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Session 1359

Instrumentation & Control – a new degree for Australia

S P Maj, D Veal Department of Computer Science Edith Cowan University Western Australia Abstract

Despite the fact that Western Australia (WA) has a predominately mineral extraction and mineral processing based economy, investigations by the education sub-committee of the WA branch of Institute of Instrumentation and Control Australia (IICA) indicated a lack of suitably qualified engineers in Instrumentation & Control (I&C). A subsequent detailed survey found that this lack of specialist I&C engineers was having a significant impact on the operations of major companies in the region. The IICA education sub-committee comprised of senior engineers from major processing companies but only a few selected representatives from the education sector. Accordingly the agenda was to design and develop, independent of any university, a new degree in I&C within 2 years to meet the needs of industry. As such the proposed degree was designed to provide not only conceptual knowledge of the discipline but also the appropriate procedural knowledge based on standard industrial systems and practices. Furthermore, this award must also be fully articulated to technical education at pre-degree level. The education sub-committee conducted an international survey of degree programs in I&C to determine international best practices and to find if possible a template that could be used. Despite extensive investigations no suitable degree program could be found – none offered the suitable emphasis being sought. This paper presents details of this investigation and the results of the curriculum design through to final adoption and implementation of this curriculum by a university within WA.

1. Introduction

The Institute of Instrumentation & Control Australia (IICA) is the national professional body dedicated to promoting the theory and practice of industrial and scientific instrumentation, automatic control and associated technologies. The IICA education sub-committee was established to promote the development of industry relevant courses in Instrumentation, Control and Automation within both the university and technical college sectors. Thereby ensuring that any such curriculum could be developed by means of close liaison with industry and educational institutions. As such the education sub-committee provides a focal point for all interest groups wishing to be involved in course development, and equally importantly, subsequent course monitoring. Optimally the education sub-committee is designed to comprise of representative from Universities, technical colleges, industry,

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Maj, S. P., & Veal, D. (2000, June), Instrumentation & Control A New Degree For Australia Paper presented at 2000 Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. 10.18260/1-2--8467