faculty focus
Rocket science tops ATAR list
Female students drawn to UNSW engineering
The University of Sydney’ s Bachelor of Engineering( Mechatronic)( Space) course had the highest Australia Tertiary Admission Rank cut-off of any degrees offered to students in the main round offers this year.
The University Admissions Centre made offers to more than 55,000 students in the main round. Universities made 72,089 offers in total, including offers from earlier rounds, compared with 70,186 at the same time last year.
The mechtronic engineering degree at the University of Sydney covers a broad set of areas including orbital mechanics, robotics, rocket propulsion systems, satellite technology, aero- and astrodynamics in the space environment, as well as the fundamentals in engineering science and design principles. It is the only course of its type in Australia.
Salah Sukkarieh, professor of robotics and intelligent systems at the school of aerospace, mechanical and mechatronic engineering said the course generally hits the top end of the student intake, due to entry requirements. Applicants needed an ATAR of 99.8 for this year.
“ The degree requires in-depth knowledge and testing of a broad set of areas. Students not only require the ability to learn complex science and maths from a broad area, they have to translate that to a practical solution that meets various constraints imposed by the space environment,” Sukkarieh said.
He said the nature of the degree requires students who are generally well versed in maths and sciences and who have an aptitude for technology.
The degree calls for staff who have knowledge in the aero and astro fields coupled with staff in the mechatronics field. Sukkarieh said you then need lecturers and teachers and the supporting infrastructure that can bring the two together in a proper curriculum.
He said this combination is what makes the degree so special for the University of Sydney.
“ If you couple this with the highest rank aerospace school in the country and the Australian Centre for Field Robotics( the largest field of robotics research institute in the world that is tied to the mechatronics degree) then you have a very powerful synergy that gives students the best experience.” ■
Deniz Kayis( Centre), with her mother, Assoc Prof Berman Kayis( Left) and sister Ann
Men still dominate in the field of engineering, with women making up only 15.8 per cent of enrolments in engineering courses at Australian universities in 2010, says the latest Engineers Australia report.
However, there are signs that more women are choosing the profession as a career path. One of them is Deniz Kayis, who will start at the University of NSW this year for a combined engineering / law degree.
The 18-year-old Sydney Girls High student secured a place at a UNSW course along with 7800 students during the main round of university offers.
UNSW’ s engineering faculty is planning to boost female enrolments to 25 per cent by 2020. This could happen sooner than the target year with encouraging signs already visible.
Last year, women comprised about 19 per cent of the engineering student population, while in sub-disciplines such as chemical engineering and biomedical engineering, women made up about 40 per cent of students.
Also, UNSW’ s female engineering students who remain and complete the program are well above the national average in terms of course completion and retention.
Pro-vice chancellor( students) Professor Wai-Fong Chua said the university had become attractive to school leavers with high academic achievement – receiving the highest number of first preferences from the“ Top 500” group of students.
Kayis was one of more than 40 high achievers who attained an ATAR of 99.9; she was awarded a UNSW Scientia Scholarship worth $ 10,000 annually. Kayis continued a family tradition by accepting the UNSW offer.“ UNSW is a great university. Both my mother and my sister are there so I know I’ ve made the right choice,” she said.“ The combined degree also gives me flexibility and options later on.”
Her mother Berman Kayis is an associate professor in the school of mechanical and manufacturing engineering, while her sister Ann has just enrolled in a PhD with the Australian School of Business after finishing a combined commerce / law degree.
“ If I decide to go down the research path I can choose something that encompasses both – maybe legal issues in engineering or if I’ m working in corporate law, having a background in engineering can help there too,” Deniz said. ■
28 | February 2013