The Bachelor of Engineering offered by the Gippsland school is a four-year fully professional course and offers various specialisations. Students may choose:
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.
The Bachelor of Engineering in mining engineering may be completed by beginning
two years of full-time study at Monash University Gippsland campus and
completing the course 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 following this section. Students should note
that not all subjects are available each year, and students should refer to
updated information on the web page at
http://www.meg.eng.monash.edu.au/subjects2001
The
introduction of an interdisciplinary engineering branch is in line with
outcomes of the recent national review of engineering education. This 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 are needed
which are more attractive to women and develop good interpersonal and
management skills, 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. This will
meet the needs outlined above and complement the more specialised emphases in
the branches of engineering offered by other departments within the faculty.
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 degree.
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 that 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.
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. The common first year,
which provides a broad introduction to engineering, supports the remainder of
the mechatronics engineering branch. This is 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,
projects and broad discipline subjects.
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