Professor Emil Dirsuwei, founder and director of the A cademy of Advanced Technology, also branded as the Academy of Draughting in South Africa, believes that a practical and multi-disciplinary approach thoroughly prepares a draughtsperson for the challenges and demands of the working world. As such, the privately-owned Academy, established 30 years ago, provides draughting as well as turnkey project design training.

"It is key to adopt a very accessible, practical approach in terms of draughting and project design education. The environment created in draughting and design lectures should mirror that found in the workplace. While a strong theoretical component is always important, a practical component is what makes the difference," Dirsuwei maintains.
He adds that in the spirit of mirroring the work environment, the Academy believes in arranging employment for their students while they are studying, enabling them to earn while they learn.

What does a student come away with after this type of training? Dirsuwei points out that the students will have developed the skills to execute turnkey project design. "An effective draughtsperson is one who is multi-skilled; hence we have identified key strategic learning areas." He adds that these are architectural, civil, mechanical, piping, electrical and structural draughting. These disciplines are thoroughly imparted over a three-year period. Students in their second and third year of study are also required to gain practical experience in the working environment.

"Students finish their education knowing that there is a plethora of opportunities available to them. Just about everything from shopping malls, to houses, water pipes, electrical circuits, and homeware - has an intricate draughting and design component. Students will be highly sought after in the workplace, especially since South Africa is currently in a very intensive infrastructure development phase," comments Dirsuwei.
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