1999 Engineering Handbook - The Gippsland school

The Gippsland school

Bachelor of Engineering
- Objectives
- Course of studies
Bachelor of Engineering (Interdisciplinary Engineering)
- Objectives
- Structure
Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronics Engineering)
- Objectives
- Structure
Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Business
Bachelor of Engineering Studies
- (Only available to continuing students)
Diploma of Engineering (Industrial Management)
- Objectives
- Course of studies
  - Entry requirements
  - Credits and exemptions

The professional undergraduate degrees offered by the Gippsland School of Engineering are designed to encourage personal development of the individual and to develop skills in the acquisition and application of appropriate technical knowledge to solve engineering problems. The courses lead to an in-depth core of scientific knowledge together with an adequate understanding of the humanities to enable the engineer to perform in a socially, economically and environmentally responsible manner.
The courses create a stimulating and supportive learning environment to develop within the student the ability to:

efficiently apply intellectual, manipulative, experimental, design and problem-solving knowledge and skills to discharge the tasks expected of a graduate engineer;
access sources of engineering information, knowledge and data to develop the ability to solve new problems;
provide the community with affordable, safe, reliable and aesthetically pleasing designs for engineering products and services;
manage the construction, operation and maintenance of those resources entrusted to professional engineers in a safe, reliable and environmentally responsible condition;
understand the social, economic and environmental impacts of professional engineering decisions;
communicate effectively on both technical issues and current affairs with peers, business associates, clients and the general public;
stimulate a personal interest in continuing career development and the advancement of the profession by life-long improvement of their own ability to contribute to society as engineers;
evaluate their personal responsibilities and the limitations of both professional engineering knowledge and practice in the light of institutional and ethical codes of practice.

Course of studies

The Bachelor of Engineering offered by the Gippsland school is a four-year fully professional course and offers various specialisations. For students who commenced their course in 1998:

interdisciplinary engineering with major studies taken in civil, electrical, mechanical and/or information technology
mechatronics engineering

The following degrees are available only for students who are completing their studies:

civil engineering
electronic and computer engineering
electro-mechanical engineering
mechanical engineering.

The bachelor degrees have a common first year, thus students do not have to select their specialty until after some study experience.
In each specialisation there are opportunities at final-year level to take electives suited to student interests. All of the engineering degree courses may be studied either full-time or part-time, or by distance education with attendance at residential schools. Residential school sessions for off-campus students are listed in the university principal dates and the university Calendar.
The Bachelor of Engineering in mining engineering may be completed by undertaking two years of full-time study at Monash University Gippsland campus and a further two years of full-time study at the University of Ballarat.
An outline of the course structure and content of the Bachelor of Engineering is set out in the subject lists included after this section of the handbook.

Bachelor of Engineering (Interdisciplinary Engineering)

The introduction of an interdisciplinary engineering branch is in line with outcomes of the recent national review of engineering education, which called for a broadening of undergraduate courses, reduced specialisation, courses which prepare students to work across specialist boundaries and to take up career options not based on traditional employment patterns, courses which are more attractive to women and develop good interpersonal and management skills, and financial awareness, and an understanding of sustainable development and the implications of engineering activity for the environment.
With current offerings in a number of the major engineering disciplines the Gippsland School of Engineering is well placed to provide an integrated teaching approach across disciplines in an interdisciplinary course which will complement the more specialised emphases in the branches of engineering offered by other departments within the faculty.

Objectives

The interdisciplinary engineering branch aims to:

provide the scientific, computer and mathematical knowledge and skills appropriate for the required balance between engineering science and practice;
develop students who accept responsibility for their learning, rather than just allowing themselves to be taught;
create life-long learners;
provide students with a range of professional skills to allow them to communicate effectively, to have basic financial and management competencies, to analyse and solve engineering problems and to think creatively;
provide a breadth of course that is more attractive to women; and
provide students with a clear understanding of the environmental and social responsibilities of engineers within a sustainable future.

Structure

Commencing with the broadly based common engineering first level the interdisciplinary engineering branch allows students in the later years to pursue discipline majors within an interdisciplinary framework. There is a maximum of commonality at the second level so that a choice of discipline major does not have to be made until towards the end of this level. This makes for a more informed choice which can include a double major which maximises the interdisciplinary opportunities the stream has to offer. Levels three and four allow development of the chosen discipline emphasis, but always within the context of the interdisciplinary

Bachelor of Engineering (Mechatronics Engineering)

The structure of the Gippsland School of Engineering, containing as it does a number of the major engineering disciplines, makes it ideal for providing an integrated teaching approach across disciplines. A recent national review of engineering education, carried out by the engineering profession, concluded that there was a need for diversity in the type of engineering graduate leaving universities. Given the specialised nature of many courses, this diversity could be provided by courses which give students an ability to work across specialist boundaries.
The development of a mechatronics engineering branch of the Bachelor of Engineering degree will complement the introduction of an interdisciplinary engineering branch based around major studies in the traditional engineering disciplines. As with the interdisciplinary engineering branch, mechatronics engineering by its very nature requires an integrated, multidisciplinary approach. It is built on a basis of mechanical, electronics and electrical engineering, binding each of these disciplines not only with each other but also with computer science and software engineering. Mechatronics engineering brings together the fundamentals, procedures and techniques for the design, production and service of future-oriented machines and devices. Industries which design and produce modern products that are both up to date and economically produced, and which wish to keep abreast of modern technology, will create a ready demand for mechatronics engineering graduates.

