Unit Outline - ENS1154 Introduction to Engineering 10/10/10 8:15 AM

FACULTY OF COMPUTING, HEALTH AND SCIENCE

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
Full Unit Outline - Enrolment Approved Tuesday, 16 March 2010

UNIT TITLE Introduction to Engineering

UNIT CODE ENS1154
CREDIT POINTS 15
FULL YEAR UNIT No
PRE-REQUISITES
MODE OF DELIVERY On-campus

DESCRIPTION
This unit introduces students to the discipline and practice of professional engineering.
The role of engineers and some of the important concepts that characterize the
engineering approach to solving technical problems are described. In addition, the
importance of appropriate communication and the management aspects of engineering
are introduced. The unit includes a group design project that takes the student through
the engineering design process – from client specification, around an iterative design
loop, to a fully documented final solution.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
On completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. identify the roles and responsibilities of a practicing engineer;

2. identify the stages in a design cycle and prepare a design strategy that
incorporates the components of this cycle;
3. describe the importance of ethics and safety in engineering design, and embed
these issues into their design processes;
4. demonstrate the oral and written communication skills that are critical in
relationships between engineers and clients, where clients may include the
general public.

UNIT CONTENT
1. Generic attributes of an engineering graduate.
2. Systems engineering – a systematic approach to the description, analysis and
design of complex systems; design cycle – specifications, functional description,
synthesis and evaluation; simulation and prototypes; problem solving skills and
tools.
3. Responsibilities of an engineer - ethics, safety in design, sustainable design.
4. Communications – preparing engineering documents: technical reports, manuals,
procedures and proposals; project presentation.
5. Engineering management - fundamentals of project management, engineering
economics, entrepreneurship.
6. Design Projects - teamwork and the engineering design process.

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Unit Outline - ENS1154 Introduction to Engineering 10/10/10 8:15 AM

TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESSES

Lectures, tutorials and group projects.

GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES
The following graduate attributes will be developed in this unit

Ability to communicate
Ability to work in teams
Critical appraisal skills
Ability to generate ideas
Cross-cultural and international outlook

ASSESSMENT
Grading Schema 1

Item On-Campus Assessment Value

Test Theory test 15%
Project Minor practical project 15%
Exercise Tutorial exercises and online 20%
activities
Project Major group design project 50%

TEXTS
Dowling, D., Carew, A., & Hadgraft, R. (2009). Engineering your future: an australasian
guide. Milton, Qld: John Wiley.

SIGNIFICANT REFERENCES
Dym, C. L., & Little, P. (2003). Engineering design: a project-based introduction. (2nd
ed.). New York: John Wiley.
Holtzapple, M. T. , & Reece, W. D. (2005). Concepts in engineering. New York: McGraw-
Hill.
Mohan, T. et al. (2007). Introduction to professional engineering. New York: Thomson
Publishing.
Horenstein, M. N. (2002). Design concepts for engineers. (2nd ed.). New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall.
Nagle, J. (1996). Handbook for preparing engineering documents, from concept to
completion. New York: IEEE Press.
Wilcox, A. D. (1990). Engineering design for electrical engineers. New-Jersey: Prentice
Hall.

Academic Misconduct

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Unit Outline - ENS1154 Introduction to Engineering 10/10/10 8:15 AM

Edith Cowan University has firm rules governing academic misconduct and there are
substantial penalties that can be applied to students who are found in breach of these
rules. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

plagiarism;
unauthorised collaboration;
cheating in examinations;
theft of other students’ work.

Additionally, any material submitted for assessment purposes must be work that has
not been submitted previously, by any person, for any other unit at ECU or elsewhere.

The ECU rules and policies governing all academic activities, including misconduct, can
be accessed through the ECU website.

Disclaimer

This unit outline may be updated and amended immediately prior to semester. To
ensure you have the correct outline, please check it again at the beginning of semester.

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