spatial sciences at quteprints.qut.edu.au/5141/2/5141b.pdf · · 2010-06-09spatial sciences at...

Queensland University of Technology

CRICOS No. 00213J

Spatial Sciences at QUTSpatial Sciences at QUT

5th Trans Tasman Surveyors Conference2nd Queensland Spatial Industry Conference

Cairns September 2006

Robert Webb and Dr John HayesRobert Webb and Dr John HayesSchool of Urban Development

Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering

CRICOS No. 00213Ja university for the worldrealR

Combined 5th Trans Tasman Survey Conference & 2nd Queensland Spatial Industry Conference 2006 – Cairns, 19-23 September 2006



Spatial Sciences based at the Gardens Point Campus



Overview

• Faculty BEE Restructure• New School of Urban Development• New Courses• New Spatial Science (Surveying) Structure• Criterion Reference Assessment [CRA]• Work Integrated Learning [WIL]• Summary



Restructure of Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering (BEE)

Organisational ReviewThe higher education environment is complex and subject to ongoing change. We cannot predict with certainty the detail of events in the future, but we can anticipate some elements of change to come, and we can prepare ourselves to be best positioned to take advantage ofopportunities (Peter Coaldrake 2004).

The BEE quinquennial review report mandated the Faculty to a future of significant organisational change and renewal. The Faculty WhitePaper, prepared in response to the University Blueprint, presents a vision of:

A Faculty committed to renewal and recognised globally for the strength and relevance of its integrated disciplines (Martin Betts 2004).



Faculty of BEE model of working (modified from Crowther and Savage 2005 ).



1-REAL WORLD TEACHING• A balance of theory and practical skills

– Joint projects with industry– Professional work placements– Workshops– Field trips– Study tours and exchanges

• More students doing work experience, practicums and workplace research projects than any other Australian university.



2- REAL-WORLD ENGAGEMENT

Commitment to engaging local and global communities in raising the standard of international education

• Exchange Agreements with over 20 countries

• Internationalisation of Curriculum

• Diverse international student body enhances the culture of QUT

• Over 300 international visitors each year

• International development, projects and consultancy



Engagement - DEDICATED TO DIVERSITY

• 5,000 international students from over 100 countries

• ‘Multicultural’Brisbane

• Diverse range of disciplines



3- RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND COMMERCIALISATION

• The Faculty operates a Faculty Research Centre, the Centre for Built Environment and Engineering Research(C-BEER) , which includes all research activities in the Faculty.

• The Faculty also leads and/or contributes to several University Research Institutes and Initiatives, including the Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation , the Information Security Institute and the Initiative for Sustainable Living .



RESEARCH, INNOVATION AND COMMERCIALISATION

The Faculty delivers innovative, collaborative research and commercial outcomes through four key themes

• design - bringing together creativity, innovation, and a focus on people to create new solutions for a sustainable future

• medical engineering - linking engineers and clinicians to address the community's health care needs

• smart infrastructure - user-oriented approaches to link design and new technologies to boost industry productivity and improve the way we live

• sustainable living - a whole-of-university approach to sustainable living, bringing together industry imperatives, government policy and community demand

Queensland University of Technology

CRICOS No. 00213J

FACULTY OF BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND ENGINEERING



Three Interlinked Schools

• Design

• Engineering Systems

• Urban Development

Six portfolios

• Academic

– Teaching and Learning

– Research

– Application

• Support

– Resources

– Marketing and External Relationships

– People

OrganisationalOrganisational Structure of a Renewed Faculty of BEEStructure of a Renewed Faculty of BEE



ArchitectureIndustrial Design

Interior DesignLandscape Architecture

CRICOS No. 00213Ja university for the worldreal ®

DesignDesign

Electrical EngineeringElectronic EngineeringComputer EngineeringAerospace AvionicsMedical EngineeringMechanical EngineeringInfomechatronics

Civil EngineeringCivil & EnvironmentalCivil & ConstructionConstruction ManagementProject ManagementProperty EconomicsQuantity SurveyingSpatial Science -SurveyingUrban & Regional Planning

Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering

Engineering Systems

Engineering Systems

Urban Development

Urban Development



InternationalStudentSupport

Real life and hands-on experience

Theoretical &Academic

rigour

Generic professional

Skills

A FACULTY FOR PROFESSIONALS

Three multi-disciplinary

schools



New Media Marketing



NEW SCHOOL OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT

• Civil Engineering• Environmental Engineering • Construction Management • Property Economics • Spatial Science (Surveying)• Urban and Regional Planning• Quantity Surveying



Changing Educational EnvironmentChanging Educational Environment• McDougall (2000) made some predictions of the impacts of the

Dawkins’ reforms and unification of higher education institutions. These reforms have resulted in a number of important changes to the tertiary and higher education environment.– The competition for funding now dominates the activities of

universities;– The system is now geared for large-scale graduate

production rather than the smaller elite;– Many specialised courses and disciplines find it increasingly

difficult to remain viable; and– Universities have become more responsive and

entrepreneurial, treating students as customers and industry as clients.

