Murdoch University and Curtin University of Technology have introduced new programs to increase student enrolments in engineering and combat the skills shortage afflicting Western Australia.
Murdoch has introduced an accelerated three-year course as an alternative to the traditional four-year bachelor of engineering degree.
The compressed course will allow students to undertake four years’ worth of academic work in three calendar years, by introducing new summer and winter terms.
This amounts to an extension of the conventional 26-week academic year to 39 weeks.
Engineers Australia director Janice Lake said Murdoch was entitled to introduce an accelerated course under a clause in the organisation’s accreditation guidelines.
The course will be a pilot program for students in four engineering streams, including industrial computing and power engineering, with the university planning to broaden its application to other courses if successful.
Murdoch University head of electrical, energy and process engineering, Professor Parisa Bahri, said the program was prompted by industry demand for engineers.
Meanwhile, Curtin University is part of a national project to raise the profile of engineering and attract more students, through its membership of the Australian Technology Network of Universities.
The project, which received more than $1 million of federal government funding a year, includes a national advertising campaign and web site for school students.
A key element is its new aptitude test for potential engineering students, who may not have studied the prerequisite high school subjects for engineering, but demonstrate appropriate skills for the profession.
Curtin University dean of engineering and computing, professor Tony Lucey said the program would help to address the skills shortage.
“I think engineering as a profession is largely misunderstood. We’re hoping to get people better informed and more engaged,” he told WA Business News.
