- A new study commissioned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology identifies Charles Sturt University as one of the top 4 emerging  engineering schools in the world.

- CSU ‘completely rethinking what engineering education should look like’.

- CSU will be a benchmark for how MIT supports its own program of reform in undergraduate engineering.

- Others universities in the emerging field: University College London, Singapore University of Technology and Design and University of Technology Delft.

A report commissioned by global leader in engineering education and research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has identified Charles Sturt University (CSU) as one of the top four emerging engineering courses in the world and has described the CSU degree as ‘completely rethinking what engineering educating should look like’.

The recognition of CSU Engineering is the result of a benchmarking study of global state-of-the-art undergraduate engineering. The study, which was commissioned by MIT’s New Engineering Education Transformation (NEET) initiative, a program of reform in undergraduate engineering education at the Institute, and authored by Ruth Graham, was released on March 27.

The MIT-commissioned report canvassed opinions from a wide range of international experts, and CSU was chosen among a small group of universities as an emerging leader in engineering education, which puts Charles Sturt University’s new engineering program alongside renowned engineering education names; University College London (UCL), Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), and University of Technology Delft (TU Delft).

CSU Vice-Chancellor Professsor Andrew Vann said being able to influence global practice in engineering education demonstrates that innovation is alive and well in regional Australia.

We knew as the 37th engineering school in Australia we had to offer something unique and radically different to producing entrepreneurial engineers....graduates with technical excellence wrapped in communication, financial and management intelligence, produce ‘entrepreneurial engineers’ with technical experience tackling authentic engineering problems right across the nation.

“To be identified by this MIT-commissioned study as an engineering degree of the future and a global leader in engineering education is a major coup for Charles Sturt University.  It gives us the confidence to keep pushing the boundaries to meet the changing expectations and needs of students, employers and society into the future,” Vice-Chancellor Professor Vann said.

The report describes CSU Engineering as creating a ‘new chapter in engineering education’ by offering a radically different approach to undergraduate engineering education that focuses on human-centred engineering and diverse opportunities for students to explore authentic problems using state-of-the-art technology.

Foundation Professor of Engineering Euan Lindsay said for this model to work the degree had to be something completely out of the box.

“Our program allows opportunities for students to explore and apply engineering learning through authentic problems through four year-long paid placements in the workforce.

“This is a program that trains student engineers not engineering students. The difference is when our students go out into work placement after only 18 months on campus, we are told they are acting like the graduates from other more traditional engineering degrees.

“The way we treat the student engineers as professionals in training is a cultural shift for university education and a defining feature of CSU Engineering,” Professor Lindsay concluded.

> CSU Engineering Is the only Australian engineering degree hosted in a Business Faculty.

>  CSU Engineering started in 2016 and the first Bachelor of Technology/Master of Engineeering (Civil Systems) graduates will complete the degree in 2021.

> First three semesters are on campus working in an award-winning, purpose-built high tech engineering laboratory followed by four years of paid work placements.

-> Students are mentored by a diverse academic team drawn from Australia and the world.

> The program has neither formal lectures nor exams; instead learning is focused around project-based challenges where student engineers tackle authentic engineering problems supported by skills and knowledge content that they access at their own pace.

> Key focus on self-directed learning delivered through CSU online with course progress directed by students, as and when they need it.

> Underpinning technical content delivered online and “on-demand” through the CSU Engineering Topic Tree, offering bite-sized content, skills and knowledge rather than traditional semester long courses.

> Work placement element of the program partners with industry host organisations who take on the engineering cadets to complete the four year placements.

> Embedding the course in the Faculty of Business gives students high level skills in engtrepreneurial attitudes, management, systems thinking and self-motivation that enable them to adapt to real world needs and demands of the profession.

> There are 37 universities offering engineering degrees in Australia, producing around 12 000 graduates a year.