Australian Engineering Practice: A Professional Development Report

This report delves into the multifaceted world of Australian engineering practice, exploring the core competencies, values, and professional development aspects crucial for success in the field. It examines the expectations of engineers, the importance of maintaining technical competence, and the significance of skills such as teamwork, innovation, and integrity. The report discusses the roles of expertise, the value of reading and collaboration, and the application of mind mapping techniques. It also provides self-assessments of skills and attributes, highlighting areas of strength and areas for improvement. Furthermore, it uses the example of Thomas Edison to illustrate the impact of commitment and problem-solving in engineering. The report also touches upon project management principles, time management strategies, and the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies. This report provides a comprehensive overview of the key elements of Australian engineering practice.

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AUSTRALIAN ENGINEERING PRACTICE
By Name
Course
Instructor
Institution
Location
Date

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1.
Engineering is the use or the application of knowledge which can either be scientifically
acquired, socially acquired or even practically acquired purposefully to come up with new design
or to an extension improve on the existing structures and design.it is a field that is broad and
involves various engineering disciplines. Basically, as an engineer, the expectations that
primarily come to mind is to be able to critically think of new design or improving on the
existing ones so that the various problems within the society are solved. Hence, the knowledge
learnt in the university is a reflection of the expected outcome of an engineer (American Society
of Civil Engineers, 2011, p. 643).
2
The perspective of engineering remains the same both in the university and the real world since
the expectation remains the same. However, there are new roles that one expects to play was an
engineer in Australia which includes maintaining the technical competences, precisely solving
the various challenges in the society and also enhancing great effectiveness at work. There are
various competencies one needs to have to be an engineer including eligibility for membership
and also immigration assessment .as an engineer, some of the values that I would add in the
engineering field are professionalism, integrity, teamwork and also innovation (Frankline, 2014,
p. 975).
3
An expert is someone that has a sustained experience in a particular field of practices or
professionalism. Generally, one is considered an expert when the person has a vast knowledge
or skills pertaining to a particular matter of discussion. It is derived from experience in that it is

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a direct function of time and also depends on the quickness of the person in question. (Ronnie,
2011, p. 543).
4
Reading through books and journals in various engineering helps one to acquire knowledge
pertaining to engineering as a profession and also to develop some of the core values that are
needed in life such as teamwork and integrity. Innovation helps one to understand the
importance of teamwork which helps one to take a short time to learn some particular concept
rather than working on it alone which ends up consuming time and also one may not be able to
completely perform a particular task within the stipulated specifications. This directly starts from
the various group projects that are provided in class (Ludden, 2008, p. 346).
5
Listening, seeing and reading are very key in engineering. Listening helps one to understand
various concepts. Seeing helps one to be able to identify various problems within the society. It
also helps one to be able to critically reason out on how solutions can be computed. On the other
hand, reading is equally significant since it makes one be more knowledgeable and also gain new
concepts that he or she was not aware of.
6
The process used when carrying out a research is a qualitative and quantitative analysis that
involves both collections of data and reading past articles on the subject under discussion. This
helps one to understand the concepts and be able to write them down or explain the various
process in own words. After doing a research, the noted down findings are electronically stored
through computers in a paraphrased language. Paraphrased language involves first

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comprehending the concept and the various aspects involved and then noting them down in own
understanding (Pearson, 2007, p. 735).
7
Collaboration is one of the key factors for success in every organization. This is because all the
members will be able to participate and share ideas on particular areas. There are various skills
that are gained as one grows particularly teamwork and commitment. It becomes one of the
major challenges more so with a teamwork whereby you will realize that some of the team
members are not cooperative and also not committed in terms of handling certain things. Thus it
sometimes becomes a demoralizing factor
8
Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies is based on three particular issues or competencies
which defines its importance as described below. It helps to identify whether a person has the
professional knowledge and the skills required for the engineering practices. Besides, stage one
competency helps to determine whether a person possesses the professional and persona;
attributes that are essential for engineering practice
9
A situation that occurred once was when giving instructions to fellow teammates in a hockey
sport. This came as a result of rules that had changed and were due to be effected on an
upcoming tournament. The situation was not difficult as the team members had learned to cope
with new rules and were always flexible and dynamic. The were no difficulties during issuing of
the instructions

