Welcome

Message from the Conference Organising Committee

On behalf of the organising committee, I would like to welcome you to attend the 22nd Annual Conference of the Australasian Association for Engineering Education.

The annual AAEE Conference is the leading forum in the Australasian region for disseminating and developing Engineering Education research and best practice. This year's conference will again bring together engineering academics, industry and the students themselves to focus on how to better develop the engineers of the future.

This year's theme of "Developing Engineers for Social Justice: Community Involvement, Ethics & Sustainability" allows us to expand our scope beyond just the time an engineer spends at university. Our aim is to also capture the pathways into engineering, as well as the professional development of engineers after they graduate and contribute both to industry and to society as a whole.

AAEE 2011 will be held in Perth, Western Australia, from 5-7 December 2011. The conference venue is the Esplanade Hotel, situated in the heart of the historic Fremantle port precinct.

We look forward to seeing you in Perth in December.

Associate Professor Euan Lindsay
AAEE 2011 Conference Chair

About the Conference

Engineering is an ever evolving profession. New technological breakthroughs, a wider reliance on complicated engineering systems to maintain "our quality of life", the inevitable impact these operations have on the environment, in addition to the nature of transnational job mobility, all contribute to a renewed emphasis on sustainability and the global responsibilities of the Australasian Engineer.

With this in mind, the theme proposed for the 2011 AAEE conference is Developing Engineers for Social Justice: Community Involvement, Ethics & Sustainability.

There will be four sub-themes to support this overarching theme:

Humanitarian Engineering

Coinciding with EA's 2011 Year of the Humanitarian Engineer, there will be specific opportunities for workshops and poster displays to highlight the scope, challenges and achievements of engineering with regard to improving the lives and opportunities for remote communities (in Australia and world-wide). This may extend to not only showcasing opportunities and completed projects but to also the ways in which the humanitarian facet of engineering can be reinforced in education.

Inclusivity

This theme is about embracing equity and diversity among engineering students, engineering academics, practicing engineers, clients and people who use and whose lives are influenced by engineering. Examples of relevant equity and diversity groups are: indigenous people, people with disabilities, women, senior citizens, and people from diverse backgrounds. Examples of aspects encompassed by this theme are: women in leadership, international students, and appropriate technology.

Ongoing Graduate Professional Development

One or more special workshops are being planned to assist engineering firms and individual professionals to develop effective strategies for graduate development. Recent research results will be made available indicating exciting prospects for substantial 7 improvements in the effectiveness of graduate development programmes. Training providers will be invited to present mini-workshops to demonstrate some of their techniques.

Pathways into Engineering

Special workshops are being planned to share knowledge and expertise on articulation pathways into engineering careers. Science, engineering, and technology studies teachers will benefit from exposure to presentations on engineering projects that can provide stimulating source material for primary and high school students. Education professionals in the vocational training sector and TAFE will find useful demonstration workshops on appropriate education methods for their students. Development of professional skills for graduate research students will also be covered with appropriate workshops.

Organising Committee