Engineering a Future
[ The University of Melbourne Voice Vol. 3, No. 5
14 July - 10 August 2008 ] By Rebecca Scott
“With an engineering degree you can really change the world,” says University of Melbourne Dean of Engineering Professor Iven Mareels. “And we have some exciting changes happening in the field of engineering at Melbourne.”
Engineering students commencing at Melbourne from second semester 2010 onwards will study engineering through an undergraduate degree leading to a Master of Engineering qualification, he says.
The University announced the full implementation of the Melbourne Model for Engineering at its Academic Board meeting recently.
“Many top universities around the world support a five-year engineering program as the future model for a broad-based engineering foundation.”
“This will provide Melbourne engineering graduates with a world-recognised qualification and offer them a distinct competitive advantage in the global job market,” says Professor Mareels.
He says the need for change in Engineering education has been discussed and debated for more than 10 years by educators and professionals around the world.
“Engineering is all around us, providing clean water to communities around the globe, helping deaf people hear, helping us to communicate with one another and making possible the manufacture and transport of the clothes we wear and the food we eat.
“Advances in engineering and technology in fields such as biomedicine and renewable energies dictate that we need to cover advanced studies in more depth, “says Professor Mareels.
Industry demands for soft skills in addition to strong technical skills have also influenced the transition to the five-year degree.
Professor Mareels says there simply isn’t enough time in a four-year degree to cover everything today’s engineers need to know.
“Engineers today need to have skills to work across a range of engineering areas and to have capabilities in communicating with clients, project management and engineering design.
“A lack of specialisation in science and maths at high school means universities need to work harder to enable aspiring engineers to become globally competitive professionals.”
The new Melbourne Model students will develop greater technical and problem-solving skills, combined with creativity, ingenuity and leadership – all of which are portable and adaptable skills sets.
Students will receive a deeper understanding of technical skills and broader knowledge of context – ‘depth and breadth’ – for an increasing body of engineering knowledge.
Students can complete a major or sequence in engineering through a Bachelor of Commerce, Science, Environments or Biomedicine, followed by a two year Master of Engineering. Students will graduate after five years with a Bachelor degree and Masters qualification, leading to professional accreditation with Engineers Australia.
The final commencing student intake for the four-year Bachelor of Engineering will occur in first semester, 2010.
The University is also introducing new opportunities for existing graduates to study engineering at Melbourne.
Beginning in 2010, non-engineering graduates can study engineering by completing a three-year Master of Engineering.
As a novel development in engineering education for graduates, Professor Mareels says the changes signify Melbourne’s leadership in addressing the skills shortage, making it possible for more students to pursue engineering.
“The University is helping more students who are inspired to be engineers to pursue a fulfilling and rewarding career.
“Engineers can help solve some of the big problems of the world, better management of our precious water, the development of renewable sources of energy to prevent climate change to deliver more efficient and adaptable medical treatments.
“To find solutions, we need more of the best and brightest students to study engineering. And we need to give them the best possible education.
“That’s exactly what we are doing at Melbourne with the Melbourne Model –building engineers of the future.”
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