Every Engineer’s Day, we pause. We brush off our blueprints, applaud the tech innovators, the coders, the inventors, the problem-solvers. We celebrate Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya, whose birthday falls on September 15, remembering a man who engineered bridges and dams—and perhaps, more importantly, engineered possibility.
But today, in 2025, India’s future doesn’t just need to honour engineers. It needs more of them — especially young people from underprivileged backgrounds, especially girls — who will not only build infrastructure but build innovation, equity, dreams.
This Engineer’s Day, the question is: how do we make engineering more than a dream for the few? How do we nurture engineers who will drive India forward? And how is Smile Foundation helping that happen?
The Power of Engineers in Nation-Building
Think of every road you drive, every app you tap, every hospital that stands where often there was only empty land. Engineers made those things happen. Civil engineers span bridges and railways; software engineers invent solutions for remote learning; electrical engineers light up villages; chemical engineers create medicines; mechanical engineers build machines that do the heavy lifting and robotics.
India aspires to be a global innovation hub. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 emphasises STEM education. Initiatives like Make in India, Digital India, Startup India lean heavily on enabling engineering talent. But policies on paper must translate into opportunities in labs, scholarships, mentorship and inclusive access.
Smile Foundation’s Scholarships: Facts You Can Stand On
Smile Foundation invests in future engineers.
- Under Smile Foundation’s Education Impact, there are “scholarships for deserving students … technical courses like engineering.” (Smile Foundation)
- In collaboration with Deutsche Bank, Smile offers engineering scholarships to meritorious girls from low-income families, covering tuition for four years at colleges in cities such as Bengaluru, Jaipur, Mumbai, Pune. (Smile Foundation)
- The scholarship includes not only financial aid but learning tools like laptops, industry exposure, domain/technical skills training, communication and employability skills, and placement assistance in the senior years of study.
- As of now, Smile’s scholarship programmes for engineering have benefited over 2,000 students through various donor-partner initiatives.
These are not minor interventions. They are acts of possibility—transforming a student’s “I hope I can afford college” into “I will become an engineer.”
Why Engineering from Margins Matters
When engineering is restricted by cost, geography or gender, the diversity of ideas shrinks. Women are underrepresented in technical roles; rural students may not even have labs or reliable electricity; first-generation learners may lack counsel or mentorship. Innovation suffers when voices, perspectives, experiences are missing.
Smile Foundation’s Mission Education centres work in 27 states, supporting over 120,000 children with educational access, including STEM and vocational exposure. Additionally, Smile has introduced STEM labs at 12 locations, DIY STEM kits, science/engineering exposure, coding, robotics in collaboration with institutions.
When a girl from a small town gets an engineering scholarship, receives domain training, a laptop, mentorship — that doesn’t just change her life. It changes the map of who India’s engineers look like. It changes what innovation feels like.
Beyond the Parade, Towards Praxis
What does Engineer’s Day mean, if not just speeches and good Instagram posts? It should also be about action:
- Recognising engineers from non-traditional backgrounds.
- Supporting scholarship programmes that cover all costs — not just tuition, but tools, travel, exposure.
- Ensuring labs not just exist, but function. Proper infrastructure, teaching staff trained in modern pedagogy.
- Encouraging women in engineering by setting up role models, mentorship, safe spaces.
Smile Foundation is doing many of these. The engineering scholarships with Deutsche Bank are one example. Another is Smile’s focus in education on STEM & experiential learning introducing inquiry, problem-solving and breaking away from rote.
Smiling in the Making
- Shreya, a student from a small town beneficiary of the Deutsche Bank-Smile scholarship, is now in her second year of engineering in Pune. She says studying circuits feels like poetry, now that she has both the materials and the confidence.
- Ayesha, another scholarship-holder, used to worry she’d drop out because her family couldn’t afford a laptop. Smile’s scholarship provided the laptop, mentorship support and she now tutors others in her engineering hostel.
These are proof that investment in engineers from underserved backgrounds works.
The Innovation Gap & What Engineers Must Fill
India’s challenges — urban congestion, climate change, renewable energy, AI governance, water scarcity need engineering solutions. But to solve them sustainably, engineers must come from everywhere: rural hearts, small towns, border areas, from girls, from minorities. Because those are the lived contexts in which some of the toughest problems lie.
SME engineers, industrial engineers, software engineers, civil, mechanical, electrical — they all converge. And as we see globally, countries that have inclusive engineering pipelines tend to innovate faster, build more resilient infrastructure, adapt more rapidly.
This Engineer’s Day, here are ways you can contribute to building engineering futures:
- Sponsor an engineering scholarship – even one scholarship can support tuition + tool costs for a student. Smile’s programme works with donors like Deutsche Bank and others. (Smile Foundation)
- Mentor – help students understand what engineering means, guide projects, support internships.
- Provide tools or labs – if you’re an organisation with capacity.
- Spread awareness – share stories of engineers from underserved backgrounds via social media, local schools, communities.
Give not just your applause, but your support. Give not just congratulations, but opportunity.
