety,

not only within the work but also in its impacts. This

is a challenge that needs true engineering innovation.

Leadership in this issue requires us to go beyond ourcomfort zone, to engage in the debates of our society,

and to stand up for values regardless of their

popularity.


G O P CAETS 2008


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GERARD VAN OORTMERSSEN, PRESIDENT CAETS, 2008,

INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OFACADEMIES OF ENGINEERING AND

TECHNOLOGICAL SCIENCES ON HIS PART OPINE:

Prosperity and Economic Development are not distributedequally over the worldOur society is facing problems,

which, to some degree, have been caused by developmentsfor which Engineers are responsible: the depletion ofnatural resources, environmental problems and climatechange. Talented Engineers are needed to provide solutionsfor these problems through greater efficiency in production

processes and transportation systems, new sustainableenergy sources, more efficient use of materials; the recoveryof materials from waste... the list is long.

There is growing demand for Engineering talent from agrowing and developing global population. Engineers,more and more, have to be aware of the social andenvironmental impacts of Technology, and have to work incomplex teams, interacting and cooperating with society. .


ENGINEERING ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS


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PANACEA TO NIGERIAN DEVELOPMENT

With population rising at a frightening pace, massiveurbanization, globalization and increasing stress on localmanufacturing sector, the nation face serious crisis in future

unless it wakes up her Entrepreneurs and encourage idle onesto get to work.

Many potential Engineering Entrepreneurs are idle becausethey either have no incentives or resources to start. As we look

at the future of this great nation, we must begin to key in theEngineers in the Plan and Development programmes. Wemust begin to understand the need to build human capitalbase for engineering and encourage them to contribute intoEconomic activities and National Development.

A publication on Young engineer website noted that:

Today, it is true to say that virtually every aspect of our dailylives is enabled or aided in some way by Engineers. Engineersmake things happen, they turn ideas into real products andthey provide the solutions to lifes everyday practical problems.


C


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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Engineers cannot continue to blame other

professions for their lack of jobs or lack of Economic

activities, our Profession has prepared us to assumegreater roles as we combine our technical capability

with Entrepreneurial prowess

Engineers must get familiar with Policy and Politics.

While political participation is not compulsory or the

way out in itself, we must never let loose of the focus

on the way we are being governed. And our voice

must not be so loud in our silence. It is time we

begin to speak out

Engineers to take advantage of local content Bill in

the industry



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Engineers must take CPD very seriously no mattertheir years of experiences. They can attend executivetrainings organised by NSE and herInstitutions/Divisions periodically

Engineers should look into partnerships where theycould not individually raise the funds needed

Think Global, Act Local: we must consider ourselves

as a member of the global community, encourageourselves to raise our competency level to the level ofour counterparts in other part of the world, yet, wemust equally adapt our initiatives and idea to suit ourlocal need. Let us start where we are.

Get familiar with the economy and expand yourknowledge base

Read widely, update yourself!



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Melvin J. Evan must be talking to Nigerian

Engineers when he once said

The men who build the future are those who

know that greater things are yet to come and that

they themselves can help bring it about. Their

minds are illuminated by blazing sun of hope,and the never get time to doubt.



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I will conclude this in the word of Alvin Toffler,

The Illiterate of the twenty-first century will not

be those who cannot read and write, but thosewho cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.

Thank you!



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END



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References/Bibliography

Engineering for Changing World: A road Map to the future of Engineering

Practices, Research and Education, The Millennium Project, University ofMichigan.

Linking Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth, Sander Wennekers and RoyThurik

The Necessity of Engineering Entrepreneurship Education for DevelopingEconomies, A. A. Rafaat.

Are Engineers good entrepreneurs?, Interview with Steve Carter. Engineering Economy-The pathway to Entrepreneurship in engineering, A.

Putilov

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: A PROPOSALFOR EVANGELISTIC AGENDAO.J.K Ogundele and James .O. Abiola

(Entrepreneurial Engineering Education Mark Polczynski and StanleyJaskolski)

Engineering: Issues Challenges and opportunities for Development (UNESCOReports 2003)

Lessons from Asian Tigers, Dr.Robert Adjaye


olu awoyin lecture 2013

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