Congratulations to Dr Nariman Saeed, Assoc Professor Peter Thew, Shara Cameron and Amita Krautloher, Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences’ recipients of the Executive Dean’s Teaching Award for their outstanding innovation in engineering education.
Their award-winning initiative has transformed workplace learning within the Civil Engineering program, creating a clear and engaging pathway for students to develop, track, and demonstrate professional capability throughout their degree. Recognising that students and industry supervisors often found it difficult to interpret and apply Engineers Australia competencies, the team developed an innovative framework that translates accreditation requirements into more than 130 practical, industry-aligned skills and behaviours.
At the heart of the initiative is a student-centred approach that shifts workplace learning from simply completing industry placements to actively building professional capability. Through a structured progression across workplace learning subjects, students identify skill gaps, seek opportunities for growth, and gather evidence of their development as emerging engineers.
The introduction of a Digital Skills Tracker further empowers students to take ownership of their learning, while strengthening conversations between students, academics, and workplace supervisors about professional growth and readiness for practice. The framework also supports assessment integrity by requiring authentic workplace evidence, reflection, and supervisor verification, ensuring students can confidently demonstrate their capabilities.
Praised by the Engineers Australia Accreditation Board as an “impressive and innovative” approach to competency development, the framework provides students with a stronger connection between university learning and professional practice. It not only enhances graduate employability and workplace readiness but also establishes a model that could be adapted across disciplines with work-integrated learning components.
This achievement reflects the team’s commitment to innovation, industry engagement, and student success. By reimagining how professional competence is developed and assessed, Nariman, Peter, Shara and Amita have created a lasting impact on the student experience and strengthened the pathway from education to engineering practice.
Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition and for your outstanding contribution to teaching and learning at Charles Sturt University.