Addressing the supply and quality of engineering graduates for the new century

Australia's higher education sector provides entry-level education to professional engineers, engineering technologists and engineering officers, as well as advanced level education and engineering research. The engineering education system, involving educators, professional bodies and employers, enjoys good international standing. The system has continuously responded to changes in engineering practice brought about by new scientific and technological knowledge, and to changing economic and regulatory forces. This report examines the current state of the higher education component of the Australian engineering education system, with respect to its ability to address future needs, contextualised by assessing the implementation of outcomes of the 1996 Review of Engineering, Changing the Culture. The present study has also identified substantial and emerging strengths of many of Australia's engineering schools in the areas of research, international education, and in addressing industry-specific skills shortages through both undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

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