Successful engineering is about understanding how things break or fail : Happy Engineer's Day

India celebrates Engineer's Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of the most excellent Indian Engineer, Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, on September 15 every year. The day commemorates the great work of engineers and encourages them to improve and innovate. In 1968, the Indian government declared Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya's birth anniversary as Engineers' Day. The day is to honor and acknowledges all engineers who have contributed and still do so to build a modern and developed India. This year marks the 160th birth anniversary of M Visvesvaraya, born on September 15, 1861, in the Muddenahalli village of Karnataka. He completed his school education in his hometown and later studied Bachelor of Arts (BA) at the University of Madras. However, he changed his career path after graduating and pursued civil engineering at the College of Science in Pune.

Sir M Visvesvaraya contributed significantly to the field of engineering and education. He is one of the greatest nation-builders who played a crucial role in constructing dams, reservoirs, and hydro-power projects in modern India. He designed and developed automatic floodgates installed at the Khadakwasla reservoir in Pune. After some time, these floodgates were installed at the Mysuru’s Krishnaraja Sagara and the Gwalior’s Tigra Dam, where he worked as a chief engineer. He patented and installed an irrigation system with water floodgates at the Khadakvasla reservoir near Pune to raise the food supply level and storage to the highest levels, known as the ‘block system’ in 1903. For his contribution to the building of India, the government awarded him with India’s highest honor ‘Bharat Ratna’ in 1955.

Apart from his engineering accolades, he played an instrumental role in imparting awareness about the engineering discipline. He also played an essential role in the foundation of the Government Engineering College in Bangalore in 1917. The college was later renamed after him the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering (UVCE). Sir MV was not just a great civil engineer but also served as the 19th Diwan of Mysore from 1912 to 1919. While serving as the Diwan of Mysore in 1915, he was awarded ‘Knight’ as a commander of the British Indian Empire by King George V. Visvesvaraya started his career as an assistant engineer in the Public Works Department of the Government of Bombay and made significant contributions to many technical projects in Mysore, Hyderabad, Odisha, and Maharashtra. He brought considerable reforms in banking, education, commerce, agriculture, irrigation, and industrialization and was a well-known precursor of economic planning in India.

In 2018, Google launched a Doodle on his birthday to celebrate his genius works. His endeavors led to the Tata Steel engineers inventing an armored vehicle that was used in WWII and could withstand bullets. Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya passed away in 1962, but his achievements and contributions will be celebrated on the day. The nation dedicates Engineer’s Day to all the brilliant engineers in India and the globe. On this Day, the nation remembers the gem of India and a great engineer, Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. Sir Visvesvaraya dedicated himself to the nation’s growth, which is why the nation remembers this great Indian national hero on this Day.

Significant contributions of Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya:

His notable contributions include the block system of irrigation in the Deccan canals in 1899 and the flood protection system in Hyderabad.

The automatic water floodgates, initially installed at the Khadakwasla reservoir in Pune in 1903, were later patented, and the government of India also graced him with 'Bharat Ratna' for his work.

He also established the Government Engineering College in Bengaluru in 1917, later renamed the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering. An architect of Krishnaraja Sagar Dam, he also served as one of the chief engineers of the flood protection system in Hyderabad.

He was known for his excellent irrigation techniques and flood disaster management skills and also authored various books, such as 'Reconstructing India' and 'Planned Economy of India.'

Engineer’s Day: Industry leaders talk about the innovation brought by engineers

Jhilmil Kochar, Managing Director, CrowdStrike India

“When I started my career journey, there were a limited number of women taking up STEM/ Engineering. I had to persuade my parents to let me pursue a career in STEM. However, it is extremely encouraging to note that the situation has vastly improved now from what it was a few years ago. With technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, cybersecurity, cloud computing etc. booming in India, it presents a plethora of opportunities for anyone and everyone  to take up a career in engineering. When considering a career in technology, aspiring engineering graduates need both technical and soft skills. These include programming languages, technical writing, quality assurance, software skills, problem solving, decision making, passion for making a difference and a strong business and commercial acumen. They also need to be resilient and learn from prior experience, while embracing innovation, adapting and overcoming any challenges; they shouldn’t stop experimenting new methods due to fear of failure.

 The cybersecurity industry requires engineers equipped with proper knowledge to detect and address new threats, risks and vulnerabilities emerging every day. They need to drive the growth and match the current and future requirements, something that can only be achieved through sourcing the candidates with the right skills and passion. At CrowdStrike, while hiring engineers/IT professionals, we look for several technical skills. Firstly, endpoint development capabilities where candidates can work on core application development for the CS end-point agent. Having a deep expertise in Kernel for Windows, Mac, and Linux kind of systems is an added advantage. Secondly, we look for cloud experience. We have a scalable cloud and engineers need to develop cloud microservices and infra, hence we look for the capabilities in that area. Thirdly, we look for Python developers for automation, content management systems, tooling etc. Lastly, we are always looking for threat and vulnerability researchers. Additionally, we look for UX designers, UI developers, technical writers, content engineers and product managers.”