A visiting delegation from the USA will be in Bathurst this week to examine the engineering degree offered at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Bathurst.Engineering lecturer Dr Andrea Goncher said the CSU course is fast becoming recognised as a global leader in innovative education for engineers."The visitors from the Minnesota Institute of Engineering (MIE) recognise that our degree embeds our students in industry very early in their studies, which enables them to develop professional and practice-based skills through industry experience early in their engineering course," Dr Goncher said."MIE identified our engineering degree as a global leader and state-of-the-art program in engineering education, and we are looking to share our experiences and expertise to identify strategies that help them to embed their students in US industry."The original Iron Range engineering program previously used in Minnesota provides a four-year degree based on practical industry experience. The degree is accredited through Minnesota State University, Mankato, and is located in Virginia, Minnesota.Other partners in the Minnesota Institute of Engineering include Mesabi Range College and Itasca Community College, which are similar to Australian TAFE colleges.Tour leader Mr Ron Ulseth said MIE is inspired by CSU Engineering and the Iron Range model."The new MIE model of engineering education uses features from Charles Sturt University and Iron Range models so our graduates will have a set of attributes necessary to practice in this century," he said. Dr Goncher said both programs emphasise strong industry collaborations and aim to deliver distinctive curricular experiences."We want to deliver better engineering solutions that address the needs of the local community, our society and the world," she said.