14/05/2021

This May 14 we celebrate Engineer’s Day in Chile. This date has been chosen in Chile as a result of a huge reconstruction operation after the great earthquake suffered in Santiago on May 13, 1647. The next day the reconstruction and reactivation of the city begins and this marks the date for the commemoration.

In other countries, the Engineer’s Day is celebrated on a different dates, for various reasons.

• Colombia, on August 17
• Peru, June 8
• El Salvador, on July 20
• Chile, on May 14
• Bolivia, on October 5
• Paraguay, on July 23
• Costa Rica, on July 3
• Spain on March 19

But there is also a world engineering day that is celebrated on March 4.

Can we imagine the world without engineers? Well, we would have to forget all the technological advances that accompany us: A warm home, electric light, vehicular locomotion, flights, satellites, television, telephony, and advances in health (tomography, x-rays, ultrasound, surgical devices, microscopes , …)

Does our work play a role in this pandemic? You are right. It has kept many of us teleworking, something that would not have been possible in the absence of telecommunications engineers, or those who design our computer communication applications. It seems that nothing related with the electric power, but it is not. Without electricity, none of it works.

The challenges that engineers have in the future is caring for our planet and improving living conditions. How do you imagine the future? Therein lies the challenge.

Happy day dear colleagues. Countless infinite thanks for reading these lines: an epsilon of your time.