ON CAMPUS
campusreview.com.au
CADET’s
major
impact
New engineering complex
puts design-based effort
into spurring innovation
for Australia’s future.
By James Wells
22
A
$53.3 million Deakin University
engineering facility has opened
its doors, and the vice-chancellor
assures it will educate the graduates Australia
needs to become the innovation nation.
The 6700-square-metre Deakin
University Centre for Advanced Design
and Engineering Training (CADET), at the
university’s Waurn Ponds campus, aims to
create an environment where engineering
education can shift from lecture-based
theory teaching to practical learning.
Included in CADET is a 3D virtual reality
lab where students can learn engineering
skills from virtual demonstrations. Other
specialist labs, studios and workshops are
also featured. Several social spaces exist
as well, so staff and students can work on
projects together in open-plan office areas.
Deakin University vice-chancellor
professor Jane den Hollander says a facility
of this scale is a first for Australia. It uses
design aspects of several other overseas
models. Den Hollander says teaching
engineering students practically will give
Australia the graduates it needs.
“Universities should be leading the way
when it comes to researching solutions and
producing graduates to drive such solutions
when they enter the workforce,” she says.
“So the key question we have asked [at
Deakin University] is what will be the key
ingredient for Australia in an innovation-led
future, in a global market?
“In answering this question, we looked
outside to see exactly how the world is
addressing this, and it became clear that
design is the only way forward. Australian
industry must understand what the world
wants and it must be able to keep up. This
is why design and design-based thinking
are more important than ever. Because of
our new approach, and the world-leading
technology inside CADET, our students
will be solving real-world problems in
partnership with industry from the very
beginning of their degrees.”
Den Hollander says Australia can no
longer rely on mining and manufacturing
as sustainable economic staples. It must
instead become a nation of innovators, she
argues, with a strong industrial design sector.
“Successful innovators such as Apple,
Samsung and Dyson have proven that
industrial design should be the first thing
manufacturers consider when developing
products that require engineering and
technological solutions,” she explains. “But
Australia’s focus on industrial engineering
has not been as prominent as in other
countries, and with the demise of mass
automotive manufacturing, there is a real
risk of things moving backwards.”
Mark Freeman, partner at architecture
firm Gray Puksand and CADET project
leader, worked with Deakin dean of
engineering professor Guy Littlefair to
design the facility. At the beginning of work
on CADET’s design, Freeman organised a
series of briefing sessions and workshops
with Littlefair and other technical staff.
Littlefair says this collaboration ensures
learning remains at the forefront of design
considerations.
“In terms of a learning environment, all
aspects of the centre have been delivered
to provide for an exceptional space
comprising state-of-the-art functionality
and equipment, together with a flexible
office environment for all school staff – in
itself a notable outcome,” Littlefair explains.
“The project has exceeded the original
intent, and this is down to the attention to
detail by the design team and their linking
back to the Deakin stakeholder group.”
Littlefair also argues that analysing
CADET’s design can be a useful learning
experience for students.
CADET has the federal government’s
endorsement. It shouted part of the bill
– putting in $21.5 million. The education
minister, Simon Birmingham, says the facility
will help meet Australia’s growing demand
for engineers. In fact, Birmingham says
CADET will help Australia fulfil its objective of
creating a strong STEM workforce overall.