First military graduates boost defence
Masters of Military Systems graduates pictured with UniSA Defence and Systems Institute staff Mr Jock Thornton (centre) and Associate Professor David Cropley (far right). Inset: Jim Burnside receiving his degree.
UniSA has taken an important step forward in the development of Australia’s defence industry. Thirteen engineers from major defence companies in Adelaide are the first to graduate from UniSA’s new Masters of Military Systems Integration program.
They were among more than 1600 UniSA students who donned academic regalia at mid-year graduation ceremonies in August.
Associate Professor David Cropley, Deputy Director of UniSA’s Defence and Systems Institute, said the first 13 graduates represented an important step towards increasing the numbers and capabilities of world-class systems engineers in the Australian defence industry.
The graduates came from Saab Systems, BAE Systems and ASC. The three companies collaborated with UniSA to develop a unique industry-focused Masters program specialising in Military Systems Integration. The program was made possible with funding from Defence Materiel Organisation’s Skilling Australia’s Defence Industry (SADI) initiative.
Associate Prof Cropley said the program had been tailored to career defence engineers to accelerate their development and obtain superior Military Systems Integration skills.
"This will ensure Australian defence companies have access to the sophisticated engineering and project management skills required to manage complex defence projects," he said.
Another 40 engineers are currently undertaking the program which has recently introduced a flexible mode of study so that people from outside the three developing companies can also study it.
ASC graduate Jim Burnside said the Masters program provided an opportunity to apply knowledge in a practical project.
"I found the program to be extremely relevant to the challenges being faced by industry when integrating large, complex military systems," he said.
UniSA’s mid-year graduations celebrated the conferring of degrees ranging from Masters and PhDs to Bachelor degrees and Graduate Diplomas.
Gabrielle Goodman, 23, has recently started a new job after
receiving her Honours Degree in Interior Architecture. She is a
graduate interior designer with MPH Architects in Adelaide, applying
the skills and knowledge acquired during her degree.
"I moved to South Australia from New South Wales to study at UniSA because it had the best interior architecture course and holds an excellent reputation around the industry," she said.
"I’ve got an amazing port-folio from the course and my honours degree brought out a lot in me that I didn’t know I had…the course really encourages me to go beyond the basic job."
Four graduation ceremonies were held over two days, with guest speakers including Sunday Mail Editor Megan Lloyd, Information and Communications Technology entrepreneur Dr David Skellern, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute Director Professor Garry Jennings, and architect John Wardle.
UniSA has more than 34,000 students and currently graduates about 8500 students every year.