The Civil Engineering Contractor February 2019 | Page 32

PROFILE
“You cannot influence a
person’s career unless
you know the soil that
they grew up in. Celebrate
their lives and then the
process of guiding them
becomes so much easier.”
He fears that the Fourth Industrial
Revolution may potentially allow
products to be produced by
automation in Europe, the US,
and Asia as cheaply as low-cost
Africa, thereby sidelining Africa’s
hoped-for demographic dividend.
Africa is widely quoted as being
expected to have half the world’s
working-age population by 2050.
However, without high-tech
education, says Downie, they will
not be workers. The way to avoid
this, he says, is to educate and
facilitate young South Africans
to manufacture products by 3D
printing, and more cheaply than
elsewhere — now.
“By lowering the barrier of
entry for people to develop their
own solutions using technology,
The MakerSpace Foundation is
inviting SAICE members to become
innovators and to innovate for good,”
Downie explains. Google Impact
Challenge South Africa is providing
USD125 000 in financial and
logistical support to the initiative,
thereby facilitating the expansion of
3D printing hubs — from seven
locations to 200 — around South
Africa. This will empower young
members to secure employment and
to grow within the companies that
they work for.
On his latest appointment, Downie
says, “The call to return as potential
president-elect in June of last year
was a period of introspection, but
with a growing understanding that
I have an important role to play in
30 | CEC February 2019
communicating the lessons I have
learnt and the urgency in assisting
South Africa to prepare for the changes
that lie ahead in the near future.”
His introspection was prompted,
firstly, by the unforeseen
circumstances where SAICE’s
president-elect for 2018 (and hence,
president for 2019) stood down
due to health reasons, while the
president-elect for 2019 has stood
down for personal reasons, and so,
the SAICE Council was required
to fill these positions urgently; and
secondly, because the cyclical nature
of the civil engineering profession
is a major concern affecting the
lives of professionals across the
board. It was a tough moment to
be shouldering such a responsibility.
Full circle
Reflecting on the irony of life,
Downie describes how his first
job in civil engineering was for a
company which morphed into RMD
(called RM Douglas Construction
at the time), and today, 48 years
later, this same British company
that launched his career is a major
supplier of shuttering to his latest
project in South Africa — in the
twilight of his career.
Before that, he studied civil
engineering at Queen’s University
Belfast, joining the UK-based
construction company straight
after graduation. “I was thrown in
at the deep end — working long
hours, seven days a week. But what
a great experience.”
He thereafter moved into consulting
to gain design experience. “After
I had spent two years in bridge
design, I decided that I preferred the
challenges of construction, project
management, and especially dealing
with people, so it wasn’t long before
I was back on site again. At this stage,
my appetite for reading morphed
into a passion for communication
and eventually into marketing. And
so, the central theme of my business
life — relationship marketing —
evolved,” says Downie.
He acknowledges multiple
role models and mentors as his
inspiration. “My father was an
electrical engineer, which would
obviously have had some influence,
but it was his leadership of a youth
organisation that really seeped
into my soul. I remember how
he would spend time guiding a
young person who was in trouble.
His personal life and leisure time
were set aside when he knew
he was needed. I have never
forgotten that.”
That experience prompted what
has been a lifelong passion for
mentoring others — something
which has grown consistently in
him with age. “There are no secrets
here. I need to know the person
— tell me about yourself; tell
me about your family. You cannot
influence a person’s career unless
you know the soil that they grew
up in. Celebrate their lives and
then the process of guiding them
becomes so much easier.
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