Entertainment Sector Backs Engineers

There have been mounting concerns over the decrease in the available pool of engineers and in the falls in numbers of those enrolling for engineering degrees. With engineering seemingly moving towards a widening gap between supply and demand, help comes from an unlikely quarter – the entertainment industry.

President and CEO of the Entertainment Industries Council in the US, Bryan Dyak seeks to promote multimedia content that features motivating and accurate storylines from the science, engineering and technology sectors as he believes that not only do they engage young viewers but also encourage them to pursue technical careers, eventually filling workforce gaps and serving to provide creative innovative solutions to existing problems both in the industry and for the country.

In line with his views, the Council recently convened an awards ceremony to honour movies and TV shows that bring to the fore individuals with a myriad of engineering and technical capabilities. Some of the honourees at the S.E.T Awards include The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and The Big Bang Theory.

In Australia too, the impact of film on engineering can be felt with the EngFlick awards that were launched earlier this year. Organized by Young Engineers Australia, EngFlick was a nation-wide short film competition that aimed at increasing awareness of the impact and usefulness of the engineering sector among people, especially the young.

Ben Aldham, chair of Young Engineers Australia, feels that too many youth do not consider engineering seriously partly due to lack of knowledge of what it entails. By using films made by the public, he views the competition as a means to introduce people to the diverse ways that everyday lives are affected by and shaped by engineering and in doing so enhance the impact it has on people’s minds.

While it remains to be seen how much these efforts help engineering reach a more stable footing, there is no doubt that it is an interesting way to get there.

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