Sydney Life

Ok, as we roll our merry way towards the end of our holidays, you might ask – what exactly do uni students do during our long breaks? No doubt we fill our days with parties and social events, sleeping till noon and drinking till dawn. At this very moment, a great deal of my close friends are travelling to Thredbo for a week of snow-bound revelry. Of course, which brings me to reveal that (quite ironically) for some, the holidays bring no end to the actual work for uni. As a participant – and leader – of a first year Advanced Engineering group, my abilities are increasing greatly as I realise *smacks self repeatedly in the head* Don’t - leave - things - for- the - last - minute.

Despite my own considerable short comings in the time management department, advanced engineering is a very worthwhile experience. It actually counts as a 6 credit point subject, meaning you can put something else off temporarily, or take it on as an extra unit. Although the style of project changes depending on what year you belong to, the essence is always the same - centered around a student run group who seek to gain a better understanding of engineering than could be given in a regular theoretical course – seeing as we don’t do much interesting stuff in first year, it’s not such a bad idea.

In the first semester of first year, a practical project is the focus of the course. This could be anything that ‘benefits humanity’, although a list of useful ideas is distributed to the course members before the choices are made. This year, some of the ideas being toyed with are – an automatically deploying flood barrier, a wind turbine and generator, an earthquake proof house, and a water pump for countries without electricity.

Being a biomedical engineer, our group’s project is a little different. Right at the moment, we’re attempting to construct a prosthetic arm for a child in Nepal with a birth defect – giving him a chance to fit in with society. As such, we’re using a special silicone based polymer that imitates skin in order to make the outer covering. If it works. *rolls eyes*

So all in all, Advanced Engineering is a worthwhile experience for anyone who gets over 98 in their UAI and applies for Engineering (you’d get a letter in the mail). So all you smart kids who think they can breeze through the HSC because their Engo course only needs 91 or so, think again! Advanced Engineering is waiting. Alternatively, you can also get in if you really, really want to. Just ask nicely. And anyway, who wouldn't want to do a course without exams?