Sanyukta Honavar is an overseas-qualified engineer with an interest in Australian Standards and gained a better understanding by participating in a bootcamp program.
Currently studying a master's in mechanical engineering at the University of Adelaide and a student member of Engineers Australia, Sanyukta worked as a design engineer in mechanical engineering for three years in India before migrating to Australia.
She has a keen interest for the intricacies of machine components and the importance of standards in engineering.
"All the components of a machine work together in harmony. If one small screw fails, the entire thing fails," Sanyukta says. "So that always fascinated me and made me realise the importance of every piece of a machine."
During her time working overseas, Sanyukta mostly worked with International standards but when she came to Australia, she saw the Standards Australia Bootcamp and this piqued her interest in the difference in standards between specific regions.
"I heavily worked with standards in my old job but Australia creates its own standards by deriving it from others," Sanyukta says.
"At first, I was curious about how different they might be to the ones I am familiar with and came to learn that the standards development process is very thorough and in-depth.
"Learning this made me want to be more involved, or inquisitive, about Australian standards."
Sanyukta believes there is a lot of value for engineers in gaining an early understanding of standards development for career growth and being part of a committee has helped her learn about what to expect when working in Australia.
"By working with technical committees and experts in their field, we can learn about what they are expecting from us and how we can go above their expectations," Sanyukta says.
Sanyukta currently sits on the WS-026 Valves primarily for use in warm and hot water systems committee as a 'for information only' capacity. This seat gives Sanyukta the opportunity to attend and contribute to meetings and get familiar with the Standards Australia's platforms as a committee member.
"I think having this industry experience can be an advantage for your future career and it will help gain the momentum you need as an emerging engineer," she says.
Would you like to get involved in Standards development?
Email [email protected] for any enquiries regarding participating in standards development and view our current technical committee vacancies. Standards Australia in line with INWED are running a free Women in Standards Bootcamp. If you are interested in the Women in Standards Bootcamp please register or join our growing standards community on EA Xchange.
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Nicola Smith
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