• Staff involved with the spatial science program at QUT have seen these reform predictions eventuate along with a concerning climate of reduced funding/ equipment resources and alarming increases in academic staff : student ratios.



NEW U/G COURSES

Principles for Course

Opportunities

• for integrated transdisciplinary

study

• for articulation

• to learn through and in practice

• to study in courses informed by

BEE’s research interests



New CoursesNew curriculum designed to support QUT’s teaching ai ms by:

• Strengthening “real-world” position by creating external & internal partnership

• Responding to changing needs of society

• Enhancing the collaborative engagement of academic staff and students

• Providing cross-cultural and Indigenous perspectives& experiences as an integral part of learning and teaching

• Fostering cross-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary skillsand knowledge

• Supporting higher degree articulation.



New Course Structure



Bachelor of Urban Development (Spatial Science)

Shared Common Core • Introducing professional learning*• Introducing sustainability*• Stewardship of land • Applied law• Urban Development Economics• Development process• Research methods• Business skills



Spatial Science Minor

offered to other programs

• Geospatial Positioning and GPS

• Geographic Information Systems

• Remote Sensing

• Geospatial Mapping

• Spatial and Land Information Management

• Spatial Analysis Practice



New Course Expectations• We expect that the new Spatial Science course will produce:

– graduates with a broader range of spatial science practice skills;

– graduates more adapted to the demands of the contemporary workplace;

– and graduates more able to operate in the diverse team environments of modern spatial science and surveying.

• In temporal terms, the program will have Spatial Science students commencing their studies in an environment catering for students from a broad range of similar disciplines relating to urban development fields.

• As students progress through second, third, and fourth year levels, they will progressively focus their attention further on the spatial science discipline.



Aims, ObjectivesThe essential aim of the new Spatial Science course is to develop in graduates the values, attitudes, knowledge and skills appropriate to the practice and culture of the broad spatial science industry.

• The objectives are consistent with the generic attributes of QUT graduates, including the development of:– General educational knowledge and problem-solving skills,

attitudinal attributes and social skills.– Specialist knowledge and problem solving skills within the broad

discipline of spatial science.



Real World Teaching

• A team teaching approach strives to maintain the “University for the Real-World” market phrase through the effective use of practical and applied methods of teaching and instruction.



Postgraduate Courses

The faculty offers a range of postgraduate course work and research programs across all disciplines, including:

• Graduate Certificates• Graduate Diplomas• Masters by course work (Infrastructure Management, Project

Management)• Research Doctorates• QUT/RMIT joint professional doctorate in project management



A place where real things happen …



Criterion Referenced Assessment (CRA)

• CRA is a test or other type of assessment designed to provide a measure of performance that is interpretable in terms of a clearly defined and delimited domain of learning tasks (Linn & Gronlund 2000).



CRA: Examples of Contextualised Criteria Sheets from QUT



CRA: Engineering example



CRA: Surveying example



Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Environments



Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Environments

• Workplace learning constitutes the learning opportunities that take place in a workplace as a formal component of the course or program, involving a number of internal and external stakeholders and offers opportunities for authentic assessment tasks, and embodies appropriate quality assurance mechanisms (APPU-QUT 2005).



W.I.L. Aims

• The WIL unit aims to provide students with first hand experience of the work place. Such experience will include aspects of attendance, participation, observation, and reflection.

• These structured activities will allow students to develop a range of understandings of the work place and the practice of their chosen profession.

• The content of the unit(s) is based around aspects of: experience in, and of, the work place; the professional application of theoretical knowledge; the business of practice; its interaction with and within society and practice generally.



W.I.L. Teaching• The teaching and learning content in the WIL unit(s)

predominantly will be delivered in the work place, usually in the office of a professional practice, under the supervision of a practicing professional.

• The duration of the WIL directed employment will vary as required by the specified Course/Major (study area). This could range typically from 6 weeks to 6 months.

• The work place learning may be supplemented with a number of lectures, seminars, tutorials, and/or Internet (On-Line Teaching) based tools and resources.



Presentation SummaryPresentation Summarythree undergraduate BEE courses from 2006

• 19 entry points (first majors)• courses will fall from 73* to 3• 6 approx full fee-paying coursework/ project-based

Masters (majors as reqd) with grad.cert exit points• units offered will fall from 670* to 320 in ug courses• The new structure of the Spatial Science courseSpatial Science course will

ensure graduates leave QUT with a broader understanding of professions, disciplines and workplaces, combined with accreditable professional competence.



QLD UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

spatial sciences at quteprints.qut.edu.au/5141/2/5141b.pdf · · 2010-06-09spatial sciences at...

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