Miss Winey
Member
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2009
- Messages
- 89
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- 2004
This forum has alot of negative comments about Sydney Uni engineering, said by people who may or may not have had any experience with Sydney uni engineering at all!
so I will put my 2 cents forward to anyone who was struggling with the decision as I did.
In no particular order,
1. Amazing out of the classroom opportunities
Any graduated engineer will tell you that your education at a university classroom is only a scratch on the surface of what you will need to know to be a successful engineer.
I have found Sydney University engineering to surprise me time and time again as to what i can do, which has broadened my skills and opportunities and experience in being a successful leader, communicator, team player, project manager and engineer as a whole.
In the last 4 years, I have put on a $20 000 comedy stage show for engineering students (last year titled "tequila mockingbird") this included organising the performers, props, costumes, theatre, lighting, sound, money, tickets, advertising,sponsorship (very difficult), t-shirts, program, posters EVERYTHING!
I went to the Philippines to build houses and explore development issues with Engineers Without Borders, I hosted my own radio show for inner Sydney, I gathered successful female engineers together for a women's forum, i put on many many many engineering parties/cruises/balls with bar tabs of over $1000, i joined and ran engineering camps, mentoring programs, met CEOs and talked to international leaders in engineering research.
to name a few.
Last year I was invited to speak at the Warren Centre of Advanced Engineering 25 years anniverary celebrations with CEOs of major engo firms and members of parliament.
The year before that, I was invited to be part of the team that brings you "Australian Engineering Week" - a national festival to celebrate and highlight the role of engineers in society.
All of this i would NEVER have imagined when i was 18 years old and wondering where university life might take me.
2. Really Really incredibly FUN!!
If you don't know already, engineering is a tough degree. so you need LOTS AND LOTS of friends to "collaborate information" with!
The current Dean of Engineering Greg Hancock had such a good time so many years ago, that he made life long friends and still meets up with them for 50 year reunions or something old like that.
I have heard it as a passing comment by some random in a pub "man, there is nothing like the social life at sydney uni engineering"
Sydney Uni Engineering has 15 clubs+Socs alone! Each with a $5000 budget to do their own events!
In no particular order:
*SUEUA - Sydney Uni Engineering Undergraduates Association (celebrating 90 years soon)
*SUWIE -Sydney Uni women in Engineering
*Engo Revue - a live comedy stage production put on by engineering students. absolute hilarity!
*Engineers Without Borders - do development work in Sydney with refugees or go to one of many countries working on projects abroad
*SUCE - Sydney Uni Civil Engineers
*SUABE - Sydney Uni Association of Biomedical engineers
*SUCES - Sydney Uni chemical engineers
*MUGS - Mechanical Undergraduate students
*SUSPECTS - Sydney Uni power, electrical, communication, telecom...(forgot the exact)... engineers
*SUITS - Sydney Uni Info Tech students
*RocketSoc - Aerospace students society
*Windsoc - Aeromech students society
*Formula SAE team - a team of kids who built their own car and raced it with other unis from the asia pacific region
*VegeSoc - the president is an engineer and he does cheap all you can eat vego food every thursday in engo
*CubeSoc and BricSoc - the president is an engineer and a vast majority if it's events targets engineering students. they sell shirts and have tornaments with rubic cubes and lego
* Heaps more but i can't be bothered to name, as they start to leak into the 150 other clubs and soc avaliable at Sydney Uni.
No day is EVER boring.
There are free all-you-can-eat corporate sponsored BBQs EVERY WEEK, slip and slide, keg jumping, (the very famous) beer and bangers, eggs on kegs, women in engineering cakestalls, inerfaculty sport (where the boys win everything, and all the girls have to play EVERY sport as there are so few of us) ROBOT WARS in the playground, even a JUMPING CASTLE!!
you can check all this stuff out at S.U.E.U.A. - Sydney University Engineering Undergraduates Association - Home
we are still in the process of making it awesome. so stay tuned.
3. Good solid from-the-ground-up teaching
Sydney Uni is often criticised for being too much a "theoretical" university.
That the technology we use is "old".
Well, take a step back and think about why that is all that bad.
At university, you don't learn everything there is to know about everything.
so in law, you don't learn EVERY court case and learn to solve everything. in Engineering, you don't learn EVERY problem and solve it.
You learn METHODS.
HOW does it work? WHat are the barriers? How can i make it bigger/faster/stronger/higher/more energy efficient etc etc
Sydney Uni has had a long history of producing some of our nations finest innovative engineers - JJ bradfield + others. Why?
because Sydney uni believes firmly, "here we don't teach you to USE technology, we teach you to CHANGE technology"
So in relation to the original critics - why is it bad to know your theory? don't you need it all, if you want to make fundamental changes to better design?
