THE DEVELOPMENT OF CLEANER PRODUCTION COURSES AT SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

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1 THE DEVELOPMENT OF CLEANER PRODUCTION COURSES AT SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY Julia Lamborn Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria, Australia Summary Swinburne University of Technology commenced postgraduate courses in (CP) in 1995 with a graduate certificate, in response to demand and with support from industry. The certificate was followed by a graduate diploma and masters degree in CP that commenced at the start of Swinburne has always been a university with very strong links with industry. This is shown particularly by the year of Industry Based Learning that has been a mandatory part of all undergraduate engineering courses at this university. These industrial liaison links showed that employers were more interested in CP principles being taught as a part of a normal undergraduate engineering courses than as a undergraduate course in its own right. Employers maintain that they firstly needed graduates with a base engineering discipline, who also had environmental training. In depth, CP skills could then be developed at postgraduate level by people with appropriate industry experience. Industry was consulted as to what environmental skills they would like in graduates. This information was used as the basis for the development of these courses. skills are now taught as a major stream within the civil engineering course, the inclusion of environmental focused subjects within the mechanical and chemical engineering courses; and at postgraduate level with a suite of three CP courses. Key Words Cleaner production, education, training, environmental skills, courses INTRODUCTION In late 1994, Swinburne University of Technology through its schools of Engineering and Industrial Science (TAFE) and School of Civil Engineering and Building (Higher Education) commenced the development of a Graduate Certificate in CP. Swinburne University has strong links with industry both through its TAFE and Higher Education sectors. Within the engineering and science areas of Higher Education, students undertake 12 months of work experience as a part of their undergraduate degrees. Employers of undergraduate students in industry and other industry partners connected with the 181

2 university had indicated the need for a course that covered the philosophies, principles and practices of CP. DEVELOPMENT OF GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN CLEANER PRODUCTION Given the apparent interest of industry in a Graduate Certificate in CP, Swinburne convened a steering committee comprising of senior industry representatives and academics to assess the feasibility of formal courses. The steering committee confirmed the need for and the benefits of a formally recognised training and skills in the area of CP for industry personnel who were involved in decision-making processes. The committee stated that CP skills should be developed in all engineering and science graduates but at present, the best place to target the course was at the post graduate level. At the time, RMIT University offered a Master of Engineering by coursework in CP and there was a Graduate Diploma in at Victoria University of Technology. Consequently, it was decided to offer a Graduate Certificate course. The course was aimed at students who had completed a first degree or diploma in Engineering or Applied Science, or who had appropriate industrial experience. The steering committee then assisted with the course development. The course development process also involved the Australia Centre for, whose role was to assist industry both public and private undertake CP strategies. The industry representatives, Authority representatives (such as Melbourne Water) and representatives of other tertiary institutions on the steering committee stressed the need for flexible and integrated training for personnel currently involved in a range of industrial responsibilities. The aim was to ensure that the units of study and modules provided a comprehensive training program in the principles and practices of CP. The course aimed to provide participants with the knowledge and skills to identify, advise on and monitor the industrial strategies for CP. The course is intended as a broadening course to ensure that students from a variety of backgrounds all reach a common level of knowledge in the field of CP. The course objectives include: To develop an understanding of the philosophy and principles of sustainable development and CP To shift the engineer s and scientist s approach to the design and operation of engineering and production systems to encompass these principles To develop the ability to audit and redesign engineering systems to minimise waste The first students commenced this course in July Course Structure The course allows flexibility by partial separation into two phases. The first section consisted of four core units and the second section calls for choice from among five elective units. To gain the Graduate Certificate, four core units and any two of the elective units were required to be satisfactorily completed. The structure of the course is shown in Table

3 Subject Code Subject Name Credit Points Core Units CP001 Principles of CP Global & Local Perspectives CP & Industry CP002 Resource Technology Resource Technology Resource CP003 Regulation Introduction to Regulation Legislation Requirements CP004 Policy Development Practices Elective units two to be selected CPE01 Biological Waste Microbial Systems in Remediation Processes Food & Organic Waste Processing for CP Strategies for the Minimisation of Industrial & Toxic Wastes CPE02 Introduction to Practices in CPE03 Design & Manufacture for Functional Analysis in Design & Manufacture Innovation in Design Manufacture Properties of Materials CPE04 Minor Research Project Monitoring Sampling and Data Collection Instrumentation & On Site Monitoring Table 1: Graduate Certificate Course Structure 183

