sys eng student outcome

UQ me= dia release 15 Sept 2004

UQ’s high flyer graduates f= rom Boeing funded program

The University of Queensland is one step closer to tackling Australia’s growing need for qualified systems engineers.

Grant Stonier has become the first graduate of UQ’s Master of Systems Engineering program – one of the few such programs in Australi= a.

The program is funded by the Boeing Company as p= art of the 737 Airborne Early Warning and Control program, known as Project Wedget= ail.

Mr Stonier is currently working on Project Wedgetail with BAE Systems in Adelaide.

“BAE are involved in the design and development of some of the sub-systems of th= is aircraft early warning and control system,” he said.

“I’m looking at the in-service support solutions for the project. Systems engineering principles are not only applied to physical systems such as aircraft, but also to the entire support system that keeps the aircraft operational throughout its life.”

= Systems engineers build highly complex, computer-based systems such as aircraft, wh= ich have computer systems throughout them.

Graduates fr= om UQ’s Master of Systems Engineering program are expected to be in hot demand.

= In 2003 UQ and the Boeing Company laun= ched a new training laboratory, which has been equippe= d with workstations and software tools valued at more than $3 million.

Mr Stonier said the program and support given had allowed him to expand his systems engineering knowledge into technical fields including software and electronic engineering

He said he had gained an appreciation of important managerial aspects related = to the engineering business environment.

“I had= an active role in tailoring the program as I was able to give feedback on the courses I was doing,” he said.

“It is structured to match the skills Boeing require but these skills can be transferred to any engineering company.”

= In 2002 the University announced the selection of Professor Peter Lindsay to s= erve as the Boeing Chair of Systems Engineering.

= Professor Lindsay said systems engineers needed to be systems thinkers

= “They need to be able to see the big picture and to conceptualise how all the system’s components work together to deliver the desired capability,” he said.

= “The University’s systems engineering program is modelled on the successfu= l US Mast= ers program commissioned by Boeing in America.

= “The UQ program features electives such as software engineering that make our graduates internationally competitive.”