Flinders University is set to make a major contribution to the skills required by South Australia’s burgeoning defence and shipbuilding with the introduction of the State’s first undergraduate naval architecture degree.
The engineering course, which covers all design and construction aspects of large ships, submarines and yachts, will be offered from the start of 2011 by Flinders in conjunction with the Australian Maritime College, Launceston (AMC).
The new course joins a new degree in maritime electronics, aimed at enhancing the State’s specialist engineering capacity.
Dean of Flinders School of Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics, Professor John Roddick said the courses have been designed to match SA’s workforce needs and targeted long-term career opportunities for graduates.
“With the release of the Defence White Paper outlining substantial increases to Australia’s defence capabilities, including a substantial naval capability, we expect a surge in demand for professional engineers involved in the design, construction and maintenance of warships to 2050 and beyond,” Professor Roddick said.
“The assembly of twelve new Future Submarines in SA represents the single largest ever defence project in Australia and is expected to span three decades,” he said.
“Together with the Air Warfare Destroyers and the expanding commercial vessel industry, there will be excellent and exciting career prospects for graduates of these programs which enjoy strong industry support.”
Students in the four-year naval architecture degree program will develop a solid grounding in mechanical and electrical engineering before undertaking specialist topics in large ships, submarines or yachts.
They will divide their time between Flinders Bedford Park campus and at the Launceston campus of the AMC, a specialist institute within the University of Tasmania and widely regarded as the nation’s premier maritime engineering institution.
Professor Neil Bose, Director of the AMC’s National Centre for Maritime Engineering and Hydrodynamics welcomed the collaboration with Flinders.
“I expect the collaboration between Flinders and the University of Tasmania will continue to grow strongly,” Professor Bose said.
“We already have common research interests in underwater vehicles and these degrees cement the links between the two institutions.”
Photo: Department of Defence