Program Overview

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.