Australia's First Port Engineering Course
In response to industry demand, Swinburne University of Technology has introduced Australia's first formal qualification in Port and Harbour Engineering. Developed in conjunction with Ports Australia, the Graduate Certificate in Engineering (Ports and Harbour) is designed for engineers who work, or aspire to work, in the steadily growing maritime industry.
During the four-unit programme engineers will gain expertise in a variety of port and harbour engineering applications, including dredging, port access and navigation and port structural design, enabling them to lead and apply their advanced technical skills to maritime and port environments. Specialists from more than ten Australian companies lecture into the program, with the dredging engineering subject taught and sponsored by Boskalis and students will also have access to industry software and case studies.
According to course convenor Professor Alex Babanin, port engineering applications are very different to mainstream civil, coastal and mechanical engineering disciplines.
There are 68 commercial ports in Australia that employ an estimated 2700 staff and move over 940 million tonnes of cargo each year. However up until now there has been no specialised qualification available for engineers who specialise in this field.