Objectives

The mechatronics engineering branch aims to equip the students will the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes and to prepare them holistically and creatively to manage, in a professional manner, the multidisciplinary tasks associated with the design, development and servicing of modern machines and devices.
This objective will be attained in three stages:

by developing basic knowledge, skills and attitudes;
by developing engineers capable not only of understanding the basics but also of designing and developing mechatronics products; and
by bridging the gap between, on the one hand, skills, knowledge, design and development ability and, on the other hand, application, professional practice and engineering management, which is environmentally and socially responsible and within a sustainable future.

Structure

The course structure has been developed to maximise commonality between subjects developed for the interdisciplinary engineering branch and those developed specifically for the mechatronics engineering branch. The common subjects were developed to optimise their appropriateness for each branch without compromising the integrity of the individual branches. This level, which provides a broad introduction to engineering, supports well the remainder of the mechatronics engineering branch, not only because of the multidisciplinary nature of the mechatronics engineering program itself, but because the machines and devices to be developed will necessarily be used in a wide and diverse range of industrial disciplines.
The structure and content in terms of the various disciplines and activities addressed by the branch can be identified as: mechanics, electronics, computing, mechatronics, management, industrial experience, mathematical tools and broad discipline subjects, projects.

Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Business

This double degree is a five-year full-time or equivalent distance education professional course and offers specialisation in the following engineering and business areas. For students commencing their course after 1998:

interdisciplinary engineering with major studies taken in civil, electrical and mechanical engineering;
accounting;
economics;
management;
marketing.

The following branches are available only for students who are completing their studies:

civil engineering;
electrical engineering;
mechanical engineering;
accounting;
economics;
management;
marketing.

Students may select the course through VTAC or may apply to transfer in at the end of first year engineering or first year business. Students entering through VTAC will take the normal Bachelor of Engineering course in their first year. For students transferring after first year, the normal Bachelor of Engineering entry requirements must be met along with at least a credit average in the first year of study.
An outline of the course structure and content of the double degree is set out in the subject lists included in this section of the handbook.

Bachelor of Engineering Studies

(Only available to continuing students)

The Bachelor of Engineering Studies is a three-year full-time equivalent degree which may be taken by distance education. The course is suitable for those in the workplace who wish to obtain an engineering-related qualification whilst remaining employed. The course is also a foundation for the professional engineering degree which may be completed by a minimum of one year's full-time study on campus. The aims and objectives of the course are:

to provide the scientific, mathematical and computational knowledge underlying modern engineering;
to develop experimental and design skills appropriate to engineering;
to develop a capability for understanding, analysing and solving engineering problems;
to stimulate an interest in engineering and encourage a continuation of engineering studies;
to develop an appreciation of the role of engineering in modern society and its impact on the economic, social and environmental well-being of the community;
to develop personal attributes including communication skills, the ability to work in a team and the acceptance of responsibility.

The course consists of core subjects in the existing BEng degree program. A common engineering background is maintained until level three when students may elect to develop their studies in a particular discipline or continue with a broad study.

Diploma of Engineering (Industrial Management)

Objectives

The course is designed to meet the needs of people employed in technical, supervisory or management positions or people aspiring to such positions. The main aim of the course is to provide people employed in industry with the opportunity to obtain education and training in supervision and management supplemented, if desired, by the opportunity to broaden their knowledge in basic technical engineering topics. The objectives of the course are to produce diplomates who:

have effective communication, self-management, supervisory, management and basic computing skills;
have an understanding of management processes and techniques of particular relevance to industry;
will have problem-solving and decision-making skills which will enable them to function effectively and efficiently in their work;
understand the complexities and problems associated with the operation and management of industrial organisations;
will understand the basic legal, moral and economic bases for effective safety programs in industry as well as having basic safety management knowledge and skills;
have project management skills and a knowledge of associated economic, contractual and legal requirements;
have an understanding of the human resource management requirements of industrial organisations;
will have a knowledge of basic maintenance supervision and plant engineering or an understanding of basic technical engineering topics.

Course of studies

The Diploma of Engineering (Industrial Management) is a two-year equivalent full-time course offered by distance education providing training and education in industrial supervision and basic business and management procedures. It also gives the option of studies in basic engineering subjects. The course provides supervision and management training for people working in industry in such positions as technical officers, engineering assistants, engineering and industrial supervisors. These people often work in a supporting role to professional engineers and other professionals, but can also work independently in smaller organisations which do not employ professional engineers. In other organisations employing professional engineers, they may also work independently on reaching senior positions.
The course gives particular attention to the needs of small and medium-sized industrial businesses.
It is designed for part-time study, causing minimum interference to employment by use of distance education study with weekend schools.
Well-motivated students can reasonably undertake four subjects each year, thus permitting completion of the course by four years distance education study. The course is, however, designed to allow maximum flexibility for each student to proceed through the course at a rate appropriate to his or her particular circumstances.

Entry requirements

(a) Mature-age entry: People with an appropriate employment background who are over twenty-three years of age may gain entry as mature-age students under alternative category entry - mature-age provisions.
(b) Year-12 entry: The normal academic requirement for entry is successful completion of a Year-12 course of study, preferably including a pass in English (students wanting to do the technical module preferably should have passed mathematics and a science subject at Year 11).
(c) Successful completion of the first year of an associate diploma or advanced certificate course at a Victorian TAFE college or similar institution.
(d) Satisfaction of other categories of Monash's minimum tertiary entrance requirements.
(e) Applicants will not normally be accepted directly from Year-12 studies unless they are employed in industry.
An outline of the course structure and content of the diploma is set out in the subject lists included after this section of the handbook.

Credits and exemptions

Applicants with appropriate engineering or industrial qualifications may obtain up to a maximum credit of forty-eight credit points. Applicants who have undergone formal employer-conducted industrial training may be eligible for credit up to thirty-six credit points.