India is one among the top five global markets for mechanical engineering talent, with its capabilities increasingly to the level of competing with China, according to the CEO of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
Speaking to businessline ahead of the global body’s International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (IMECE) conference in Chennai on Thursday, Thomas Costabile, Executive Director & Chief Executive Officer, ASME, said that the organisation’s decision to bring its premier conference to India was driven by the depth of research and engineering talent in the country. “For the first time in a long time, India is now competing with China. And that’s a significant note,” he said.
Further, he said the choice of Chennai by ASME’s group of volunteers was due to the city being at the intersection of manufacturing, energy, mobility, and technology.
ASME is a not-for-profit professional engineering organization founded in 1880 in New York City. The theme of this year’s IMECE is “Engineering a Sustainable Future,” and it is structured around four strategic pillars of energy, mobility, manufacturing and digitalisation, and is expected to bring together 3,000+ delegates, 500+ speakers, and 50+ exhibitors.
ASME’s international working groups bring together engineers from MSMEs and executives from large global companies, creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing around engineering design and safety.
AI set to dominate engineering
Artificial intelligence is expected to be one of the biggest themes at the conference, with Costabile predicting that the most popular sessions would be those examining the use of AI in engineering.
AI is already transforming engineering workflows by shortening the time between design and commercialisation and enabling faster analysis of large volumes of engineering data, he says. It is also changing the way products are designed and manufactured when combined with technologies such as 3D printing, he adds.
ASME’s codes and standards are already widely used by manufacturers and engineers in India, including in pressure vessels and turbine manufacturing. ASME has several hundred Indian engineers participating in its activities, according to the CEO.
Nuclear, aerospace opportunities
India’s growing ambitions in nuclear energy and aerospace are also creating opportunities for the country’s engineering ecosystem, he said, noting that he was encouraged by India’s nuclear-energy plans and believed the country’s target was achievable.
He cited Bengaluru-based space start-up Skyroot as an example of Indian engineers developing new materials and concepts with global ambitions.
More women needed in mechanical engineering
While praising India’s engineering talent, the CEO identified diversity as an area requiring greater attention. Women account for about 15 per cent of engineering globally across disciplines and India’s representation is somewhat lower, he said.
“Unfortunately, there’s not enough women in mechanical engineering, but that’s a global problem,” he said.