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Project Title : Engineering Awareness Raising through
High School Mentoring
Entrants
: University of South Australia and
eLabtronics
Division : South Australia
Summary of Project for Judges
" The
overall innovation performance of an economy depends not so much
on how specific formal institutions (firms, research institutes,
universities etc.) perform but how they interact with each other
as elements of a collective system of knowledge creation and
use."
Dr R Batterham, Australian Chief Scientist, at
the Economic Summit, Adelaide, 2003
The steady decline in enrolments in engineering
and science programs worldwide has given rise to general concern
amongst engineering educators. It is feared that a society almost
totally dependent on the reliability of technology at its disposal
can not continue successfully if there is a shortage of
professionals who are the creators of that technology in the first
place; engineers! Already there are predictions of looming shortages
of engineers both overseas and in Australia.
The decline in enrolments in engineering and
science programs is accompanied by a decline in enrolments in
mathematics, physics and chemistry; subjects traditionally
considered as essential prerequisites for engineering study. This
has arguably led to an erosion of the pool of potentially capable
students well prepared to enter into engineering programmes at
university level.
A decline in engineering enrolments is
paradoxical in view of the fascination that the products of
engineering arouse. These range from mobile phones to robotic
devices; from automatic household appliances to video games. Indeed,
technology affects everyone everywhere whether it be in
communication, food processing, banking or air travel, to name just
a few areas. Yet, despite this ever-present ambiance of engineering
and its products, the generation enjoying its benefits most appears
to be increasingly reluctant to embrace engineering as a rewarding
career choice.
Recognising the need for proactive action, the
University of South Australia initiated – in close collaboration
with eLabtronics, an award winning Adelaide company – the
project entitled "Engineering Awareness Raising through High
School Mentoring". The project is characterised by the
following features of excellence:
University/Industry Partnership
The project is unique in the sense that it
successfully brings together engineering educators with an
innovative engineering company in an initiative of great
importance to both the University and the industry. The University
is well placed to contribute to the project as a major institution
in engineering education. eLabtronics has been acclaimed as
an innovative South Australian Company as the winner of the
Secrets of Innovation competition at the World Congress on IT
(WCIT2002) with their patented software technology breakthrough
CoreChart, and as a distinguished partner of Microchip Technology
Inc., USA.
Engineering Students as Mentors
The project’s secret of success may be – at
least partly – attributed to the deployment of highly motivated
engineering students as mentors. They have great appeal to
secondary school students on account of age and admired skills,
rapidly becoming role models for the students they mentor. The
project is also highly beneficial to the mentoring university
students, who are trained in an industrial environment at eLabtronics.
In addition the students enrol in Peer Tutoring course tailored
for the special needs of mentors, offered as a broadening
undergraduate education (BUGE) course, another unique feature of
the project. Attending the course gives mentors an added
opportunity to develop their communication and leadership skills
as important graduate qualities, and to become aware of the social
responsibility of engineering profession.
Intrinsic Project Appeal
Unlike similar schemes elsewhere, the project
is focused on producing a tangible product as the outcome of the
mentoring sessions, using engineering methodology.
State-of-the-art components and an award winning programming
approach are used to spur the interest and the imagination of
participating secondary school students. This is intrinsically
appealing.
Impact on Industry
The project seeks to showcase engineering as a
rewarding and socially responsible career choice, aiming at
raising awareness within the community at large via the medium of
secondary school students, whose enthusiasm is contagious for
their families and friends as evident from their unsolicited
praise. The ultimate aim is to increase the number of young
students taking up engineering so as to counteract the looming
shortage of engineers.
Impact on Community
The project promotes an environment that
fosters, nurtures and rewards creativity, innovation, enterprise,
excellence and high achievement in young students, motivating them
to embark on professional career paths in engineering and science.
This will widen career path choices for high school students,
providing greater opportunities for finding rewarding jobs and
influencing attitudes towards employment. One anticipated outcome
of the project is a cultural paradigm shift, enriching the
community and contributing to a better quality of life.
World’s Best Practice
The project measures up most favourably against
schemes with similar objectives in Australia and abroad. It is
innovative and unique, and incorporates features well beyond those
considered to constitute world’s best practice.
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