2007 COMPLETED PROJECTS

University of Canterbury - Dr. Max Kennedy, BioLighthouse Ltd.

Graduates of the University of Canterbury’s Chemical and Process Engineering programme will be better prepared for the workforce, thanks to the professional input of Dr. Max Kennedy, CEO of BioLighthouse Ltd.

Head of Department Peter Gostomski approached Dr. Kennedy because of his valuable experience and insight as an industry leader. “He managed one of the only major industrial fermentation operations in New Zealand prior to IRL’s decision to close down the division,” says Mr. Gostomski. “He has extensive experience in scaling up and troubleshooting fermentation processes.”

Dr. Kennedy provided two services to the department. First, he spent a day working with staff to review the course structure of the Bioprocessing stream, modifying the content to better prepare students for employment in the industry. These course changes were implemented in 2008.

Next, he provided a series of lectures using a real life case study of a fermentation process failure. He directed the students through the problem solving process and then revealed how the company handled the problem in real life. By doing this exercise, including a scenario where Dr. Kennedy assumed the role of a plant worker and the students questioned him about the failure, they covered issues such as how to inform clients of bad news, how to interview process workers, and how to work as a team.

In addition to the lectures on campus, students used conference calls to interact with Dr. Kennedy at his Wellington office. Mr. Gostomski found this to be a useful alternative for the project. “It’s important for the students to meet the lecturer initially, but telecommuting tools become a viable option after that and provide flexibility for the VIP’s involvement.”

Dr. Kennedy was pleased with the results of the project, and the students were equally enthusiastic, giving him high marks in a formal survey of the redeveloped courses. Overall, the department benefitted from a fresh perspective and links to New Zealand industry.

“I hope the problem solving tools and techniques will stay with the students throughout their lives and be applied to many personal and professional areas,” Dr. Kennedy says. “It gave the students a glimpse of the real world and hopefully motivated them and showed them the relevance of their studies.”

 

University of Canterbury - Peter Callander and Fiona Cox, Pattle Delamore and Partners

The University of Canterbury provided a real-world perspective for their Natural Resource Engineering students by bringing in two water resource professionals from Pattle Delamore and Partners (PDP).

Director Peter Callander and Senior Engineer Fiona Cox assisted in teaching a one-semester course in ecological engineering and applied stormwater design. Through ten lectures and a series of tutorials and assignments, students applied their theoretical knowledge to case studies of PDP projects. It gave them insight into the real-world aspects of the field, such as client consultation, legislation, and learning from experience.

Head of Department Professor Alan Nicholson and Course Coordinator Dr. Aisling O’Sullivan were enthusiastic about Mr. Callander and Ms. Cox’s qualifications in stormwater treatment, groundwater modeling, and contamination. “We believed this team would enable students to gain greater exposure to a wide range of expertise related to stormwater management and treatment, as well as groundwater contamination and contaminated site works,” says Nicholson. “These discussions of practical applications and contextual issues help greatly in preparing students for the workplace.”

The students responded very well to the lectures, as Mr. Callander and Ms. Cox both proved to be practical and engaging. They included many recent working examples from PDP to illustrate important ideas.

“It went well,” says Mr. Callander. “The students asked questions on experiences and how these related to the theory we were teaching. They enjoyed having some contact with practicing professionals, and we enjoyed getting their feedback.”

Dr O’Sullivan enjoyed the experience as well. “Having case studies and discussion of practical field analysis was very beneficial,” she says. “It’s generally agreed that it’s important to teach an integrated design course, covering both conceptual design and practical application. This can be difficult to achieve without the assistance of practitioners, if academic staff lack professional experience.”

Professor Nicholson noted that “academic staff also benefit from the interaction with practitioners, gaining insight into the practical application of the theoretical and conceptual design material.”

Massey University (Institute of Technology and Engineering) - Keith Colson, NextWindow Ltd.

Lecturing on robotics came naturally to Software Manager Keith Colson from NextWindow Ltd.

“Being a robot hobbyist makes this easy for me,” he says. “I have a lot of useful information and techniques that I’ve gathered over my career. This is one way to pass this information on.”

Keith is a key senior engineer responsible for high-tech “touch screen” innovation. As a Visiting Industry Professional at Massey University, he gave three lectures on robotics, mechatronics and software engineering.

Collaborating with Professor Peter Xu, Keith provided students with his insight on product innovation as they worked on their own robotics projects.

“The main role for me was to get the students in touch with real world practice,” he says. “By presenting lectures about practical completed projects, I could offer solutions to typical problems that arise.”

In his presentations, Keith went over prototyping methods that allow quicker, more reliable project construction. He had some of the students attend his local robotics club, RoboNz, where they could put these techniques into practice.

