Engineering develops science and technology into something tangible and useful to society- developing a complete product by using scientific knowledge with the required skill to create it. Electrical and Electronics engineers are spearheading some of today’s most important innovations and endeavouring for sustainable development.

So, what do Electrical, and Electronics engineers do? 

They apply electrical principles to create life-changing products, innovative technologies, or simply improve the already existing ones. From Edison’s electric bulb to a modern-day smart television, to cell phones, solar panels, and GPS, Electrical and Electronics engineers have paved the way for many advancements and have illuminated, informed, and connected the world.

Technology is not something to be described as static and considering the current pace of technological change and adoption, Electrical and Electronics engineers are adept to diversify the potential growth areas in the next decade. Let us consider some of the most exciting and novel ideas in the field:

• Green Energy and Sustainable development

Depletion and high price of fossil fuels and global warming has ensured greater interest and investment to be done on solar and other forms of renewable energy. The green energy electrical power converter has the potential for use of renewable energy and shunting the excess energy into the power grid. Meeting the growing energy needs of the present generation without compromising the requirements and demand of the future generation with minimal environmental degradation is the essence of sustainable energy development.

• Smart Grids

Smart grid integrates innovative electrical technology at multiple levels to improve power flow, detect malfunctions and automate service delivery. Digital communication plays a vital role to make end-to-end communication between power plants and distribution sites thereby ameliorating efficiency and reducing operational cost.

• Bioengineering

A field such as nanotechnology, genome sequencing for medicines is a breakthrough innovation at the molecular level to brand new industries.

• Connectivity and Wi-Fi

The maximum speed of internet connectivity whether wired or wireless is practically based on foundational challenges in the electrical and electronics engineering domain such as semi-conductor size and composition. Enhancing the speed is attributed to a fundamental shift in the engineering process, a new transmission media, or other technology.

• Graphene

It is one of the most recent innovations in material science which consists of a single layer of a carbon atom and is exceptionally thin but the strongest known material on earth. It is beneficial in battery life gain for portable devices and suitable for wearable technology- precisely the future of electrical engineering.

• High-efficiency photovoltaic cells

Implementation of efficient photovoltaic cells which are extremely resistant to damage is an enduring challenge for Electrical and Electronics engineers. A different engineering approach is being implemented to enhance collection and distribution efficiency.

Further digital technology has revolutionized electrical engineering education- “the ability to develop software for modern media (apps, web, and cloud) and connect them to electronics that the same developer has designed.

So, the future of Electrical and Electronics engineering is a flexible smartphone with a holographic display and virtual reality provided by sensory experience where users can view in 3D, drones which are extensively used for photography, warfare, etc. and the list is endless. However, advances in drone technology will generate a new series of wall climbing drones that can overcome any obstacles. More and more electrical and electronics engineers are venturing into new and innovative domains with collaboration across industries such as wearable technologies, entertainment, operational engineering function, product improvement, optical fibres, internet protocol, modern satellite communications to space exploration. These technocrats are passionate about playing a part in scientific advancements that impact lives all over the world.

Dr. Sheila Mahapatra
Professor & HOD – EEE & Assistant Dean – Research
Alliance College of Engineering and Design