Final year engineering projects in Australia and Europe

Ku, H. and Goh, S. (2010) Final year engineering projects in Australia and Europe. European Journal of Engineering Education, 35 (2). pp. 161-173. ISSN 0304-3797

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Abstract

The paper starts by emphasising that final year engineering projects are regarded important in the training and education of professional engineers in Australia and Europe. The sources of projects available to students were also mentioned. Some Australian universities insist individual projects but some not, each with their own reasons. However, it can be argued that all European universities run individual projects. In most cases, whether it is in Australia or Europe, the total load for final year engineering project is about 6.25 % of the load of the engineering programs. Assessment methods were also described. They were all different whether it is in Australia or Europe but not very significant. It was discovered that literature review, oral presentation and written report or dissertations were important elements in the assessment schemes. Many university staff, in both continents, encouraged students to publish their work in international conferences and journals if the originality of the projects was high. It can be argued that individual project is most effective in learning outcome; however, the cost involved is also very high and its sustainability in smaller universities in Australia is in doubt.

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Item Type:	Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Additional Information:	Author version deposited in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.
Faculty / Department / School:	Historic - Faculty of Engineering and Surveying - Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering
Date Deposited:	02 Sep 2010 04:59
Last Modified:	14 Aug 2012 00:58
Uncontrolled Keywords:	final year engineering projects; individual project; assessments; oral presentation; dissertation; conferences; journals; Europe; Australia
Fields of Research :	09 Engineering > 0915 Interdisciplinary Engineering > 091503 Engineering Practice 13 Education > 1302 Curriculum and Pedagogy > 130212 Science, Technology and Engineering Curriculum and Pedagogy 13 Education > 1303 Specialist Studies in Education > 130303 Education Assessment and Evaluation
Socio-Economic Objective:	E Expanding Knowledge > 97 Expanding Knowledge > 970109 Expanding Knowledge in Engineering
Identification Number or DOI:	10.1080/03043790903497336
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/8191

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