New Graduates get Industry Thumbs- Up
Date: Tuesday, 11 October 2011
http://www.civeng.unsw.edu.au/node/720
In 2007 the School introduced its innovative Bachelor of Engineering degree - Civil Engineering with Architecture - and a small adventurous group of students embarked on the new pathway. This year the first CwA graduates left the shelter of the University and went out looking for work in the competitive and tough minded world of industry.
How did they fare?
Astonishingly well, by all reports – from the graduates and from their employers.
Alice Tjitradjaja, who was awarded the University Medal in 2010, finds her new life in industry ‘exciting, fast paced, dynamic.’ She works with leading structural design company ARUP Australia in the Building Facades Discipline. ‘The heart of the job’ she says, ‘is design. Not only limited to technical/engineering but also heavily involved in coordinating and discussions with architects, builders, contractors and so on. My undergraduate education has better prepared me for design, a constantly evolving and iterative process – far from being straightforward.’
Another graduate working at ARUP, Tania Milinkovich believes the ‘program gives graduates a unique skill set - an understanding of how the architectural design process is carried out, an appreciation of complex and beautiful designs, and the technical capability to approach associated engineering problems.’
Peter Hartigan, a Principal at ARUP has found the young graduates’ knowledge of architectural concepts and principles greatly enhances their civil engineering capacities. ‘If one considers the great buildings or projects in the world, they were not realised by engineers working in their own disciplines – they were achieved by teams that could understand and challenge broader concepts and ideas.’
Civil with Architecture graduate Oscar Wittig went to major engineering, architecture and environmental consulting company GHD, joining their Urban Development Team. GHD’s Sydney Operating Centre Manager, David Kinniburgh says that ‘the services we offer are integrated and as such, having team members with cross over skills improves our ability to develop more efficient and effective outcomes for our clients.’
Kinniburgh is very satisfied with the new graduates. ‘Put simply, having engineers that 'really understand' what our architects are trying to achieve on projects makes an enormous difference. When they are approaching their element of the particular project they are doing so from a wholistic viewpoint, which we see as extremely valuable and going forward.’
For Alice Tjitradjaja, it was the degree’s ‘big picture’ approach, which she believes is often downplayed in engineering education, which ‘turns out to be the most applicable lesson in the workplace.’