Why is it so bad if the technology is a bit old? Would you rather use a less advanced system, and then be able to use your good theoretical base to quickly adapt to newer and newer systems (it happens!) or would you learn ONE program and have to do training courses everytime new stuff comes out?
Many employees look to sydney Uni engineers BECAUSE they have good theory.
They are trained to MAKE THINGS WORK FOR THEM, not the other way around.
4. State of the Art World renouned lecturers
It is true. Sydney Uni is a research heavy university.
Why is that so bad?
Some of the world's leading researching all head to Sydney uni, and they are the world experts in their field.
yes, they might not have incredible teaching skills. but why come to university to be entertained? you are there to learn!
and chances are 99% of the engineers you meet in real life aren't going to be most charismatic people on the planet.
but if they know their stuff, you won't mess around with them.
5. Famous uni = Opportunities left right and centre
Sydney Uni has an incredible reputation.
Use it your advantage.
Want to do overseas exchange? Sydney Uni is partnered with all the major universities of the world - Harvard, Boston, Cornell, Beijing, Tokyo.........
Want to specialise in a specific field? Sydney Uni is SO BIG. Chances of you working with a world expert is very high.
Want to do a double degree? What to study random other subjects?
Sydney Uni has options galore! You can even study yiddish!
6. it's so easily assessible.
Engineering precint is literally 5 minutes walk from redfern station.
it really doesn't get better than that.
7. last but not least - it's SO DAMN PRETTY!
My mother really rallied for me to come to Sydney, because I am the first person in my family to goto Uni and she really wanted really nice graduation photos in the quad!!!
I thought I'd also mention, in the last 3 years, the Institute of Engineers Australia "Student Engineer of the year" has been Sydney University students
Sydney Uni was the first to start the Flexible First year scheme AND the advanced engineering Program. All the other unis copied after.
However, as a final comment, I should say that the number of people studying engineering isn't particularly high. If you CHOOSE engineering and STAY engineering, you are already doing well for Mr Rudd.
Engineering Programs around Australia are all monitored by Engineers Australia if they want international accreditation.
So all the programs are pretty similar anyway.
infact ALL the engineering programs ALL OVER THE WORLD are fairly similar. at least for Civil and mechanical anyway.
So it doesn't really matter where you choose to study. because the result at the end of it is pretty the same. except the fun you have along the way
so I will put my 2 cents forward to anyone who was struggling with the decision as I did.
In no particular order,
1. Amazing out of the classroom opportunities
Any graduated engineer will tell you that your education at a university classroom is only a scratch on the surface of what you will need to know to be a successful engineer.
I have found Sydney University engineering to surprise me time and time again as to what i can do, which has broadened my skills and opportunities and experience in being a successful leader, communicator, team player, project manager and engineer as a whole.
In the last 4 years, I have put on a $20 000 comedy stage show for engineering students (last year titled "tequila mockingbird") this included organising the performers, props, costumes, theatre, lighting, sound, money, tickets, advertising,sponsorship (very difficult), t-shirts, program, posters EVERYTHING!
I went to the Philippines to build houses and explore development issues with Engineers Without Borders, I hosted my own radio show for inner Sydney, I gathered successful female engineers together for a women's forum, i put on many many many engineering parties/cruises/balls with bar tabs of over $1000, i joined and ran engineering camps, mentoring programs, met CEOs and talked to international leaders in engineering research.
to name a few.
Last year I was invited to speak at the Warren Centre of Advanced Engineering 25 years anniverary celebrations with CEOs of major engo firms and members of parliament.
The year before that, I was invited to be part of the team that brings you "Australian Engineering Week" - a national festival to celebrate and highlight the role of engineers in society.
All of this i would NEVER have imagined when i was 18 years old and wondering where university life might take me.
2. Really Really incredibly FUN!!
If you don't know already, engineering is a tough degree. so you need LOTS AND LOTS of friends to "collaborate information" with!
The current Dean of Engineering Greg Hancock had such a good time so many years ago, that he made life long friends and still meets up with them for 50 year reunions or something old like that.
I have heard it as a passing comment by some random in a pub "man, there is nothing like the social life at sydney uni engineering"
Sydney Uni Engineering has 15 clubs+Socs alone! Each with a $5000 budget to do their own events!
In no particular order:
*SUEUA - Sydney Uni Engineering Undergraduates Association (celebrating 90 years soon)
*SUWIE -Sydney Uni women in Engineering
*Engo Revue - a live comedy stage production put on by engineering students. absolute hilarity!
