Developing Engineering Knowledge and Skills: The Advanced Engineering Project Management Course at USQ

Abstract

The project management environment tends to be both uncertain and complex. Achieving success in terms of time, cost and meet project requirements requires close attention to a number of factors including sound business planning and management, good forward planning, sound risk management, good communications, sound stakeholder management and a range of other factors. The Advanced Engineering Project Management course, which is offered as a postgraduate engineering management course at the University of Southern Queensland, aims to provide professional engineers with the skills to manage both projects and programs of projects successfully, and also to aid them in achieving the project management skills and competencies required by professional engineering societies. It was successfully developed and delivered for the first time in 2014, by three engineering academics with industry experience, to a small group of professionals engaged in external study and has then subsequently been delivered to a much larger groups of learners studying it in both on-campus and distance learning modes. This course complements other postgraduate engineering management courses offered by the University of Southern Queensland in areas like asset management and risk management and is designed to be underpinned by sound teaching principles like student centred learning, reflective learning, authentic assessment and experiential learning. It is evaluated against project success criteria, professional engineering requirements, the Australian Qualifications Framework requirements for postgraduate courses, and learner feedback. Consequent enhancements that have been made to the course as at the date of writing, along with proposed future enhancements, are discussed.