AEW 2015 Success: Engineers in the spotlight Thursday, 13 August 2015

Australian Engineering Week supported by NSW Government took over Sydney as a celebration of the momentous achievements engineers make to our everyday lives. The week highlighted the immeasurable impact engineering has on our communities, recognised the contribution its dedicated professionals make to our lives and the world around us via a weeklong series of events ranging from site tours to seminars, to career talks to trivia.

Events occurred across Sydney from the 1st -11th August with 31 events in the calendar.  The week kicked off with our Women in Engineering Winter Gala, a celebration of 10 years for the Women in Engineering Committee in Sydney.

The Harricks Address officially kicked off proceedings where Brigadier Wayne Budd, presented a passionate and impressive review on how engineering has evolved since WW1. Wayne also showcased his appointments within his career which included command of the School of Military Engineering, a wide range of army posts particularly United States Iraq and Afghanistan.

A highlight event of the Sydney Australian Engineering Week schedule was the Forum: Westconnex. Over 120 Sydney siders gathered at the Museum of Sydney on the 5th August 2015, for a panel discussion of the leaders and decision makers of the WestConnex project.

Site tours of landmark constructions across Sydney including a tour of the Sydney Harbour Tunnel which took fascinated attendees on a guided tour of the control room, ventilation station and maintenance systems which ensure the Tunnels’ 100 year design life. Other site tours held included: Transport Management Centre, Barangaroo, Wartime Innovation Tour, Westlink M7’s Traffic Control Room, ANSTO, School of Military Engineering, Homebush Bay Bridge that links Rhodes and Wentworth Point, Nan Tien University, Australian Military Aviation Technology and the Sydney Opera House.

The Next Step – Careers Talk, sponsored by Hyder Consulting, consisted of panelists from Lendlease, Hyder Consulting, Aurecon and Engineers Australia with an open forum for students & graduates.

This year we showcased how engineers are key innovators with our events, Project Pacman a lifestyle model of the Pac Man game by UNSW and a talk on Beyond 2020 which Simon Blyth, CEO of LX Group, looked at what the Internet of Things means going forward to 2020.

The Great Engineering Challenge, sponsored by UNSW took place on Wednesday, 5th August. This has been the most successful challenge to date with 50 teams comprising of year 10 and 11 students from across Sydney.  The day comprised of three hands-on challenges with the winners being Normanhurst Boys High School, De La Salle College Ashfield, Cherrybrook Technology High School, however the grand overall winner was Bossley Park High School.

Engineers Australia – Sydney Division would like to thank our sponsors, AEW committee, volunteers, site visits organisers, key engineering industry, engineering professionals and members of the public who enthusiastically got involved and showed their support for the industry, a hugely successful week and we look forward in planning the week for 2016.

 

This article has been posted by Engineers Australia Sydney Division. For enquiries please email EA Sydney.