The CQUniversity Opal Awards

Engaged Learning and Teaching

Finalist: John Holland Partnership: Engineers for the Future Program
Stuart Ommensen, Shelley Fawcett, Kim Hetherington, Ian Devenish - ROCKHAMPTON

The John Holland Group (JHG) and CQUniversity have developed and integrated the 'Engineers for the Future' program into the CQUniversity engineering curriculum. This program aims to address increasing complexity in the engineering workplace which continues to present a challenge to engineering educators to be able to provide students with engineering skills and knowledge that is readily transferable to the practical engineering workplace. The program embeds industry relevant lectures from practising John Holland professionals into all levels of the CQUniversity Engineering undergraduate program.

John Holland is a strong supporter of the CQU engineering co-op program. Through being a consistent employer of CQUniversity undergraduates over a number of years John Holland is now seeing the fruit of this involvement offering employment in the 2 year John Holland National Graduate Program for 2011 to 4 CQU graduates. Students with industry experience coupled with academic excellence make sought after candidates. In the most recent interview round, 5 out of the 6 nationally short-listed candidates were from CQUniversity.

Through the process of developing the 'Engineers for the Future Program' for CQU students, it was discovered that the same knowledge gaps (that the program was targeting) existed within the current cohort of John Holland graduates. On this basis it was decided to run the 'Engineers for the Future Program' in an intensive format over 2 days for all Northern Region John Holland Graduates. The Engineers for the Future Program - Graduate Workshop focused on the elements involved in completing a project successfully within time, quality and budget constraints in a system that delivers safety to the people, environment and community.

This Partnership clearly illustrates the benefits of engaged learning and teaching projects. It has resulted in work integrated learning placements and industry delivered lectures ensuring CQUniversity supplies industry relevant graduates to the engineering labour market and has provided excellent graduate employment opportunities. The partnership has helped John Holland identify and solve a knowledge gap in their workforce and has provided them with a first choice source of skilled work ready graduates.