About the Professional Practice Program

UniSA’s Engineering Programs are accredited by Engineers Australia  and recognised globally under the Washington Accord .

It is an accreditation requirement that you must complete a minimum of 450 hours (60 days/12 weeks FTE) of engagement with professional practice during your studies to enable you to graduate as a qualified engineer.

The STEM Professional Practice Program (Professional Practice Program or PPP) has been designed to help you to meet this requirement in a structured way that allows you to start counting your hours once you commence your studies

The main aim of Industry Experience is still for students to obtain the full 450 hours In-Industry.

If you are unable to complete the full 450 hours through a face-to-face, in-industry experience, you have the option to accumulate your professional practice hours through a combination of the following three methods:

• In-Curriculum - hours have been mapped in core courses
• By attending Extra-Curricular activities – choose from a list of pre-determined activities that help build skills and knowledge and allows students to count the hours
• By completing In-Industry experience – participate in  pre-approved, real-world internships and/or industry placements.
  
  

The PPP gives you choice and flexibility to design your professional practice and reach your career goals.



Upon successful completion of 450 hours of professional practice, you will be invited to enrol in the relevant zero-unit course, Industrial Experience (ENGG 4017).  You will complete a reflective report detailing how your experiences enabled you to develop and embed the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies. 

Students will be eligible to graduate once all program requirements, including the STEM Professional Practice Program and the relevant Industrial Experience course (ENGG 4017), have been met.

The following courses were remodelled to meet Engineers Australia core competencies from 2019 and have had Professional Practice hours mapped

Students who complete these courses from SP2-2019 onwards will have the corresponding hours automatically added to your accumulated PPP hours balance when you have successfully completed them.  

Extra-Curricular activities have been pre-determined to ensure that you have a variety of approved professional skill development opportunities each year.  The catalogue of activities relevant to your discipline can be accessed here. 

You will receive regular communication regarding upcoming activities, how to register, and the number of PPP hours you will accrue once completed.

In-Industry Experience can also be referred to as an internship, placement, or an industrial experience opportunity. It is an essential part of the Professional Practice Program and you must complete a minimum of 50% of your required 450 PPP hours in-industry. (this is not to be used to claim hours for a placement you did not obtain approval for)

You can do one, or more, industry experience placements in a relevant engineering industry environment to meet this requirement.

You can do this by completing one or more placements in your discipline area.

When you are seeking an opportunity ensure that you look for a role that is a ‘junior’/’cadet’ or internships shadowing Qualified Engineers in the below or similar positions.

NOTE: you must be supervised consistently by a Qualified Engineer or an experienced person with a strong technical background in your field of study on a daily basis.

Virtual Placements are no longer accepted

What Types of Roles to Look For

Approved placements do not include positions such as carpenter, labourer, installer, service technician or motor mechanic (for example).

*Some organisations may use different role titles to the ones below

Generic titled positions

• Project Engineer/Manager
• Sales Engineer/Manager
• Field Automation/Application/Service Engineer
• Test Engineer
• Quality Assurance Engineer

Sourcing In-Industry Experience Placements

You are required to source and negotiate your own industrial experience placement(s) in an industry/industries that you are interested in. 

This might be in one block of 450 hours during the summer teaching break, or undertaken as smaller opportunities to explore different career options throughout your program.

In-industry experience may be relevant paid work, unpaid industrial experience or an internship with a scholarship.

PLEASE NOTE:  You may only commence an in-industry experience placement once you have:

• successfully completed 63 units of your program;
• completed your WHS Online Module;
• sourced your placement and completed all relevant documentation and pre-requisites; and
• all documentation has been submitted via InPlace and approval has been granted 

The video below provides valuable information about sourcing your own in-industry placement or internship and is a useful resource for you to refer to. 

Video time: 45 minutes

Exemption

You may be eligible for an exemption from participating in the practical component of the Professional Practice Program if you have undertaken over 6 months of relevant employment in a professional engineering environment relating to your current program of study within the last five (5) years, ie: working in an Engineering capacity but without formal qualifications. 

Examples of positions can be seen here: What types of roles to look for

To apply for an exemption of some, or all, of the Professional Practice Program practical hours please:

1. Complete the Request for Exemption form.
• Prepare a statement of approximately 300 words outlining your professional experience, addressing how you have obtained the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies. This statement must advise how your experience is related to your current Degree and must follow the instructions at the top of the page. Trade positions are not acceptable unless you have been working at a management level. For more information see here: Types of roles to look for 
• Provide evidence of your claim such as Curriculum Vitae, work reference letter*, etc.
2. Email the exemption form and supporting documentation to the STEM Industry Experience team.

You will be notified of the outcome of your application and next steps, via your UniSA student email.

For all queries regarding exemptions from the Professional Practice Program, please email the STEM Industry Experience team.

*reference letters should include detail such as:

• Length of employment
• Roles and responsibilities
• Strengths and achievements
• Professional conduct
• Examples of good performance