Peter found Keith’s approach to be quite helpful in terms of providing a real-world context. “He has a very hands-on, practical expertise that is very relevant to students in mechatronics,” he says. “It gives them exposure to real-life high-tech products that are local innovation.

“It went very satisfactorily,” he says. “I’d like to have more industrial lectures like this.”

Keith also enjoyed the experience, and considers it a valuable way to pass on the lessons he’s learned in the field.

“I wish this scheme had been running when I was at ATI,” he says. “The more variety and quality input you get to your education, the more likely you will succeed in the real world. One thing that ruins a candidate for hiring is being smart on paper but being unable to use a screwdriver, so to speak.”

Lincoln University (Applied Computing Group) - Dr Paul Ashton, Tourplan Pacific Ltd.

When the Applied Computing Group at Lincoln University wanted to establish a new course on web application development, they felt an industry outlook would be of benefit. Dr Paul Ashton, iCom Project Leader at Tourplan Pacific Ltd, was identified as an appropriate person to provide that point of view.

His assistance included setting assignments for internal assessment, recommending lab topics and materials, taking part in discussions on the overall planning of the new course and delivering two lectures.

“Dr Ashton has experience of both academia and industry and uses techniques, concepts and technology that the course also uses,” says Dr Stuart Charters.

“Having him working with us took some of the course development pressure away, allowing us to focus our efforts on other parts of the course. The external perspective is really useful when planning the course content and structure.”

The ‘real world’ industrial involvement which Dr Ashton was able to provide was particularly helpful in demonstrating to students how the technology and concepts they had studied can be used in the workplace.

From Dr Ashton’s point of view the opportunity to work with the academic staff presented him with a chance to learn some new things himself.

“I think my involvement did make a difference to the Applied Computing Group. It is a small group, with six academic staff. In 2007 the Group established two new 300 level courses, which is a significant undertaking for a small group. I think my involvement assisted in that process, both in terms of doing some of the work and bringing an industry perspective.”

 

University of Waikato (School of Engineering) - Paul Bosauder, Matrix Applied Computing Ltd.

Paul Bosauder, a senior analyst at Matrix, was approached by the University of Waikato to assist in the development of a ten week workshop on Finite Element based engineering simulation. Matrix supplies the software used in teaching the course, so a connection already existed and the academic staff were aware of Mr Bosauder’s expertise.

In each workshop case studies of genuine problems solved by Matrix were discussed, and the students were given practical problems to solve themselves using the technology.

“I think the students really enjoyed seeing what the applications of the technology could be,” said Mr Bosauder. “There was a broad range of levels within the class the faster students actually quite impressed me with how fast they picked up the ideas and were able to apply them. It really provides the students with exposure to industrial problems and a slightly more practical approach to what can be quite a theoretical field.”

Sinniah Ilanko, Associate Professor in the School of Engineering, describes the brevity of the exercise as its only weakness.

“With more funding from the department we will arrange more sessions to be covered by the guest lecturer. The practical examples used by the guest lecturer have clearly been a highly motivating factor for the students. Mr Bosauder also knew everything about the software and the background theory. Improved student performance in this paper also affected their performance in their design and projects in which the Finite Element Package was used.”

University of Waikato (Electronic Engineering) - Tony Carnovale, Technical Services Manager, Schneider Australia

When Jonathan Scott, Foundation Professor of Electronic Engineering at Waikato University, wanted to attract an Australian expert in Industrial Automation to give a lecture series and discuss a proposed new programme, he knew precisely how to pitch his request.

“I sold Mr Carnovale on the idea that visiting the university would provide HIM with useful information, a look at the quality of students, etc., and I promised him introductions to industry contacts here. I also offered to show him around the Waikato and let him stay at my house, so that we did not need to find accommodation costs. He had such a productive time, he has offered to come and do it again, with better industry involvement next time!”

Tony Carnovale, Technical Services Manager at Schneider Australia, gave a series of talks on the applied and commercial aspects of today’s industrial automation industry, including its history, current state and key players.

Feedback from students, staff, technical support and industry was extremely positive, with all parties declaring they had learned a lot. Professor Scott highlighted the importance for students of encountering a speaker from the ‘real world’, who was intimately familiar with Industrial Automation in action.

Mr Carnovale found exposure to the lecture skills of full-time academics forced him to sharpen his own talks at the last minute, but says, “Luckily I had time between scheduled talks to do that for all but the first one!”

A highlight for him was riding Professor Scott’s electric bike around the campus, as well as seeing the practical work done by undergraduates in the lab, which he describes as “pretty impressive!”

“I found a real curiosity and interest with university staff to catch up on my material, so it wouldn't hurt to have a periodic update for them. It was definitely an asset for the students, if their work is in or peripheral to this field.”