Engineering Professor recognised for excellence

The development of an innovative Engineering program has led to an Excellence Award for a USQ Professor.

Engineering Professor David Dowling was honoured with an Excellence in Engineering Education Award for Inclusive Practice from the Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AaeE), for his leadership in the development and implementation of the Master of Engineering Practice Program (MEP).

Professor Dowling received the honour at the annual AaeE conference in Auckland last month.

'The program was developed in response to a request from Engineers Australia, who were looking for a special pathway for experienced Engineering Technologists to become Professional Engineers,' Professor Dowling said.

'The program enables students to use their workplace learning to demonstrate their achievement of the objectives of up to half of the courses in the program.

'It is offered by distance education mode, with the students who enrol in the program able to continue working in the engineering industry whilst completing the program.

'I led the design team that developed the program in 2003, and prepared the study materials for the first course, which was offered for the first time in 2005.'

With around 650 members across Australia and New Zealand, the AaeE promotes innovation and excellence in engineering education, with the Awards acknowledging and rewarding excellence.

A first time winner, Professor Dowling said that the Award would bring recognition not only to the program but also enhance the reputation of the University's Engineering Faculty.

'I was surprised to win the Award, but I feel that the program was deserving of the honour, as it is a very innovative program,' he said.

'Over the time that it has been available at the University it has created interest from other institutions and winning this award will bring more exposure to it and USQ's Engineering faculty as a whole.'

This is not the first time that a USQ Engineering staff member has won an AaeE Excellence in Engineering Education Award with a team led by Senior Lecturer Lyn Brodie receiving the honour in 2006.

Media Contact: Josh Ada, USQ Media, +61 7 4631 1628, 0403 643 192