Alternative Assessments in Response to COVID-19

Students will reflect on their experiences and duties undertaken as part of a traditional face-to-face or virtual internship (or combination of both). The report will detail how the internship assisted in the development of the EA Stage 1 Competencies. All 3 experiences will require appropriate supervision by a qualified Engineer if engineering credit is being sought, and the assessment is the same regardless of whether the experience is virtual or face-to-face.

Available for General or Engineering credit.

Students can submit now using the Practical Experience Approval form as usual.

Practice Experience Approval form

Students will reflect on experiences during study against the list of Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies. They will rate their employability skills and map out their development by summarising; lessons learnt, skills gained, and consideration of how future experiences will align with career goals. Students submitting the Practical Experience Approval form for assessment are not required to complete the survey. For all other submissions, it forms part of the assessment.

Students who require only 1 week of Engineering or General credit will complete and submit the survey only.

Self-Assessment Survey Template  Self-assessment survey guidelines

Students will choose a topic from the list of Honours projects available in their School (must be different to the Honours project they are assigned to) and complete a full literature review with word count and references adjusted according to how many weeks credit is required. A minimum level of supervision of 1-hour per week for engineering work experience is required.

Available for Engineering PE credit only.

To access this option – students should complete the PE Alternative Assessment EOI form.

Literature Review template  Literature Review Guidelines

Students are required to research a company of their choice that they would like to consider as a potential future employer and write a report focusing on the company’s culture, mission, projects, values, achievements and competitors. In summary, they will reflect on their personal career readiness based on how their skills and abilities align with the company and individual career direction.

Available for General PE credit only.

Career Readiness reflective report template  Career Readiness reflective report guidelines

For students in these special circumstances, work experience requirements can be satisfied by a reflective report (2000 – 3000 words) providing overarching responses to how their prospective job offer will address the EA Stage 1 competencies. The arrangement will only apply for the term the alternative experiences are being offered and a legal, signed contract of employment must verify employment for a continuing or extended fixed-term contract in an Engineering role.

Available for Engineering and General credit.

Employment Contract Report Template  Employment Contract Report Guidelines

The current environment provides opportunities for students to help create teaching resources for the Faculty. Appropriate possibilities could include course content delivery activities, simulations, software development or teaching resource development, supervised remotely by academics for a minimum of 1 hour per week. Students would select a project to undertake and would also document their findings and outcomes in an academic report. The required word count of this report would be adjusted according to how many weeks of experience are required.

Available for Engineering PE credit depending on the project.

To access this option – students should complete the PE Alternative Assessment EOI form.

Practice Experience Alternative Assessment Expressions of Interest

Similar to the Adelaide Summer Research Scholarship projects, Engineering Schools provide project ideas that are appropriate for remote supervision and for students who are working from home. Academics will be permitted to specify a period of availability (e.g. over mid-year break only) with a commitment of a minimum of 1 hour per week of remote supervision provided. Students would select a project to undertake and would also document their findings and outcomes in an academic report. The required word count of this report would be adjusted according to how many weeks of experience are required.

Available for Engineering PE credit only.

To access this option – students should complete the PE Alternative Assessment EOI form.

Practice Experience Alternative Assessment Expressions of Interest

The PE Alternative Assessment Table above outlines the options available and the process required to access and complete that assessment.

Please note:

• Some are available immediately (including submission templates)
• Some are available – but you need to contact us so we can make arrangements with the relevant school / academic. Do so via the PE Alternative Assessment EOI form
• Some will not be available until Semester 2 – more detail will follow

The type and scale of assessment required will depend on your individual circumstances, including consideration of:

• Personal preference
• Urgency of completion (not all options are currently available)
• Type of Practical Experience required (general or engineering)
• Amount of outstanding weeks / hours.

The alternative assessment options are only for students who have been unable to obtain a Practical Experience with a host organisation, or have not completed all 12 weeks. If you have completed:

• All 12 weeks – submit the Practical Experience Approval form as usual.
• Some weeks – submit the Practical Experience Approval form for all the weeks completed, and select an alternative assessment to meet the additional weeks required.

More information regarding submission is on the Practical Experience website under After Your Experience.

We are able to recognise Practical Experiences that have included a remote component. You should submit the Practical Experience Approval form as usual. You will still need to demonstrate experiences that address the EA Stage 1 Competencies and have been supervised by an accredited engineer.

More information regarding submission is on the Practical Experience website under After Your Experience.

No – the current arrangements with Engineers Australia only apply to our 2020 graduating cohort.

This means you must have already, or expect to complete all course requirements in 2020. Therefore, only students processed during the 2020 graduations rounds will be eligible to submit these alternative assessments.

Note: for students completing double degrees you must complete all courses from both engineering and the other degree before you can graduate. 

All completed assessments are submitted to Ask ECMS via askecms@adelaide.edu.au and they will be assessed by the Practical Experience Coordinator for your school. You will be notified of the outcome via email.

Practical experience is not graded – it is either completed or not.

Once your practical experience is assessed as complete by your Practical Experience Coordinator – you will be notified via email and your transcript will be updated noting the successful completion. This process is the same for standard and alternative assessment submissions for Practical Experience.

For Semester 1 conferral you must submit your Alternative Assessment Practical Experience submission by 30 June 2020. 

For Semester 2 conferral must submit by 30 October 2020.

Our academics have worked closely with Engineers Australia to ensure all options meet their professional competency requirements and to ensure graduating students remain recognised and accredited. 

We will continue to monitor the situation, engage with students, and work with Engineers Australia to ensure any ongoing impact is considered and if needed some/all of these options extended beyond 2020.

For now, the alternative assessment options are only available to students completing (or already completed) coursework requirements in 2020. For those who will be studying in 2021 and beyond, our recommendation is to seek and complete the typical Practical Experience with a host organisation following the requirements outlined on the Practical Experience webpage. We continue to be approached by organisations interested in offering internships – these will continue to be promoted via CareerHub and this remains the best place to look for advertised positions.