Engineering Practicum Procedures

Engineering Practicum Procedures
Requirements for a Successful Experience

The successful completion of the Engineering Practicum unit (ENS4111) requires 0 One or more certificates signed by the employer(s) confirming that the student has completed at least 12 weeks of equivalent full time work experience in an engineering environment. 1 A report of typically 2000-3000 words that describes the engineering experiences gained during one contiguous period of employment with one company.
Care should be taken in the preparation of the practicum report. The quality of this report is a measure of your ability to document your experiences as a professional engineer. The ability to accurately document your learning experiences is an essential skill for gaining full accreditation status as a Chartered Professional Engineer by Engineers Australia.
The student should maintain a Professional Development Log for the period of the practicum. This log can provide most of the material for the final report. In some cases, the student will need to prepare a report for the company as a part of their designated activities with the company. In such cases this report can form the basis of the practicum report, with the inclusion of suitable introduction that links it with the practicum objectives.

Student reporting tasks
1. Introduce the company - its main products and services, the size of its workforce, the range of engineering tasks, and its client base.
2. Briefly describe your activities within the company, concentrating on those activities related to engineering development.
3. Describe one activity in detail. If this is a specific project then document its purpose, the range of tasks, the relationships between the various players in the project (not just between the engineers), your role, and its status at both your entry and exit from the project.
4. Describe any benefits you gained in understanding the engineering profession from this practicum experience. In particular, did your experiences highlight the importance of any specific generic attributes of engineers as listed by Engineers Australia? Did your experience identify other attributes that you feel would be beneficial to an engineer?
5. Include samples of your Professional Development Log maintained during the practicum.

School of EngineeringEdith Cowan University270 Joondalup Drive, JoondalupWestern Australia 6027Tel: [phone]Fax: [phone]Email: [e-mail] | | | |

ENGINEERING PRACTICUM
NOTES TO THE EMPLOYER

Engineers Australia strongly advocates that students undertake at least 12 weeks of exposure to professional engineering practice during their engineering courses.

Each student enrolled in any of the engineering degree programs at Edith Cowan University is required to gain at least 12 weeks practical work experience before they can graduate from their degree. It is expected that this practical experience would enable the student to work with professional engineers in office, laboratory or site-based environments, where the student could appreciate a range of industry issues that relate to engineers and engineering practice.

This exposure is normally obtained through paid employment during the summer vacation period. At the end of each period of employment the student is required to submit a Practicum Certificate that is completed by both the student and the employer or employer’s nominee. The student is also required to submit a brief Practicum Report that describes their experiences during at least one of these employment periods.

For further information, please contact:

A/Prof Adam Osseiran
Engineering Practicum Coordinator
School of Engineering
Edith Cowan University
Tel: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Edith Cowan University
School of Engineering

------------------------------------------------- PRACTICUM CERTIFICATE STUDENT’S NAME: STUDENT NUMBER: DATES OF EXPERIENCE: NAME OF EMPLOYER (OR NOMINEE): EMPLOYER’S EMAIL ADDRESS: EMPLOYER’S PHONE NUMBER: NUMBER OF WEEKS EMPLOYED:
DESCRIPTION OF WORK:

SECTION TO BE COMPLETED BY EMPLOYER
STUDENT CONDUCT DURING SERVICE:

EMPLOYER’S REMARKS:

Signature of Employer or Nominee

Edith Cowan University
School of Engineering
Professional Development Log
(Complete one log per week) Name: Student #: Week Commencing: Date | Significant Event | Description | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | This Week's Most Significant Event Situation - What Happened? | | Affect - Why was this event significant? | | Interpretation - What did you learn? | | Decision - What will you do? | |

Edith Cowan University
School of Engineering
Employer Assessment Report

This report is to be completed by the employer (or nominee) who is familiar with the student’s work experience during the Practicum.
Please check the box that best describes your views on the following propositions about the student:
The classifications are:
SA – Strongly Agree
A – Agree
N – Neutral (Satisfactory)
D – Disagree
SD – Strongly Disagree

Proposition | SA | A | N | D | SD | The student has demonstrated a real interest in his/her work. | | | | | | The student is punctual in his/her attendance at work and other duties relating to work. | | | | | | The student demonstrates respect for fellow employees, both supervising and supervised. | | | | | | The student’s behaviour and attitudes expressed in the work place are appropriate for a professional engineer. | | | | | | The student has been able to effectively apply basic engineering skills and knowledge in the work undertaken during the practicum. | | | | | | The student has demonstrated a degree of initiative in completing the assigned work tasks. | | | | | | The student’s performance as an engineer has improved as the Practicum has progressed. | | | | | |

Employer Summary Remarks
Please add any other comments you would like to make about the student, the student’s work, and the conduct of the Practicum.

Edith Cowan University
School of Engineering
Practicum Assessment Policy
The Practicum is assessed as a pass or fail. Minimum standards must be met in each of the individual components before a pass in the unit as a whole can be achieved: Assessment Component | Minimum Standard | Professional Development Log | Must be complete, with one report for each week of work. | Practicum Report | Must be complete, must be presented to a standard expected of a graduating engineer, and must cover the aspects as required for the report. | Employer Assessment Report | Must be completed, and have no more than two assessments of D or SD. |

Each of the minimum standards must be achieved.