Experiences in implementing a postgraduate engineering management program

Abstract

[Abstract]: The majority of practising engineers are expected to possess managerial skills as well as specific technical skills. While many engineering graduates undertake a Master of Business Administration to gain the necessary knowledge to undertake their managerial tasks, there is also a demand for the development of managerial skills more closely related to engineering practice. These skills are likely to be more relevant to engineers if they are related to engineering tasks. Examples of such knowledge would include the impact of technology on society, sustainability, risk management, asset management and innovation management. The Master of Engineering Management program was developed by the University of Southern Queensland to provide these skills. While the courses in this program were initially developed for distance education only, several are also now delivered on-campus. This paper discusses the experiences of two of the academics involved with the development and delivery of courses in this program.