Master of Engineering Practice

Overview

The Master of Engineering Practice allows you to build on the knowledge gained from your existing undergraduate degree. Choose a speciality area to focus on, and gain a deeper technical education to set yourself aside from other graduates in the field. There is scope to work on industry-based research projects to give you practical experience into how the industry works.

Aims and objectives

On successful completion of this Course students will be able to:

• Demonstrate high-level advanced knowledge and skills in an area of Engineering specialisation as related to design, construction, operation and maintenance of Engineering Systems 
• Reflect on managing practical issues/ complex problems and describing/ developing contemporary and sustainable Engineering trends and best practices related to design, construction, operation and maintenance of systems
  
• Investigate, analyse and synthesise complex information, perceptions, problems, concepts and theories in area of engineering specialisation to provide rational solutions to composite problems using critical thinking and team-based/ independent judgement in the project based industries
  
• Demonstrate clear and coherent communication skills to articulate complex knowledge and justify propositions and professional decisions to specialist and non-specialist audiences; including clients, customers, multi-disciplinary/ multi-cultural project teams and stakeholders
  
• Demonstrate a high level of autonomy, accountability, credibility, ethics, and responsibility for all personal work outputs
  
• Plan and execute an independent research project in area of engineering specialisation by applying appropriate research principles, sound methods and technical research skills

Career opportunities

Graduates of this course will be able to work as professional engineers in one or more of the following areas: Electrical power generation, safety and distribution, renewable energy systems, systems and embedded design, mechanical systems design, manufacturing systems design, telecommunication networks design, civil engineering project management, structural engineering and construction.

Research statement

The AQF level 9 research components are met in the Master of Engineering Practice specifically through the unit CVE80001 Research Paper, which is common to all specialisations. This unit provides students with the opportunity to undertake a minor research investigation on an engineering-related topic and prepare a research paper having potential to be published in peer-reviewed conferences or journals. Research methods and skills are taught and developed over weekly synchronous lectures and material made available online, and assessed at mid-semester prior to the development of a full paper. The unit is primarily assessed on the strength of the students’ research skills, via the following assessment pieces: - a final paper or report (70%) - an oral-based presentation (20-25%). In this way both written and oral communication skills are explicitly assessed. Conducting research on a topic specific to the student allows students to develop, and be assessed on, the following skills: - the ability to work independently - the ability to work on a problem that may be unfamiliar and open-ended - problem-solving - analysis. Weekly tutorials and meetings with an academic supervisor provide opportunities for students develop the following research skills: - create, reflect upon, and iterate the study - understand and improve their knowledge of research design principles - manage a research project - analyze and appraise the literature and the current state-of-the-art. These skills are also inherent in the production of a paper that is targeting publication.

Volume of Learning

The Master of Engineering Practice consists of 100 credit points. Units normally carry 12.5 credit points. A standard annual full-time load comprises 100 credit points and a part time load comprises of 50 credit points. The volume of learning of the Master of Engineering Practice is typically 1 years full-time (or part-time equivalent).

Maximum Academic Credit

The maximum level of credit that can be granted for the Master of Engineering Practice is 25 credit points (normally two units).