Why I love Sydney Uni Engineering (1 Viewer)

Miss Winey

Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2009
Messages
89
Gender
Female
HSC
2004
This forum has alot of negative comments about Sydney Uni engineering, said by people who may or may not have had any experience with Sydney uni engineering at all!
so I will put my 2 cents forward to anyone who was struggling with the decision as I did.

In no particular order,


1. Amazing out of the classroom opportunities

Any graduated engineer will tell you that your education at a university classroom is only a scratch on the surface of what you will need to know to be a successful engineer.
I have found Sydney University engineering to surprise me time and time again as to what i can do, which has broadened my skills and opportunities and experience in being a successful leader, communicator, team player and project manager.

In the last 4 years, I have put on a $20 000 comedy stage show for engineering students (last year titled "tequila mockingbird") this included organising the performers, props, costumes, theatre, lighting, sound, money, tickets, advertising,sponsorship (very difficult), t-shirts, program, posters EVERYTHING!
I went to the Philippines to build houses and explore development issues with Engineers Without Borders, I hosted my own radio show for inner Sydney, I gather successful female engineers together for a women's forum, a put on many many many parties with bar tabs of over $1000, a joined and ran engineering camps, mentoring programs, met CEOs and talked to international leaders in engineering research. to name a few.

Last year I was invited to speak at the Warren Centre of Advanced Engineering 25 years anniverary celebrations with CEOs of major engo firms and members of parliament.

The year before that, I was invited to be part of the team that brings you "Australian Engineering Week" - a national festival to celebrate and highlight the role of engineers in society.

All of this i would NEVER have imagined when i was 18 years old and wondering where university life might take me.



2. Really Really incredibly FUN!!

If you don't know already, engineering is a tough degree. so you need LOTS AND LOTS of friends to "collaborate information" with!

I have heard it as a passing comment by some random in a pub "man, there is nothing like the social life at sydney uni engineering"
Sydney Uni Engineering has 15 clubs+Socs alone! Each with a $5000 budget to do their own events!

In no particular order:
*SUEUA - Sydney Uni Engineering Undergraduates Association (celebrating 90 years soon)
*SUWIE -Sydney Uni women in Engineering
*Engo Revue - a live comedy stage production put on by engineering students. absolute hilarity!
*Engineers Without Borders - do development work in Sydney with refugees or go to one of many countries working on projects abroad
*SUCE - Sydney Uni Civil Engineers
*SUABE - Sydney Uni Association of Biomedical engineers
*SUCES - Sydney Uni chemical engineers
*MUGS - Mechanical Undergraduate students
*SUSPECTS - Sydney Uni power, electrical, communication, telecom...(forgot the exact)... engineers
*SUITS - Sydney Uni Info Tech students
*RocketSoc - Aerospace students society
*Windsoc - Aeromech students society
*Formula SAE team - a team of kids who built their own car and raced it with other unis from the asia pacific region
*VegeSoc - the president is an engineer and he does cheap all you can eat vego food every thursday in engo
*CubeSoc and BricSoc - the president is an engineer and a vast majority if it's events targets engineering students. they sell shirts and have tornaments with rubic cubes and lego
* Heaps more but i can't be bothered to name, as they start to leak into the 150 other clubs and soc avaliable at Sydney Uni.

No day is EVER boring.
There are free all-you-can-eat corporate sponsored BBQs EVERY WEEK, slip and slide, keg jumping, (the very famous) beer and bangers, eggs on kegs, women in engineering cakestalls, inerfaculty sport (where the boys win everything, and all the girls have to play EVERY sport as there are so few of us) ROBOT WARS in the playground, even a JUMPING CASTLE!!
you can check all this stuff out at S.U.E.U.A. - Sydney University Engineering Undergraduates Association - Home
we are still in the process of making it awesome. so stay tuned.



3. Good solid from-the-ground-up teaching

Sydney Uni is often criticised for being too much a "theoretical" university.
That the technology we use is "old".

