41200 Engineering Project Appraisal
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Credit points: 6 cp
Result type: Grade and marks
Requisite(s): ((42 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Degree owned by FEIT OR 42 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Honours Embedded Degree owned by FEIT OR 42 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Combined Degree owned by FEIT OR 42 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Combined Honours Degree owned by FEIT OR 42 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Combined Degree co-owned by FEIT OR 42 credit points of completed study in Bachelor's Combined Honours Degree co-owned by FEIT) AND 48230 Introduction to Engineering Projects)
Description
In this Foundational level subject, students learn about frameworks used by professional engineers, including those regarding ethics, project management, sustainability, and the economy. Students are given opportunities to investigate and evaluate real-world projects through different perspectives and frameworks used in industry. In particular, there is a focus on how the project has applied principles of sustainability, and to what extent community needs (for example the local communities and other stakeholders) have been considered.
Through the appraisal of engineering projects, students build on the skills they have learned and practiced in Introduction to Engineering Projects to develop further and formalise their understanding of engineering professional practice. After this subject, students are ready to apply their learning to more complex engineering projects, which they will practice in the next core subject.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Identify professional ethical obligations relevant to an engineering project. (B.1) |
|---|---|
| 2. | Identify how sustainability approaches and principles have been applied to an engineering project. (B.1) |
| 3. | Identify economic perspectives relevant to engineering projects. (B.1) |
| 4. | Identify the effective use of project management approaches in engineering projects. (D.1) |
| 5. | Apply established frameworks to engineering decisions using critical thinking skills. (C.1) |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):
- Socially Responsible: FEIT graduates identify, engage, interpret and analyse stakeholder needs and cultural perspectives, establish priorities and goals, and identify constraints, uncertainties and risks (social, ethical, cultural, legislative, environmental, economics etc.) to define the system requirements. (B.1)
- Design Oriented: FEIT graduates apply problem solving, design and decision-making methodologies to develop components, systems and processes to meet specified requirements. (C.1)
- Technically Proficient: FEIT graduates apply abstraction, mathematics and discipline fundamentals, software, tools and techniques to evaluate, implement and operate systems. (D.1)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies
This subject contributes to the development of the following Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies:
- 1.5. Knowledge of engineering design practice and contextual factors impacting the engineering discipline.
- 1.6. Understanding of the scope, principles, norms, accountabilities and bounds of sustainable engineering practice in the specific discipline.
- 2.1. Application of established engineering methods to complex engineering problem solving.
- 2.4. Application of systematic approaches to the conduct and management of engineering projects.
- 3.1. Ethical conduct and professional accountability.
Teaching and learning strategies
In this subject we make use of case studies as a method to investigate aspects of engineering projects. Students are presented with frameworks for how ethics, sustainability, project management and economic concepts apply in real-world projects, linking the learning to authentic examples of practice.
In tutorial sessions students will collaborate with peers to practice case study analysis techniques and understand how the concepts taught in the frameworks are used in practice. Students are given the opportunity to demonstrate these skills through using the frameworks to appraise engineering projects.
With peer feedback, students are given the opportunity to assess and critique other students’ work, both individually and in diverse groups, developing their understanding of different approaches to project appraisal.
Content (topics)
Topics addressed in this subject include:
- Critical thinking frameworks
- Introduction to sustainability in engineering
- Evaluation of the social, economic and environmental considerations of and for engineering projects
- Introduction to the management of engineering projects
- Introduction to the professional responsibility of engineers
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Case Study
| Intent: | To demonstrate the ability to identify and describe how sustainability is applied in case studies of real engineering projects |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 2 and 5 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1 and C.1 |
| Type: | Case study |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | 1200 words |
Assessment task 2: Project Evaluation
| Intent: | To demonstrate critical thinking and understanding of economic and project management considerations in evaluating case studies of real engineering projects. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 3, 4 and 5 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1, C.1 and D.1 |
| Type: | Report |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Weight: | 30% |
| Length: | 1200 words |
Assessment task 3: Group presentation critiquing project report
| Intent: | Demonstrate critical thinking through critiquing past capstone reports from a variety of perspectives. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): B.1, C.1 and D.1 |
| Type: | Presentation |
| Groupwork: | Group, group and individually assessed |
| Weight: | 40% |
| Length: | 20 minutes presentation with 5 minutes for Q&A |
Minimum requirements
In order to pass the subject, a student must achieve an overall mark of 50% or more.
Recommended texts
Dowling, D.(2019). Engineering Your Future: An Australasian Guide.Wiley
Wahidul,K., Biswas, Michele, J.(2022). Engineering for Sustainable Development: Theory and Practice. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.