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SKILLS TO BUILD YOUR FUTURE IN E-MOBILITY ENGINEERING
The Automobile industry has been witnessing rapid changes and growth simultaneously. Where on one side the government hopes to make India a 100 EV compliant nation by the year 2030, a question that leaves a lot of engineering students or engineers per sec at a complete loss is - Does the current education system and curriculum really provide for the skill-set that aspiring Mobility Engineers need to match up to industry requirements and successfully venture into a career in Mobility Engineering?
Thankfully, the answer to this question is not just one upsetting statement. The truth is that, even though there are institutes that have added the latest and updated courses on mobility engineering in their curriculum, the student to teacher (correctly put, institution) ratio still looks more like a fly in the ointment.
Let’s look at the brighter side here though. The fact that the Indian government realizes the importance of turning India into an EV compliant nation is a great achievement in itself. The roll-out of the new EV policy by the Delhi government in the face of the status quo caused by the ubiquity and the consequent normalization of hybrid vehicles is also a ray of hope in the smokescreen (pun intended) of the now outdated mobility technologies.
So, let’s look at what aspiring mobility engineers need to add to their profile in order to secure a high-earning future in the sector. The FISITA White Papers 2030 classifies the future skills for Mobility Engineers into three categories - all interconnected.
EXPERTISE:
The first stage is purely academic and deals with the academic background or qualification of the student or engineer. The aspiring Mobility Engineer should necessarily have an expertise across Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Electronics (EEE) and Computer Science (CS) - collectively. None of these qualifications serve as an alternative for the other. If the student is ultimately willing to be a Mobility Engineer, then they are expected to possess the know-how for every stage of all types of automobile, i.e, the design, manufacturing, and functioning of Electric, Autonomous and Connected Vehicles.
INTEGRATION:
This layer deals with the integration of four broad skills:
Quality and Systems Management
This covers the following areas:
» Research: supply chain investigation, competitive bench-marking, warranty systems
» Product Design & Development: 2D & 3D modeling CAD customization & design automation, CAD conversions, animations, reverse engineering, concept sketch proposals, embedded systems
» Simulation: FEA, CFD
» Advanced Manufacturing: CAM services: CNC & CMM programming, collaborative manufacturing & testing, RFID integration/asset tracking, digital factories & layout design, additive manufacturing
» Automation: digital thread, model-based engineering, robotics & automation, tooling, IoT
» Support Activities: work package outsourcing, technical communication & translations, compliance services
Communication: Anyone who wishes to give EVs a chance will not necessarily be from a technical background. Much less, they are rather more prone to being skeptic about it. It is the responsibility of a skilled Mobility Engineer to be clear about his concepts about the automobile he has designed or created, in order to convey his thoughts and simultaneously solve the problems or doubts of his customers. One must not forget that EV is still a budding industry. Even though one might argue that it has been around for quite a long while and might have even become a household name, the counter argument for the notion is that people have not yet necessarily “adopted” the technology. The lack of awareness being the primary reason, and inadequate infrastructure being the next. Hence, in order to make the EV technology “more adopted”, the engineers have to have crystal clear communication on the facts and specifics related to EVs, that will prompt the buyer to make a purchase.
Customer Orientation: Customer Orientation refers to designing or marketing a product in a way that guarantees maximum consumer satisfaction. For example, the mere concept of introducing a power steering in hybrid vehicles was a customer oriented thinking that led to higher customer satisfaction and comfort.
When talking about Customer Orientation in Mobility Engineer, it means that the Automotive Engineers need to train themselves in Design Thinking (DT) as the “future car” will be a product designed to meet some of the most sacred needs of the customer.
GROWTH: This layer deals more with things that should be life principles, and not just the profile description of a Mobility Engineer. It means that since there is always scope for growth and advancements - into new designs, structures, technologies and countless such facets, it is crucial that a Mobility Engineer has a growth mindset and is willing to learn anything new that comes their way, in order to successfully materialize and channelize it into tangible assets that serve the interest of the customers.
The shift from a pure mechanical engineer profile towards a blend of mechanical and electrical,
systems, or software engineer profile will make for more universal engineers, hence mobility engineers. Mobility engineers are trained to tackle the complexity of current mobility systems and their relationships with areas such as safety, new technologies, ethics, and urban development, among others. They must have a proficiency in a diversity of disciplines, such as
the areas of computer science, systems integration, and product lifecycle management. Mobility engineers need collective skills to develop a global understanding of transportation and automotive technologies, and therefore, be able to design highly effective and highly integrated solutions.
Other examples of skill requirements for Mobility Engineers
Business and financial analysis
Advanced problem-solving and math
Integrated mobility systems
Information technology (IT)
Assets management and maintenance
Project management
Data analysis
Infomobility and integrated mobility
Materials
Vehicle safety systems
Urban development
Computer skills and software programming
Fleet management
Autonomous driving systems
Networking and cyber security
Energy and charging stations concepts
Artificial intelligence and machine learning
Telecommunications and telematics
Electronics and electrical systems
Automotive and mechanical engineering principles
With adequate know-how and relevant skill-set upgraded to the needs of the future customer, a student can easily make a career in the Mobility sector as an engineer.
Get started today by finding the right mobility curriculum and learning methods at Autobot Academy that are curated to #upskill the students as well as professionals without disturbing their existing routine.