Well, take a step back and think about why that is all that bad.
At university, you don't learn everything there is to know about everything.
so in law, you don't learn EVERY court case and learn to solve everything. in Engineering, you don't learn EVERY problem and solve it.
You learn METHODS.
HOW does it work? WHat are the barriers? How can i make it bigger/faster/stronger/higher/more energy efficient etc etc

Sydney Uni has had a long history of producing some of our nations finest innovative engineers - JJ bradfield Why?
because Sydney uni believes firmly, "here we don't teach you to USE technology, we teach you to CHANGE technology"

So in relation to the original critics - why is it bad to know your theory? don't you need it all, if you want to make fundamental changes to better design?
Why is it so bad if the technology is a bit old? Would you rather use a less advanced system, and then be able to use your good theoretical base to quickly adapt to newer and newer systems (it happens!) or would you learn ONE program and have to do training courses everytime new stuff comes out?

Many employees look to sydney Uni engineers BECAUSE they have good theory.
They are trained to MAKE THINGS WORK FOR THEM, not the other way around.



4. State of the Art World renouned lecturers

It is true. Sydney Uni is a research heavy university.
Why is that so bad?
Some of the world's leading researching all head to Sydney uni, and they are the world experts in their field.
yes, they might not have incredible teaching skills. but why come to university to be entertained? you are there to learn!
and chances are 99% of the engineers you meet in real life aren't going to be most charismatic people on the planet.
but if they know their stuff, you won't mess around with them.


5. Famous uni = Opportunities left right and centre
Sydney Uni has an incredible reputation.
Use it your advantage.
Want to do overseas exchange? Sydney Uni is partnered with all the major universities of the world - Oxford, Beijing, Tokyo, Princeton.........

Want to specialise in a specific field? Sydney Uni is SO BIG. Chances of you working with a world expert is very high.

Want to do a double degree? What to study random other subjects?
Sydney Uni has options galore! You can even study yiddish!

6. it's so easily assessible.
Engineering precint is literally 5 minutes walk from redfern station.
it really doesn't get better than that.

7. last but not least - it's SO DAMN PRETTY!
My mother really rallied for me to come to Sydney, because I am the first person in my family to goto Uni and she really wanted really nice graduation photos in the quad!!!


um.....
that's all i have to say. feel free to comment. but do not be rude please
 

Miss Winey

Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2009
Messages
89
Gender
Female
HSC
2004
Also, for the past 3 years, the Institute of Engineers Australia "Student Engineer of the Year" have all been Sydney University students
 

RogueAcademic

Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2007
Messages
859
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
Now THIS is what I call a convincing statement. Much much better than simply saying "It's heaps of fun!". I wish you'd posted this in that thread too. Now I/we understand where you're coming from.
 

Huy

Active Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2002
Messages
5,240
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
Sydney University Software Power Electrical Computer and Telecommunications Society (SUSPECTS).

Great BBQs. :headbang:
 

Pwnage101

Moderator
Joined
May 3, 2008
Messages
1,408
Location
in Pursuit of Happiness.
Gender
Undisclosed
HSC
N/A
nice post

if i still wanted to do engineering, i wouldn't have had USYD on my list of possible uni's, but after reading that, it would have been

shame USYD doesnt offer actuarial studies
 

dumarab

Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Messages
260
Gender
Male
HSC
2008
man.... I'm going USYD software engineering becuase i don't want to go to UNSW :p and i don't want to go to UTS and i don't want to go to UMq and UMelb is too far same a wollongong. So i guess it's just a process of elimination.
 

dumarab

Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2007
Messages
260
Gender
Male
HSC
2008
btw i bet your that lil blonde girl who rides around in the pink bike.
 

peter_teohts

New Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
Messages
2
Gender
Male
HSC
2003
hmmm.... I just graduated from Sydney Uni.

I love my first 2 years of uni but i do not enjoy my 3rd and 4th year (in term of studies). I find that some of the 3rd year and most of my 4th year subjects are boring. There are a lot of research stuff and I fail to see the reason to study them if I want to work in industrial area.

However, do not get me wrong on this, most of my lecturers are good and helpful. I agree that Sydney Uni got good BBQ and clubs!!! These are the few things that bring me through my 3rd and 4th year.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)

Top