AAEE - Australasian Engineering Education Awards

The Institution of Engineers, Australia Award for Excellence in Engineering Education

At last year’s Awards Banquet the The Institution of Engineers, Australia Medal for Excellence in Engineering Education, the premier award of AAEE, was presented to Elizabeth Taylor, Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Engineering at UTS, for her outstanding and sustained contribution to engineering education in Australasia. The citation accompanying the award paid tribute to Elizabeth’s facility in linking the academic aspects of engineering with practice, as well as her holistic and inclusive vision for the profession.

Elizabeth has been working on cultural understanding and change in engineering and engineering education since 1988 when she joined UTS as Coordinator of the Women in Engineering Program. Prior to this she spent ten years in design, construction and project management with the Maritime Services Board of NSW. Elizabeth said that although she thoroughly enjoyed and was immersed in her on-site work, she believes that the opportunity provided by academia to reflect on her profession has enriched her understanding of the nature of engineering and the process of decision making within engineering.

Elizabeth has quietly challenged and influenced thinking on a number of issues related to future directions for engineering and engineering education. This is especially so in understanding professionalism and exploring the explicit and implicit values and attitudes that underpin professional activities. She was Leader of the Interface with the Students Task Force of the recent national Review of Engineering Education and has been involved in reviews of the Code of Ethics and Disciplinary Regulations of The Institution of Engineers, Australia. In 1996 she was the first woman President of the Sydney Division of the Institution. She uses her experiences within the profession to inform and evolve her curriculum, teaching, and learning practices and enjoys her own constant learning.

Elizabeth is presently Program and Planning Director of the Engineering Core Program within the new engineering degree course at UTS. This new course won the Award for Cultural Change in Engineering Education. The Engineering Core Program consists of seven subjects taken by all engineering students at UTS. It includes subjects such as Engineering for Sustainability, Engineering Communications, Uncertainties and Risks, and Technology Assessment, and is taught by interdisciplinary teams of academics (within and across faculties) and practitioners. Elizabeth is the guiding architect of this program.

Her education innovation spans specific classroom activities, to analysis and development of policy directions, to strategic organisational and scholarship planning. The award citation described Elizabeth as an inspiring role model who "continually demonstrates that professionalism is about being a voice not an echo."