Malcolm Campbell

The relationship between engineering bachelor qualifications and occupational status in Australia

Abstract Internationally, the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for innovation and competition drives concerns about the adequacy of national STEM workforces. Data from the UK, USA and Australia suggest that, even immediately post-graduation, a significant proportion of engineering bachelor graduates do not work in engineering roles. Using the 2011 Australian census data, we present an investigation into the relationship between educational qualifications and occupational status of Australian engineering bachelor graduates, and how this status varies specifically with graduate age. We consider the implications of these findings and present recommendations for the recruitment and education of Australian engineering undergraduates. We conclude that engineering students would be better informed about, and equipped for, the world of post-graduation work if they were exposed to the likely options for their career trajectory. Likewise, secondary school students and others considering engineering undergraduate study would be more honestly advised if they were informed about the full range of career possibilities for engineering graduates and the probability that they are just as likely to work out of engineering as in it.

An IT Bachelor Degree Using Modern Technologies to Illustrate Core Concepts and Principles and Building Generic Skills

Information Technology (IT) changes very quickly and influences business, industry and the public in an enormous manner. Outsourcing of IT jobs to cheaper overseas labor and globalization of IT companies become a common practice. Graduates of IT university courses must be well prepared to address the needs and expectations of business, industry and every day life. Many factors in an Information Technology curriculum influence graduates’ professional preparation and image. The most important of them is to reflect technology change, the current state of knowledge of computing, business and industry demands and students’ expectations. The aim of our project was to develop a new Bachelor of IT curriculum that satisfies these requirements. In this report we concentrate our attention on two critical aspects of IT curriculum content, the modern technologies to be used to illustrate basic concepts and principles of computing, and the generic skills that each graduate is expected to acquire to get a job in Australia.

The Degree of Usability from Selected DVD Menus and Their Navigational Systems

The purpose of this research is to investigate the usability of DVD interfaces via their menus and navigation, inspired by Donald Norman who has had a pivotal role in user-centred design and usability. The paper encompasses theoretical aspects of interactivity, usability and DVD technology. A usability test was administered with the DVDs chosen. The results from the usability test were the main focus in this research. Such results were supportive of Norman’s claims, as participants experienced varying degrees of usability issues. Furthermore, the findings were used to develop a set of guidelines and recommendations designers could follow. If these were adhered to, it would have significantly alleviated the difficulty the participants had in interacting with the DVDs.

Evaluating Engineering Students' Perceptions: The Impact of Team-Based Learning Practices in Engineering Education

The focus of this research study is to evaluate engineering students’ perceptions on team-based learning practices in engineering education course. Team based learning (TBL) is an effective approach, which emphasizes active learning in a collaborative task. In an engineering curriculum, students are encouraged to develop skills around TBL that helps to enhance graduate employability opportunities. This paper presents an exploratory analysis of evaluating engineering students’ perceptions in practising TBL at a postgraduate study level. The cohort of students that participated in this study were primarily postgraduate engineering students at Deakin University. Around 38 participants responded to the online survey questions on TBL in a particular postgraduate unit. The positive experiences and expectations from the participants’ perceptions established that TBL enhances student-learning outcomes with possible pre-acquired knowledge on team based learning. The overall responses from this research study suggest that students require pre-and post training on TBL practices in order to enhance the curriculum learning and teaching towards graduate employability readiness.