ELP - Engineering Link Project 

So, what is an ELP?

An ELP is an Engineering Link Project - linking engineers with students.

An ELP lasts for three days, with each day following a similar format. Students select a discipline they are interested in and they spend the day working in that area.

• A guest engineer from the local community (industry or university) talks briefly about their career, about why they becom an engineer, what their life as an engineer is like and what problems and situations they face in their work.
• Students receive a model problem and in groups consider the problem, test materials, design a solution and produce a proposal.
• The proposal is assessed by the engineer and then the solution is built.
• These solutions are then tested (usually to destruction).
• The engineer and students debrief and discuss the day's outcomes.

At the end of each day, the students tour the university, inspecting facilities and observing current research projects and highlights of each faculty.

Engineer  giving initial talk	Groups begin discussion	"Options?"
Working in groups	towards a solution	Getting our hands dirty
Working together	Preparing for testing	Epic Fail.

Some examples of the types of activities (*) you may be participating in include:

• Civil Engineering - creating a model retaining wall
• Environmental Engineering - recycling and purifying dirty water.
• Mechatronic Engineering - building a vehicle to carry a load a given distance in a given time.
• Mechanical Engineering - building a crane that is capable of holding a load on an unstable surface.
• Computer Engineering - programming a robot to follow a complex path.
• Mining Engineering - building a remote vehicle to operate underground.
• Military Engineering - building a bridge from basic materials to carry a specified load.
• Geomatic Engineering - using maps to plot an invasion.
• ... the list goes on.

* the actual projects students will investigate vary with the experience and expertise of the engineers and the available resources.

Some comments from students who have previously attended an ELP (these are actual quotes, so please excuse the poor grammar and spelling):

• "I enjoyed the camp a huge amount.  Real fun."
• "It was really fun to meet all these like-minded people from all over Queensland."
• "It makes me feel less of a freak."
• "Good accommodation and the experience is priceless."
• "I had so much fun at ELP last year so my expectations were high and it was even better than before."
• "Previously I was unsure how Maths and Science applied to the real world, but this has enlightened me and I'm sure I will give my studies more focus."
• "I understood the physics better and realised the point of it."
• "I learned what an engineer really does, make new friends and had fun with the activities."
• "Last year was good, but this year I mingled with people from other schools which made it awesome."
• "I believe the project was a valuable learning experience to me and am hoping to come back next year."
• "Thank you for giving Year 11 and 12's the chance to experience the different sorts of engineering first hand.  The engineers and staff were great."

These are just a tiny sample.  We average 99% of students who find the project interesting, worthwhile and fun.

For details of the current courses, please click here.