Engineering Foundation Year

The Bachelor of Engineering begins with the Engineering Foundation Year (EFY). Developed in partnership with industry, this accredited, award-winning Engineering Foundation Year and its purpose-built First Year Studios promote the concept of learning by doing.

You will study the fundamental concepts and develop the required skills common to all areas of engineering. You will have a great opportunity to explore the range of engineering disciplines available to you before choosing your engineering major from second year.

Program

The EFY program was developed as a base from which all Curtin Engineering disciplines seek to produce graduates who have a solid theoretical grounding, a strong practical focus, are culturally astute and professionally accomplished.

The EFY and its support services endeavour to ensure that Curtin engineering students can progress smoothly into their area of specialisation and graduate as sought-after and job-ready engineers. Its cross-disciplinary curriculum has been designed to provide the skill base required for the commencement of discipline-specific engineering studies.

The EFY and its support services endeavour to ensure that Curtin engineering students can progress smoothly into their area of specialisation and graduate as sought-after and job-ready engineers.

Structure

Your Engineering Foundation Year will involve:

• traditional, full-class lectures
• small group tutorial work
• hands-on laboratory work
• industrial site visits and follow-up case studies
• team-based design and simulation projects
• web-based learning resources, bulletin boards, online tutorials and quizzes
• portfolio development with an emphasis on reflection and self-evaluation.

Support

There are many ways in which students of the Engineering Foundation Year are supported in their studies. This support includes providing students with a sense of collegiality and professionalism and giving first year students a space of their own.

Collaboration

Curtin Engineering is proud of its close industry collaboration and appreciates widespread industry support.

The engineering community has assisted the Engineering Foundation Year (EFY) through various industry advisory panels, financial sponsorship of the EFY studio project rooms and direct input through participation in lectures and student site visits. The industry exposure obtained during the EFY delivers students with a positive, considered and realistic view of the engineering profession at an early stage of their education.

Recognition by industry

The EFY program was successfully accredited as part of all engineering disciplines by the professional body Engineers Australia in 2005, receiving a number of special commendations.

Effective engineering education requires an inclusive partnership between Curtin University and industry. A shared ownership and appreciation of the academic needs of future engineering graduates from their foundation year onwards ensures industry and society are equipped with professionally accomplished, culturally astute graduates. These graduates will display a solid theoretical grounding and a strong practical focus equal to society and industry demands.

“The first-year Learning Studio facility and the very effective Learning Clinics as an innovative and effective learning environment for commencing students and the strength of the industry sponsorship in establishing this project”

Engineers Australia (2006)

EFY also won Curtin’s “Excellence and Innovation in Teaching” award in the category of “First-year Experience” in 2006. The Engineering Studio concept, with its industry participation, is gaining recognition by other tertiary-education institutions.