Bridge the gap between university theory and the workplace by experiencing what it’s actually like to work as an engineer.
We have partnered with Prosple to develop a series of virtual work experience modules, exclusively for student members.
Each virtual work experience is targeted at the university level, delivered 100% online, and takes between 2 to 5 hours to complete. These modules can complement or supplement Engagement with Professional Practice (EPP) for students nearing completion of their programs and who have already completed additional work experience.
Explore the 18 modules providing real-world examples of work tasks, allowing you to develop your skills and build your future career plan.
- Cost Engineering - new
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You’ve joined a construction company to work on a multi-billion-dollar tunnel project. The tunnel will reduce congestion and strain on the current structure and connect commuters in West Melbourne to the CBD. Your task is to review the project to ensure costs and budgets align to keep it running as scheduled.
Skills:
- Gain confidence with budget allocations and justifications
- Gain awareness of research methods and sustainable construction considerations
- Prepare well supported report for management decisions
- Fire Safety Engineering - new
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Do you have a handle on the fire and safety engineering principles? It’s time to check whether you’ve got this one under your belt or if it’s time for a review. Your manager has awarded you the Salesforce Tower contract and has sent you an email with questions on fire and safety engineering principles before you get started.
Skills:
- Comprehensive understanding of fire dynamics and behaviour
- Risk assessment and mitigation strategies
- Regulatory compliance and codes
- Nuclear Engineering - new
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After working at Horizon Engineering, an Australian engineering consulting firm, you want to put forward a case to develop the AUKUS (Australia, United Kingdom, United States) nuclear-powered submarine program. This will lead Australia’s world-class capability to become one of seven countries to operate nuclear-powered submarines. You’ll need to present a proposal to your superiors identifying the opportunity and evaluate your case.
Skills:
- Research skills on nuclear propulsion system, reactor design, fuel cycles, and safety protocols
- Technical knowledge in nuclear engineering
- Business case development on benefits, risks and challenges
- Risk Engineering - new
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Join NASA, the pioneer in space exploration as they embark on a mission to create their newest lunar habitat for an international team of astronauts. As a part of this mission, you’ll need to examine potential risks and recommend mitigation strategies for the optimal habitat design.
Skills:
- Prepare well supported report for management decisions
- Conduct in-depth analyses of extreme risks and recommend mitigation strategies
- Gain confidence with risk identification and rating
- Structural Engineering - new
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The ultimate engineering design opportunity has landed. You get to use your creativity and engineering prowess to shape the future of human habitation on the Moon. You’ll be working in the structural design team to design an inflatable habitat for a team of four astronauts that will be stationed on the Moon.
Skills:
- Gain confidence with engineering calculations
- Practice decision making and trade-offs
- Gain experience with technical communications
- Biomedical Engineering
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Join the engineering team of a large medical device manufacturer and develop a (hypothetical) new Covid detection device, helping them determine the suitable features of the device and find suppliers.
Skills:
- Context of clinical and regulatory aspects in design
- Analysing a clinical scenario
- Translating clinical understanding to product design
- Impact of regulations on exposing the company to risk and affecting sales
- Hazards risk analysis
- RoHS compliance
- Chemical Engineering
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Join the consulting team of a chemical engineering firm and help their client decide which of two technologies for plastics recycling should be adopted; one that relies on thermal degradation (pyrolysis) and the other based on biological degradation (enzymes).
Skills:
- Reading and interpreting process flowsheets
- Operating cost estimation
- Byproduct value assessment
- Client communications
- Civil Engineering - Construction
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Experience what it’s like working in a large construction engineering firm. You will be tasked with helping them decide whether their new high-profile building in Adelaide’s CBD should be made from traditional reinforced concrete, or a new type of structural timber.
Skills:
- Reading and interpreting drawings
- Quantity surveying
- Outlining construction methodology
- Client communications
- Civil Engineering - Water
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Learn firsthand the practical aspects of being part of a project team in a working engineering firm. Gain insight into the likely work being done, the type and volume of information available, the rudimentary analyses required and the nature and format of information and decision-making expected of the project team to meet the needs of the client or other third-party audiences.
