Scrutiny of the Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Hons) reveals that it is currently highly focused on engineering science and technical courses with limited integration of topics in comparison with real world practice. Engineers today must constantly deal with regulatory uncertainty, data limitations, and evolving methodologies, as well as a range of conflicting demands and opinions from clients, governments, public authorities and the community. Consequently, they need to understand (and be able to apply) sound engineering principles to the projects they undertake.
These principles involve technical competence, ethical practice, appropriate management, professionalism, courtesy, safety awareness and thoroughness of task execution. Relevant skills include (but are not limited to) problem solving expertise, proficiency in liaison and negotiation (with both professional bodies and individuals), research and report preparation competence, and good communication ability. In addition, engineers must be able to cope with continual technological and organisational change in the workplace and the commercial realities of industry practice. They should also be generally aware of the legal and environmental consequences of their professional actions, and exhibit a commitment to ongoing learning and contributions to their organization, profession, and the community.
In order therefore to facilitate the transition of the final year students and prepare them for the tasks they will likely face once they join their respective services, the course aims to enhance the process of learning through authentic problem solving. Students pursuing this course will be required to work in teams and to attend seminars and possible occasional field visits external to timetabled course sessions, during both semesters. These may include both professional meetings and leadership seminars.
Scheduled session contact is 5 hours per week, during which students can meet with supervisors. Extra consulation can be arranged with supervisors at agreed time and in various forms. Each students is anticipated to work 7 additional hours on average each week on the project.
