Bachelor of Engineering (Instrumentation Control and Automation) Honours

Instrumentation control and automation engineering is the integration of electrical, electronic and computing engineering with control engineering.

This integrated discipline includes the development of intelligent systems to automate monitoring, processing, and production in different engineering industries. The course is designed to provide graduates with a strong background to enter into a range of career pathways related to automation and control application in the mining and mineral processing, oil and gas, and agriculture industries that are strongly represented in the economy of Western Australia.

Graduates of the course will be conversant in electrical and electronic engineering; have specialist skills in design, development and management of advanced control and automation systems; and have the ability to participate in, and lead, complex multidisciplinary projects.

The program focuses on the development of knowledge and skills relevant to professional engineering practice along with a sound theoretical base, and includes strong elements of practical problem solving, team work and project development. As a result, graduates will have strong analytical skills, in addition to multiple technical and transferable competencies.

The course covers topics in process control algorithms, computer interfacing and communications of industrial controllers, as well as computer automation, including the use of PLCs, SCADA, and PC-based systems to control systems and processes. Topics such as advanced PLC control and SCADA systems, and manufacturing execution systems are introduced in the advanced years of the program, after students have gained proficiency in the theory of modern control and dynamic systems.

The first year of this course includes a set of eight units that are common across all engineering honours courses. This allows students the opportunity to develop a better understanding of the various engineering disciplines on offer and the flexibility, if desired, to switch to another engineering discipline/course without penalty after the first year of study.

• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of the underpinning natural and physical sciences and in depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge within the instrumentation control and automation engineering disciplines.
• Think critically, and apply established engineering methods and research skills to complex engineering problem solving.
• Apply systematic engineering synthesis and design processes to conduct and manage instrumentation control and automation engineering projects, with some intellectual independence.
• Demonstrate conceptual understanding of the mathematics, numerical analysis, statistics and computer and information sciences which underpin the instrumentation control and automation engineering disciplines and fluently apply engineering techniques, tools and resources.
• Demonstrate clear and coherent oral and written communication in professional and lay domains.
• Demonstrate a global outlook and knowledge of contextual factors impacting the engineering discipline, including respect for cultural diversity and indigenous cultural competence.
• Demonstrate effective team membership and team leadership to implement engineering projects according to relevant standards of ethical conduct, sustainable practice and professional accountability.
• Demonstrate responsibility for own learning, professional judgement and an understanding of the scope, principles, norms, accountabilities and bounds of contemporary engineering practice.