UQ engineering project wins national teaching grant

UQ engineering project wins national teaching grant

A work-based learning program for engineering students has won the University of Queensland a prestigious national teaching organisational development grant.

The program prepares students for job placements so they learn more from the experience and become more valuable to employers.

Minister for Employment, Training and Youth Affairs Dr David Kemp has approved a $150,000 grant to the UQ project which aims to overcome the shortage of semester-long placement subjects and vacation experience programs for students.

"These programs are an essential part of many professional courses," said Associate Professor David Radcliffe of UQ's Mechanical Engineering Department. "However, meaningful placements are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain, especially in engineering, where this is emerging as a major problem."

Dr Radcliffe heads the project which has received one of only 11 national organisational grants in the latest Committee for University Teaching and Staff Development (CUTSD) round. The University will also share in organisational grants valued at more than $362,000 and a $150,000 staff development grant in the 1999 CUTSD scheme.

CUTSD is a national group, headed by University of Queensland Vice-Chancellor Professor John Hay, which fosters good teaching practice in Australian universities, and provides academic and general staff development opportunities.

Dr Radcliffe said the project addressed an increased industry demand for workplace aware graduates with lifelong learning skills. It grew out of an Action Learning Program led by Eril McNamara of Student Administration and Jackie Mergard of the Engineering, Physical Sciences and Architecture Faculty. They are the other core CUTSD team members.

The program includes an integrated set of learning modules to advance students' professional abilities based on a model of desirable graduate attributes developed by the recent Review of Engineering Education. Dr Radcliffe said the generic modules could be customised for students in courses other than engineering. Another project innovation is a visiting fellowships program enabling staff from other faculties or institutions to spend time working with the UQ development team.

UQ is also a collaborative partner in 1999 CUTSD-funded projects with other lead universities: Development of communications skills in professional curricula as a model of generic attributes, Wollongong University ($150,000); Women's health national collaborative core curriculum project, Monash University ($120,023); An active learning approach to teaching advanced students of economics, Melbourne University ($148,563); and Problem-based learning cases in dentistry, Adelaide University ($93,788).

Media: Further information, telephone Dr David Radcliffe, 07 3365 3579.