Reference no: EM132313316 , Length: word count:4000

Professional Skills in Engineering Assignment -

The Client Brief - The context for this course is 'Global Change', and the impact 'Food Shortage" have on all aspects of engineering activity and endeavour into the immediate future. So we are really looking at the food shortage impacts on engineering considerations between now and the year 2050. The start points to your considerations might be: The history of population numbers and growth, current growth rates and projections, and future trends to the year 2050. How will these trends impact on engineering practice in general, and in a discipline specific way? Lots of questions need to be asked and researched, such as rural - urban change, agricultural imperatives, water supply imperatives, power supply imperatives, mass transportation imperatives, competing land use imperatives, and social, environmental and economic sustainability in all contexts. Where and how will engineers fit into these considerations, and what competencies, characteristics and abilities will enable and define successful engineers?

So you will need to select an engineering discipline or interest focus (water supply, agriculture, food processing, transportation, etc.), and a geographic location (Africa, Asia, Australia, China, India, for example), and investigate and research population and population growth figures, food demand and supply issues, and solutions to supply requirements. Whilst population figures and growth are global, your project can focus on a region or city on the continent of choice. Your concept design will emerge from viable alternatives which have been compared on appropriate criteria, yielding an optimum solution. The final concept design will need to be broadly quantified and costed in Portfolio 3.

Reference: "The World Is Headed for a Food Security Crisis. Here's How We Can Avert It"

Assessment Items - Three assessments are shown in the course specification.

Assessment 1: Portfolio 1: Reflection

Portfolio 1 is Reflection on your current achievements in terms of engineering competencies, and personal qualities, attributes, skills and research effectiveness.

Week 1 - Stage 1 Professional Competencies are grouped under three headings, and you will address two competencies from each grouping. These groupings are:

1. Knowledge and skills base, competencies 1.1 to 1.6 (Choose any two).

2. Engineering Application Ability, competencies 2.1 to 2.4 (Choose any two).

3. Professional and Personal Attributes 3.1 to 3.6 (Choose any two).

Portfolio 1 is also reflection on:

Week 2 -

4. Qualities of a USQ Graduate.

5. Engineers Australia's generic attributes of a graduate.

Week 3 -

6. Your reflection on researched Industry definitions of Hard and Soft skills desired by Industry.

Week 4 -

7. Your research into Food Shortage estimates for your project.

8. Reflection on the effectiveness of your team in developing and sharing researched information and data for your project.

Assessment 2: Portfolio 2: Project Plan

Portfolio 2 is development of your Project Plan.

Week 5 -

1. This is your demonstration of use of 'The Engineering Method,' and 'Project Management Process' in defining the problem (Client Brief),

2. You will be conducting appropriate research and data collection that will enable alternative solutions to be identified. This work will be described in a reflective and thoughtful manner in Portfolio 2.

Week 6 -

3. Your research into the Client Brief will lead to generation of various viable alternative solutions, and you will document these alternatives.

Week 7 -

4. You will also be drafting an assessment methodology for selection of an optimum solution. Initial thoughts on an appropriate selection methodology will be described in Portfolio 2.

Week 8 -

5. Reflect on the source and appropriateness of your researched information and data, and its completeness.

6. Reflect on study team effectiveness in the collection and distribution of researched information and data. Is the team effective, and what could be done to improve that degree of effectiveness?

The Engineering Method and Project Management Process: This schematic is very helpful in project based courses and situations, providing structure and process for ordering and developing thoughts, and structuring work.

Assessment 3: Portfolio Part 3: Project Portfolio

Portfolio 3 relates to the project you have been researching, studying and analysing.

You will have selected the optimum solution to your project, demonstrating and discussing your selection methodology, and will use this project solution as the vehicle to demonstrate your learning, knowledge and competencies, in a life like project environment. You will demonstrate your consideration of the social, environmental and economic sustainability of your solution, including broad quantification and costing figures.

Week 9:

1. Alternative solutions and optimum selection methodology. Describe your final Project.

Week 10:

2. Social considerations

Week 11:

3. Environmental considerations

Week 12:

4. Economic considerations

Week 13:

5. Quantification and costings

Note: It is not intended that you go beyond concept or preliminary design considerations, but that you demonstrate your engineering considerations in professional written form.

Note - Need to cover Week 9 to Week 12 for Assessment 3: Portfolio Part 3: Project Portfolio.

Attachment:- Assignment Files.rar