- Author
- Editorial Staff
- Subjects
- Ship design and development
- Tags
-
- RAN Ships
- None noted.
- Publication
- June 2023 edition of the Naval Historical Review (all rights reserved)
The following article is taken from The Australian Naval Architect Vol 27 No 1, February 2023 and is reproduced by kind permission of that organisation.
The first student in naval architecture graduated from the University of New South Wales in Sydney (UNSW Sydney) and some 414 more students were to graduate from the highly-regarded program over the following six decades. In 2017 UNSW Sydney announced the closure of the UNSW Sydney program for budgetary reasons: across the University, all courses with less than 25 students were cut. The decision left the Australian Maritime College in Tasmania as the only institution in Australia teaching naval architecture at a time when the demand for naval architects was increasing. In August 2020 the Minister for Defence announced that, with the support of Defence, a new naval architecture program was to be established by UNSW Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy. Since then much progress has been made and in the February 2023 edition of The Australian Naval Architect, the journal of the Australian Division of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, the Program Coordinator, A/Professor Warren Smith, gave a progress report on the new program.
As we start our second year of activity in our new ‘grey ship focused’ naval architecture program, another two courses will be introduced in Semester 1, namely ZEIT4750 Ship Design Project A, and ZEIT4752 Ship Propulsion and Marine Engineering.
As described in past issues, SBLT Cooper Woods will have the honour of being our first graduate from our first student cohort of one. However, at the time of going to press our second cohort is expected to be five in number, a growth in student numbers of 500%! This second cohort is also swinging the gender balance with four of them female, and one of the females is our first civilian student.
In 2023, Cooper will be completing a thesis sponsored and supported by DSTG in the ship design optimisation domain. Through it, in collaboration with DSTG and DNE, we expect to grow our competence and expertise around tools such as ANSYS ModelCentre and ANSYS OptiSLang, an AI framework which automates the simulation process for uncertainty quantification and robust design optimisation (RDO) studies. Another student in our Mechanical Engineering program will complete his thesis in the further development of wave-making capability in SEIT flume tanks. By the end of the year, we should have a good understanding of the characteristic waves which we can produce in our flumes and have developed our wave measurement and attenuation systems. We are not duplicating the capabilities of AMC, but will have facilities expected to provide good demonstration and niche experimental opportunities in the ship resistance and seakeeping domains.
In April we will be busy with field trips for both Year 3 and 4 students. There will be a trip to AMC (including resistance and seakeeping test experience and tours of other facilities) and industry visits in Hobart, a training cruise out of HMAS Creswell on MV Sycamore, and a trip to Sydney for an inclining experiment and other industry visits.
Finally, as in the last issue, I wish to highlight some student pathways for those considering a career in naval architecture and for those looking for naval architecture graduates. There are currently three cohorts of UG students on the UNSW Canberra campus—those in uniform as officers-in-training at ADFA, and two groups of civilians. The civilians are either sponsored already by CASG under the Defence Civilian Undergraduate Scheme (DCUS), or they are unattached regular fee-paying students. The possibilities can expand to other scholarships and sponsorships, including those provided by industry. However, the following existing pathways could lead a successful applicant to a Naval Architecture degree with us.
As a civilian, with the requisite entry requirements met, you can study with us as:
A regular fee-paying student,
or, if looking for support via Defence sponsorship or scholarship,
A DCUS student (https://www.defence.gov.au/jobs-careers/student-pathways/civilian-undergraduate-sponsorship), and
The Defence Nuclear Science and Engineering Undergraduate Scholarships (https://www.defence.gov.au/jobs-careers/student-pathways/nuclear-science-and-engineering-undergraduate-scholarship).
The uniform pathways include
DFA (https://navy.defencejobs.gov.au/students-and-education/australian-defence-force-academy),
By joining Navy under Defence University Sponsorship (https://navy.defencejobs.gov.au/students-and-education/defence-university-sponsorship).
Options 1, 3 and 5, covering both civilian and uniform pathways, could allow a student to study with us in their third and fourth years, taking advantage of the ‘2 + 2’ nature of our degree, one that facilitates students transferring to UNSW Canberra after having undertaken the first two years of an accredited Mechanical or Aeronautical Engineering four-year degree program at another Australian tertiary institution.
We welcome enquiry and comment. Please do not hesitate to contact me (w.smith@unsw.edu.au) or David Lyons (david.lyons@unsw.edu.au) or us both (navarch@adfa.edu.au) via email, or either of us by other channels if you have any questions or would like to contribute to or join our enterprise.
BAE Systems Record Graduate Intake
Eighty-six young people are preparing to start their careers with BAE Systems Australia after the company recruited a record number of graduates. The recruitment effort reinforces the company’s commitment to invest in the next generation, with graduates securing roles working on some of the most important defence programs being delivered across Australia.
Most have been employed in Victoria (28) and South Australia (50) supporting the Hunter-class Frigate Program, the Jindalee Operational Radar Network upgrade and the development of new technologies for the Australian Defence Force.
The balance will be working across a range of maritime and aerospace sustainment programs and corporate roles in the ACT, NSW, QLD and WA. Thirty-two percent of the new graduates are female, reflecting BAE Systems Australia’s commitment to improving diversity in STEM roles.
A further 30 apprentices will join the national defence engineering and technology area later in the year. Half of this cohort will begin their careers in advanced manufacturing and aircraft sustainment roles. The other fifteen will join the Hunter-class Frigate Program, almost doubling the number of apprentices supporting delivery of the future ships.
BAE Systems Australia Chief People Officer, Angela Wiggins, said ‘Our early career programs open the door for young people to a long and diverse career with opportunities to move between projects, across states or countries as they build experience. There is a high demand right across Australia for engineers, project managers and technologists, as well as trades including boilermakers, electricians, fabricators and aircraft maintainers. We are also growing our capability across specialist areas in big data, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, machine learning and autonomous systems, which provides a fantastic opportunity for our engineering and computer studies graduates to hone next generation technology skills on the job.’
As the new graduates start, 57 students will be returning to university after completing their 12-week summer internships with the Company.
BAE Systems Manufacturing Engineering intern, Kieran Latter, said ‘My internship had highlighted the opportunities to be involved in manufacturing on a global scale as part of the Hunter-class frigate program at Osborne. Few industries can cater or provide these opportunities to the same depth that working in the defence industry had provided to me.’
Next year, the company plans to recruit more than 100 graduates to roles across the Australian business sector. The three-year graduate program offers the opportunity to work at the cutting edge of technology on a diverse range of projects. BAE Systems Australia also supports its graduates with tailored technical and personal development training, a supportive and flexible work environment and career mentoring. Applications for roles starting in 2024 will open in March.
Naval Shipbuilding College to Close?
Reports in the Adelaide press in January revealed government plans to close the Naval Shipbuilding College at the end of February 2023. The Herald Sun reported that the Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon. Pat Conroy MP, has confirmed the closure of the Osborne-based College which cost $114.4 million to run over five years.
The paper reported that a Defence Department spokesman said that the RAND Corporation had reviewed the NSC model in April 2022 and, after speaking to 56 industry participants, had concluded that ‘the College had not fully established itself as envisioned in the 2017 Naval Shipbuilding Plan.’ The NSC had been run by a partnership of the US defence companies Kellogg Brown & Root and Huntington Ingalls Industries.