Cultivating a civil service
by Rebecca Gill
While
most people know about the skills shortage in the engineering sector,
not many know how much fun the profession can be.
And as all civil engineers will tell you, their kind of engineering – designing, maintaining and improving the infrastructure and resources of our physical surroundings – is the best kind.
It is common for testimonials to speak of the importance of constructing a society, the perks of not being chained to a desk and the fantastic career opportunities open to graduates.
But why just talk about engineering when you can experience it first-hand?
Forty students in years nine and 10 from different metropolitan schools did just that when UniSA opened the doors to its Mawson Lakes engineering hub as part of the Engineering your Future program, an initiative of community education and training group Youth JET, UniSA and other organisations designed to inspire interest in the field as a career.
Under the guidance of some of the state’s top engineering educators, the students took part in specially designed workshops that covered a broad cross-section of discipline areas such as geotechnical, structural, water and environmental engineering.
Budding engineers George, Maximus and Steven (left) were thrilled to learn some engineering nuts and bolts. Here, they are classifying soil by testing for salinity, pH, and doing plastic and liquid limit tests.
Arguably the most popular activities on the day were the spectacular "quenching" of steel in the heat treatment demonstration with lecturer Peter Kentish, and building materials testing with mechanical support coordinator Colin Sharpe. Planks of wood were put to the test in vices, to demonstrate how much weight could be sustained before shattering under the pressure.
Students Victoria and William said they already had an idea of what being an engineer was about, but getting practical experience gave them a better understanding of the occupation and the different areas of specialisation available.
Associate Professor Julie Mills said the civil engineering youth initiative, the only one of its kind in the state, demonstrated the industry focus of UniSA’s programs.
"It provides students with valuable insight into the industry and also gives exposure to UniSA’s facilities and style of learning," Prof Mills says.
"Teachers have been telling
me how they have been receiving glowing emails from their students about
this program. They say their students are enthused, so it’s had really
positive results."