Canberra Division update by your Division Manager, Keely Quinn.
Division update
Canberra Division has been incredibly busy over the last few months, with a number of new initiatives being implemented, such as the Engineers Australia Mentoring Program Canberra, which facilitates the exchange of knowledge, experience and ideas between volunteer mentors and mentees.
The Canberra Division was recently the host for the national launch of the 2017 State of the Engineering Profession Report. This flagship report focuses on several important issues, such as the Engineer Skills Pipeline, Australia’s Energy Future and the continued need for better infrastructure planning to drive productivity. An alarming statistic highlighted by the report is the drop in numbers of students studying STEM subjects in high school. Since 2001, there has been a 7.6 % drop in males studying Advanced Maths. Alarmingly, only 6.2% of females study Advanced Maths at secondary school. The full report is available online.
In the lead up to the election in 2016, Labor pledged to appoint a Chief Engineer in the ACT. Engineers Australia has had a number of meetings with ministers and key decision makers to continue to support and promote this election promise. The reception from the government has been positive and we look forward to seeing provisions for the role in the upcoming ACT Budget.
The University of Canberra and the ACT Government have also implemented initiatives, which are relevant to the engineering sector. Please see the below for more information.
Innovation Voucher Program: connecting local businesses with the University of Canberra
The University of Canberra’s Innovation Voucher program aims to connect businesses from Canberra and the surrounding region to the University of Canberra (UC).
Vouchers up to $35,000 are awarded on a competitive basis to eligible projects that partner with UC. Applicants are required to provide a 25% financial contribution to the project.
Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.
Examples of possible Innovation Voucher Projects include:
- A local Canberra business is developing a new material which will have biomedical applications. The business is working out of laboratories at UC and accesses an Innovation Voucher to work with UC’s chemists, biologists and physiotherapists to develop and test different variants of the material. This includes access to specialised scientific equipment for testing and undertaking clinical trials.
- A company wants to design a new product for the Asian market and engages UC’s Cross Cultural Design Lab and its multidisciplinary group of designers to assist with understanding cultural and market requirements and developing prototypes for testing in target Asian markets.
- A local Canberra business has developed a software system which it believes will increase throughput efficiency by 35%. It engages UC to trial and test its product as a means of independent validation of its effectiveness.
To apply, please read the guidelines, including eligibility criteria, and complete the expression of interest form. Please feel free to email the University of Canberra for additional information.
Have your say on the vision for Canberra’s city centre
The ACT Government is asking the people of Canberra to have their say on the future of the growing city centre. Let the ACT Government know how you and your family use the city and what you want from the Canberra of the future. Your feedback and suggestions will be used in the consideration of policy changes and infrastructure upgrades.
Feedback results will be posted in June, so please ‘have your say’ via one of the many options by the end of May.
Image: iStock image of Canberra.