4 DEVELOPMENT OF THE GRADUATE DIPLOMA AND MASTERS DEGREES IN CLEANER PRODUCTION The steering committee for the Graduate Certificate course was then expanded to become a course advisory committee to provide ongoing monitoring and advice for the course. In mid 1996, the advisory committee concluded that as undergraduate engineering programs were becoming more general, there was now evidence from industry of a demand for more specialist qualifications including: Requests for masters programs to continue to first degree programs General inquiries for CP training / courses from recent graduates of other universities. The 1996 review of Engineering Education by the Australian Council of Engineering Deans strongly recommended that a change in focus in engineering undergraduate programs to encompass the principles of sustainable development. Sustainability was considered by the Deans to be an important future emphasis in engineering. The changed emphasis required: The development of education programs that recognised and were connected to community needs and issues Inclusion of the concepts of sustainability, life cycle analysis and general system theory as key elements in engineering education For engineers currently in the work force, postgraduate programs in CP could offer training to prepare them for the future shift in engineering practice. The Institution of Engineers, Australia set up a National Professional Engineers Register for practising engineers who maintain a high level of competence through continuing professional development. To remain in the Register, engineers must achieve at least 150 hours of continuing education over any three-year period. It was anticipated that these requirements would increase the future demand for specialist higher degrees and postgraduate qualifications in engineering. Other evidence of local demand was shown by: The need for an alternative path for students who initially enrolled in and proved to be unsuitable for higher degrees through research Enquiries by recent immigrants seeking to obtain advanced Australian qualifications to enable them to obtain employment There was also evidence of strong demand from international students for specialist masters degrees in engineering. This was evident from: Enquiries made to Swinburne at international educational exhibitions in Asia Enquiries made by students from overseas institutions with which Swinburne University already had specific undergraduate recruitment pathways already in place Direct applications from overseas students for coursework masters degree programs 184

5 On the basis of evident demand the Graduate Diploma and Master of Engineering were developed to offer more advanced training in the field of CP. The Master of Engineering also provided the opportunity to undertake a research project in CP and thus apply the principles of CP to actual industrial situations. The aim of these courses is to produce graduates equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to enable them to audit, operate and design industrial systems according to the principles of CP. This is achieved by providing a course that covers the technical foundations in a general introduction (i.e. the current Graduate Certificate Course) followed by more detailed subjects in environmental systems, environmental economics and eco-design and auditing. These three subject areas form the basis for the graduate diploma and masters degree. The knowledge gained is then applied in three applied subjects in CP covering manufacturing, chemical processes and primary industries. For the candidates in the masters degree, the synthesis of all these subject areas occurred through the completion of a research project. The project is required to be industry based and focused on audit and redesign of a particular activity for the industry to bring about a cleaner method of production. The courses aim to develop: An understanding of the philosophy and principles of sustainable development and CP A shift in the engineer s approach and philosophy to the design and operation of engineering systems to encompass these principles The ability to audit and redesign engineering systems to minimise waste. To provide a research focus in an industrial setting in order to develop the skills required to undertake applied and basic research The first students commenced in the Graduate Diploma in 1998 and will graduate later this year. The first student commenced the Masters program in

6 Course Structure The course structure of the three courses is shown in Table 2. Graduate Certificate (50 credit points) Core Subjects Graduate Diploma (0 credit points) credit points per subject Masters (150 credit points) CP001 Principles of CP001 Principles of CP001 Principles of CP002 Resource Technology CP002 Resource Technology CP002 Resource Technology CP003 Regulation CP003 Regulation CP003 Regulation CP004 CP004 CP004 Elective Subjects ( 2 required) credit points per subject CPE01 Biological Waste CPE01 Biological Waste CPE01 Biological Waste CPE02 CPE02 CPE02 CPE03 Design & Manufacture for Manufacturing CPE03 Design & Manufacture for Manufacturing CPE03 Design & Manufacture for Manufacturing CPE04 Minor Research Project CPE04 Minor Research Project CPE04 Minor Research Project Monitoring Monitoring Monitoring 186

7 Core Subjects 12.5 credit points per subject CP700 Systems CP700 Systems CP701 Economics CP701 Economics CP702 Eco-Design & CP702 Eco-Design & CP703 in Industry part 1 CP703 in Industry part 1 Elective Subjects ( 1 required) 12.5 credit points per subject 50 credit points per subject CP704 CP705 CP800 in Industry part 2 in Industry part 3 Research Project CONCLUSIONS Table 2: Course Structure for three Courses These courses were developed following a demonstrated industry need and with industry support. Swinburne University s approach has always been to provide courses that have a strong applied focus and a demonstrated industry need. The advisory committee system within Swinburne University is used as a method of quality control and to ensure that the courses offered remain current and relevant.. Courses in CP are required to have the course material updated (at least) annually to remain current. This is particularly apparent when looking at environmental legislation. The advisory committee stressed the need for the courses to be flexible, both in the way the material was presented and in the choice of subjects available. As these courses were designed for students from both engineering and science backgrounds and across a range of industries; it was important to be able to cater for individual students needs in subject content. Many industries also found it difficult to allow students to leave work during the day to attend classes. Consequently, the classes are run in the evening and some of the elective subjects are presented in a flexible learning mode that does not require the attendance of the student on campus every week for a semester. With the future emphasis in engineering on sustainability, these courses provide a valuable way for existing engineers and scientists to develop an understanding of the philosophy and principles of sustainable development and CP. 187