Skills:
- Reading and interpreting specifications
- Considering technical knowledge and practicality in giving recommendations
- Calculating costs
- Client communications
- Electrical Engineering
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You are part of an electrical engineering team at a medium-sized modular construction engineering firm and tasked with the assessment and design of power consumption, automation and PV Solar energy solution required by a modular office building.
Skills:
- Understanding Power and Energy
- Understanding PV Solar Solutions
- Building Automation
- Systems Engineering
- Project Cost Modelling
- Client communications
- Environmental Engineering
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Join the environmental engineering team of a large consulting engineering firm and be tasked with supporting them to deliver a state government project to remediate and make carbon neutral a depleted metalliferous mining site.
Skills:
- Understanding sources of toxic waste
- Operating cost estimation
- Understanding sources of greenhouse gas abatement
- Client communications
- Mechanical Engineering
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Working in the consulting team of an automotive design firm you will be tasked with providing advice to a client on how to convert existing solar car technology to solar-powered public transport vehicles, such as small light taxis.
Skills:
- Reading and interpreting design documents
- Considering technological and policy issues associated with vehicle design and scale up
- Calculating operating and capital cost
- Client communications
- Mechatronics Engineering
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This Virtual Experience consists of a series of tasks resembling real work scenarios, designed to test and develop your professional skills and will give you insight into what it would actually be like to work for an automation company as a Mechatronics Engineer. As you complete the modules you will unlock model answers, allowing you to assess your performance in real time.
Skills:
- Outline functional requirements for an automation project
- Building algorithm and related sensor selection for automation
- Project costing
- Client communication
- Mining Engineering
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Experience what it’s like to work as a mining engineer by joining Discover Minerals LLC. Help the operation decide how it should plan and execute the next 24 hours to achieve production targets at their largest mine by working with production supervisors, process plant planners, geologists and fleet maintenance planners.
Skills:
- Mine planning
- Theory of constraints
- Mining fleet management
- Decision evaluation
- Project Engineering
- Software Engineering
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This Virtual Experience consists of a number of mini projects resembling real work scenarios, designed to test and develop your professional skills and will give you insight into what it would actually be like to work as a software engineer.
Skills:
- Understanding of Customer Master Data Management
- Understanding of AWS Well-Architected Review (WAR) process around operational and security pillars
- Understanding of software performance and load testing
- Systems Engineering
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Get to see if systems engineering is a good fit for you by participating in a number of mini projects resembling real work scenarios, designed to test and develop your professional skills. This Virtual Work Experience will cover a breadth of ‘systems’ in the real world of engineering.
Skills:
- Observe and record limitations and opportunities in complex systems
- Understand the need to gather information to assess and make decisions is critical
- Work with incomplete data and ambiguity to resolve outcomes or clarify system needs
- Telecommunications Engineering
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In this virtual work experience, you will be joining the engineering team of a large data network infrastructure operator and tasked with helping them decide whether they need to expand their network and how to adapt to customer capacity and technology demands.
Skills:
- Reading and interpreting data traffic forecasts
- Quantitative Analysis Skills
- Outlining traffic engineering
- Internal and External Client communications
How to access:
The virtual work experience modules have been developed exclusively for Engineers Australia members and will be housed on the Engineers Australia Jobs Board.
Current Engineers Australia student membership is required to access the work experience modules.
Not a student member? Sign up now for FREE!
Access Virtual work experiences
- FAQs
- What does a module look like?
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- Professional Practice (EPP)
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Participation in these virtual work experience modules may be an option to complement or supplement EPP for students nearing completion of their programs and who have already completed additional work experience.
What is feasible and appropriate for each student will depend on several factors including their engagement to date, opportunities provided within their program, and their intended graduation timeframe. Students will need to speak with their individual universities to determine if the virtual experience may count towards EPP at their university.
