Member Profile

M. Sikandar Nawaz, Engineer-in-Training

I am from Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan, where I grew up as the oldest of three brothers. Rahim Yar Khan is a predominantly agricultural area having the beautiful swirling Indus River on the one side and a mesmerizing desert on the other side. I got my secondary and higher secondary education in my hometown.

Since childhood, I have been curious about the way things happen in nature as well as logical reasoning and cause-effect relationships. I broke apart all my toy cars to see what was happening inside.

As I grew older, physics became my favourite subject. I was fascinated by electromagnetic force, how energy is converted from one form to another as well as how power is generated and transmitted. All this led me to choose engineering as my career.

I pursued a degree in electronic engineering from the International Islamic University in Islamabad, having received a scholarship from Pakistan’s Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, (MoITT). I graduated in 2012.

Studying engineering was one of the best decisions of my life. During my studies, I realized that engineering is not only a knowledge domain. It is a mindset. It insists on logic and focuses on finding the solutions – not merely technical ones, but real-life ones as well.

I furthered my education by earning a Post Graduate Certificate in Business Administration in 2020. This certificate is from Allama Iqbal Open University in Islamabad in collaboration with the Commonwealth of Learning in Vancouver.

I have worked as an engineer in a total of five countries. I am a registered engineer in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Canada. I was a resident of three of those countries.

In Saudi Arabia, I worked as an automation and instrumentation engineer in an engineering, procurement and construction firm. Then I moved to United Arab Emirates, where I worked as a senior automation engineer in another engineering firm. From there, I went to Oman and Iraq as well for the brief periods, handling projects.

Currently, I am working as a technical lead in a system integration firm in Doha, Qatar.

I am an International Society of Automation (ISA) recognized Certified Automation Professional (CAP®). This means that I have proven I possess an extensive knowledge of automation and controls and that I have the expertise and qualifications to excel in this field.

As a CAP, I have been working in the Industrial Automation Industry for almost 10 years. CAPs are responsible for direction, definition, design, development/application, deployment, documentation and support of software and equipment systems used in control systems, manufacturing information systems, systems integration, and operational consulting. I have worked on control systems and automation projects in infrastructure, water/wastewater, oil and gas and fertilizers.

Working in engineering is prestigious and rewarding but it also instils a great sense of responsibility for society and the environment. I appreciate the high-tech and sophisticated solutions we design, which build infrastructure, provide ease in people’s lives and run the industry, producing commercial-scale food products, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, and chemicals to name a few examples.