Defence industry engineers aspiring to move into senior engineering and leadership positions, now have a better pathway to promotion through the new Master of Defence Systems Integration the University of South Australia.
The new postgraduate degree is part of a nested suite of programs (graduate certificate, graduate diploma and master) designed to develop high-level engineering skills relevant to Australia's national defence priorities.
UniSA Director of Defence Matt Opie says that the introduction of the program offers an exciting opportunity to support mid-career engineers who want to transition into senior engineering and leadership roles or transfer into the defence sector from other industries.
"As Australia's University of Enterprise, and with its special focus on the defence sector, UniSA has established streamlined pathways to partner with industry, including co-developed degree programs like this one," Opie says.
"We have a long history of working to meet the defence industry's need to develop and transform Australia's future workforce.
"With an extensive defence research portfolio and industry partnerships, UniSA is one of Australia's most experienced education providers in the defence industry sector."
As part of the Master of Defence Systems Integration, students will get experience working on large scale projects while they study, with a focus on a systems engineering approach to full life-cycle development, from systems design and implementation, to test and evaluation and integration.
UniSA's Associate Professor Ady James, a specialist in Systems Engineering and head of the new program, says the degree will help mid-career professionals to increase their skills in systems engineering and by working collaboratively within a cohort of participants in similar or associated roles, develop their professional networks.
"The program has been designed to meet the needs of students already working within industry and is available with options to learn part-time and online," Assoc Prof James says.
"Our goal has been to design a program that will give career changers and advancers the chance to develop advanced knowledge and to learn the implementation of systems engineering tools and problem-solving methodologies in a complex systems environment within the defence industry context.
"As South Australia gears up to be a key player in building Australia's defence industry capacity and expertise for the long term, programs such as the Master of Defence Systems Integration are vital."
The Master of Defence Systems Integration draws on engineering knowledge to develop further skills in systems engineering specifically for the defence sector and will include:
- Engineering and systems integration
- Autonomous and unmanned systems
- Information technology
- System of Systems (SoS) integration
- Project management
- Engineering management
- Integrated logistics support
Enrolments are now open for the new program and further information can be found at unisa.edu.au/study.
To learn more about UniSA's defence research and industry engagement please visit unisa.edu.au/defence.
