Having a passion for engineering and solving complex problems led to alumnus Shaeel Baliram to choose a career in the field of electrical engineering.
The 28-year-old, who is originally from Merebank, Durban, currently resides in Port Elizabeth, where he is currently employed as an electrical engineering GIT (Graduate in Training ) at Adient, a leading automotive manufacturer.
The former Durban University of Technology (DUT) graduate with a Bachelor of Technology Degree (Btech) in Electrical Engineering: Heavy Current; graduated with Cum Laude and the prestigious Dean’s Merit Award in 2021. Baliram also received a membership to the Golden Key International Honour Society.
In December 2022, he was recognised nationally by the DHL GradStar Awards as one of the Top 100 most employable graduates in South Africa.
Baliram stated that being a highly motivated, ambitious and hardworking person, allows him to dedicate his efforts into achieving his goals and commitment to turning his dreams into a reality.
He explained that he is a natural strategic and innovative thinker who embraces new challenges.
“I have a passion for engineering and I am an avid team leader who enjoys collaborating to solve complex problems. I uphold professionalism and I am committed to impeccable ethics and integrity,” added Baliram.
The avid problem solver, who works at Adient, is a member of their maintenance team and is responsible for maintaining optimal running of the plant and to mitigate challenges by implementing efficient engineering solutions.
Sharing more on his career path, Baliram commented that after graduating, and gaining employment, he also participated in the DHL GradStar Awards Top 100 Workshops and the GradStar Solution Summit. He shared further that this was where the Top 100 graduates in the country were grouped into teams and given real life challenges faced by various top companies. They all had to brainstorm, develop and present their unique solutions to those challenges.
The goal he envisions for the year is to be taken on by his company as a junior electrical engineer, to learn new skills through short-courses and to improve his mental and physical health through fitness.
He confessed that it’s important for university students to pursue accolades and participate in competitions and overall empower themselves with opportunities to showcase their skills and talents.
“These accolades and accomplishments are really vital to a student’s Curriculum Vitae (CV) to standout and set them apart from the thousands of university students when applying for jobs, bursaries, or studying opportunities, etc,” he added.
He further added that participating in competitions, social societies and sports is a great way to develop core skills like innovative thinking, leadership, teamwork and communication skills.
“From my own experience, having participated in the GradStar Awards Workshops and the GradStar Solution Summit, I got to meet and engage with the various top companies, employers and industry experts who all contributed to such an informative and career enriching experience. From leadership mentoring to career advice to potential career opportunities, it was a great opportunity to network and broaden my knowledge in the industry,” he stressed.
His most memorable moment was when he was participating with the Top 100 Graduates in the country, which was a fun, exciting and rewarding experience.
“It was great as we got to team up, collaborate and brainstorm unique solutions to real life challenges,” he said.
For Baliram, some of his forthcoming projects include utilising his knowledge in power engineering and his skills and abilities to make impactful contributions to an organisation and to society by implementing solutions to mitigate the power crisis faced in the country.
“Ultimately, I aim to gain enough industry experience to register as a Professional Engineering Technologist (Pr Tech Eng) with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA),” he said.
His advice to fellow power engineering students would be to get immersed in one’s coursework, tutorials, projects and assignments as early as possible to give oneself a fair chance at learning and understanding complicated concepts.
“It is also important to set clear and tangible goals you would like to achieve and then make a commitment to achieving those goals. Treat every assignment, test and exam as a priority and commit yourself to delivering your best effort each and every time,” he said.
Going forward, Baliram intends to study further and obtain his Master’s degree in a few years’ time. However, his main focus right now is to gain vital industry experience and to work his way up to more senior positions in the company.
Pictured: Shaeel Baliram
Waheeda Peters