*Engineers Without Borders - do development work in Sydney with refugees or go to one of many countries working on projects abroad
*SUCE - Sydney Uni Civil Engineers
*SUABE - Sydney Uni Association of Biomedical engineers
*SUCES - Sydney Uni chemical engineers
*MUGS - Mechanical Undergraduate students
*SUSPECTS - Sydney Uni power, electrical, communication, telecom...(forgot the exact)... engineers
*SUITS - Sydney Uni Info Tech students
*RocketSoc - Aerospace students society
*Windsoc - Aeromech students society
*Formula SAE team - a team of kids who built their own car and raced it with other unis from the asia pacific region
*VegeSoc - the president is an engineer and he does cheap all you can eat vego food every thursday in engo
*CubeSoc and BricSoc - the president is an engineer and a vast majority if it's events targets engineering students. they sell shirts and have tornaments with rubic cubes and lego
* Heaps more but i can't be bothered to name, as they start to leak into the 150 other clubs and soc avaliable at Sydney Uni.
No day is EVER boring.
There are free all-you-can-eat corporate sponsored BBQs EVERY WEEK, slip and slide, keg jumping, (the very famous) beer and bangers, eggs on kegs, women in engineering cakestalls, inerfaculty sport (where the boys win everything, and all the girls have to play EVERY sport as there are so few of us) ROBOT WARS in the playground, even a JUMPING CASTLE!!
you can check all this stuff out at S.U.E.U.A. - Sydney University Engineering Undergraduates Association - Home
we are still in the process of making it awesome. so stay tuned.
3. Good solid from-the-ground-up teaching
Sydney Uni is often criticised for being too much a "theoretical" university.
That the technology we use is "old".
Well, take a step back and think about why that is all that bad.
At university, you don't learn everything there is to know about everything.
so in law, you don't learn EVERY court case and learn to solve everything. in Engineering, you don't learn EVERY problem and solve it.
You learn METHODS.
HOW does it work? WHat are the barriers? How can i make it bigger/faster/stronger/higher/more energy efficient etc etc
Sydney Uni has had a long history of producing some of our nations finest innovative engineers - JJ bradfield + others. Why?
because Sydney uni believes firmly, "here we don't teach you to USE technology, we teach you to CHANGE technology"
So in relation to the original critics - why is it bad to know your theory? don't you need it all, if you want to make fundamental changes to better design?
Why is it so bad if the technology is a bit old? Would you rather use a less advanced system, and then be able to use your good theoretical base to quickly adapt to newer and newer systems (it happens!) or would you learn ONE program and have to do training courses everytime new stuff comes out?
Many employees look to sydney Uni engineers BECAUSE they have good theory.
They are trained to MAKE THINGS WORK FOR THEM, not the other way around.
4. State of the Art World renouned lecturers
It is true. Sydney Uni is a research heavy university.
Why is that so bad?
Some of the world's leading researching all head to Sydney uni, and they are the world experts in their field.
yes, they might not have incredible teaching skills. but why come to university to be entertained? you are there to learn!
and chances are 99% of the engineers you meet in real life aren't going to be most charismatic people on the planet.
but if they know their stuff, you won't mess around with them.
5. Famous uni = Opportunities left right and centre
Sydney Uni has an incredible reputation.
Use it your advantage.
Want to do overseas exchange? Sydney Uni is partnered with all the major universities of the world - Harvard, Boston, Cornell, Beijing, Tokyo.........
Want to specialise in a specific field? Sydney Uni is SO BIG. Chances of you working with a world expert is very high.
Want to do a double degree? What to study random other subjects?
Sydney Uni has options galore! You can even study yiddish!
6. it's so easily assessible.
Engineering precint is literally 5 minutes walk from redfern station.
it really doesn't get better than that.
7. last but not least - it's SO DAMN PRETTY!
My mother really rallied for me to come to Sydney, because I am the first person in my family to goto Uni and she really wanted really nice graduation photos in the quad!!!
I thought I'd also mention, in the last 3 years, the Institute of Engineers Australia "Student Engineer of the year" has been Sydney University students
Sydney Uni was the first to start the Flexible First year scheme AND the advanced engineering Program. All the other unis copied after.
However, as a final comment, I should say that the number of people studying engineering isn't particularly high. If you CHOOSE engineering and STAY engineering, you are already doing well for Mr Rudd.
Engineering Programs around Australia are all monitored by Engineers Australia if they want international accreditation.
So all the programs are pretty similar anyway.
infact ALL the engineering programs ALL OVER THE WORLD are fairly similar. at least for Civil and mechanical anyway.
So it doesn't really matter where you choose to study. because the result at the end of it is pretty the same. except the fun you have along the way