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10
Collaboration helps to achieve best results within a precise duration. It makes work easier and
also saves on time since the contrary which is a bit of resistance slows down a process.
Collaboration entails some behaviors which have been observed from great collaborators such as
understanding, integrity and also patience (Nottingham, 2009, p. 622).
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After the review of the various skills and attributes, I can comfortably award myself a 4 star in
my various skills and attributes. In particular, the skills that I feel competent in include listening,
integrity, teamwork and also honesty. Conversely, there are some skills that I have not fully
attained more so teamwork since I experience some challenges to do with handling my fellow
team members there always arises issues relating to commitment
12
Taking Thomas Edison as one of the engineers that greatly had a positive impact on the society
by coming up with the first commercial light. This was a light bulb that had many attributes
including possessing a durable incandescent material and a highly resistant filament material.
This he was to achieve after a series of tests without giving up. Presently, credits are still
rewarded to Edison after successfully helping to bring a solution to the earlier situation of
darkness. Apart from the various technical skills, one factor that comes out in Thomas Edison is
commitment and the urge to provide a solution. Besides, Edison was patient and ensures that
quality time is applied on the project thereby coming up with a solution that is appreciated up to
now (Johnstone, 2009, p. 772).
13

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Projects vary in size but what matters is the success of any project. Thus there are some aspects
that ensures that a project is properly managed. These include Strategic planning,
Communication, Resources and the various personnel’s that will be involved in the success of
the project – (Brasier, 2008, p. 643).
14
A project needs that quality time is dedicated towards it to ensure its success. It involves the
various stages of proper planning else it may not meet a certain deadline and end up being
untrusted. Personally, I am good at managing my time since I always complete my tasks within
the stipulated deadline. My best behaviors in terms of time management include completing my
tasks on time and also always being updated (Kazi & John , 2012, p. 352).
However, I do find a challenge when managing my time due to a spirit of perfectionism whereby
I would tend to ensure that all my answers and tasks are perfect hence this makes me spend much
time on the tasks.
Engineering Mind mapping
This refers to the visual representations and techniques that are applied by both designers and
engineers for the purposes of expressing and generating ideas. It generally deals with ensuring
that all the ideas that an engineer has been placed down in a piece of paper to enable the person
plan well before embarking on the engineering task (Johnstone, 2009).
The tools that are required to perform an engineering mind mapping are very simple and easy to
acquire. They include pen and a notebook. The process of engineering mind mapping entails
placing the main idea or them in the middle part of a paper and then embarking on the generation
of ideas .the ideas are placed just sketchily since there is no order and thus the persons doing the

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mind mapping just write down anything that comes up in his mind. They may be informed of
drawings, comments, questions, material listings a, statements among others as long as they are
related to the central topic. Besides, there are no word limits hence the engineer should write
everything that comes at the back of his mind. Thereafter the designer or the engineer should be
able to link these thoughts together by interconnecting the graphics, pictures and the words
(Pearson, 2007).
This technique does not necessarily mean that it can only be written by the engineer or the
designer starts to design. There are no limitations hence it can be written down at any stage of
the process of design. One is able to do the kind mapping at the start in order to generate the
problem that needs a solution and also at the middle of the task to generate other possible ways
of providing the solution. It is most preferred to be done when one feels like emptying the
thoughts that one has or when an engineer or a designer is stuck in the middle I the design
process. Below are examples of the mind map. It can also be applied in every aspect of life even
in the day to day making of decision.it also helps in making one be more creative as it will give
room for expression and expansion of the thoughts that a person has (Johnstone, 2009).

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References
American Society of Civil Engineers, A. I. o. C. E., 2011. Engineering Solutions for
Sustainability: Materials and Resources. 3rd ed. London: John Wiley & Sons.
Edward F. Crawley, J. M. S. Ö. D. R. B. K. E., 2014. Rethinking Engineering Education: The
CDIO Approach. 1st ed. new york: Springer Science & Business Media.
Harding, R., 2011. Environmental Decision-making: The Role of Scientists, Engineers, and the
Public. 2nd ed. Chicago: Federation Press.
Daniel A, 2017. Effective Communication at Work: Say what you mean and get what you want.
1st ed. Chicago: 50Minutes.com.
Ludden, M., 2008. Effective Communication Skills: Essential Skills for Success in Work and
Life. 2nd ed. Westminister: JIST Publishing,
Nottingham, U. o., 2009. Sustainability & Engineering. 1st ed. Nottingham: University of
Nottingham.
Pearson, N., 2007. FCS Professional Engineering Practice L4. 2nd ed. Pretoria: Pearson South
Africa.
Stephen Johnston, J. P. G. W. J. K., 2009. Engineering and Society: Challenges of Professional
Practice. 2nd ed. Carlisle: Prentice Hall,

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